New plastics, what ones to buy?

[glamabilly]

Hey, I need a new set of plastics, I have the yellow plastics on my DRz400, and they have been badly damaged by the sun over it's life.  I'm going to try to sand off the oxidization and polish the plastic, but I don't think that's going to work well.  I have done a bunch of searches, and have found about 4 companies that make replacement plastics.  Is one brand better than another?  Does one fit better than the other?  Does one brand stand up to the sun better than another? Before I spend the money, I would just like a bit of advice. 

thanks. 

[bumtarder]

What model drz?

[glamabilly]

DRz400 s

 

[BillDirt1]

I always went with OEM. Cost like 2× more but worth it to me. Direct fit.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Diverdown

[bumtarder]

The aftermarket replica plastics are all  patterned after the E model, so the rear fender will need to be modified to fit the subframe and the front fender holes may need to be drilled.The airbox door doesn't come with the panex fasteners, so they would have to be sourced separately or very carefully transferred from your old door. They aren't available through Suzuki.

Edited June 8, 2021 by bumtarder

[roleyrev]

I used R-Tek plastics to good effect.  I got a white set.  as @bumtarder said some work required to make fit around the rear fender.  A cable hole was drilled for routing the rear light and indicators but other than that they are a good fit.   I carefully removed and reused used the air box clips. (note the headlight shroud is OEM)  Applied some cheap graphics and here is the result:

[hooverfocus]

22 hours ago, glamabilly said:

Hey, I need a new set of plastics, I have the yellow plastics on my DRz400, and they have been badly damaged by the sun over it's life.  I'm going to try to sand off the oxidization and polish the plastic, but I don't think that's going to work well.  I have done a bunch of searches, and have found about 4 companies that make replacement plastics.  Is one brand better than another?  Does one fit better than the other?  Does one brand stand up to the sun better than another? Before I spend the money, I would just like a bit of advice. 

thanks. 

I have a black DRZ and had some deep scuffs on the side panels from some luggage cable fasteners. I got them leveled, but I could never buff them back to the original shine (and I tried every product and technique out there). Since I had some extra replacement plastics lying around that I had never used I eventually decided to swap them out. Mine's the Acerbis made side panels. The big one didn't come with insulation so I had to source some, but otherwise fits alright. The split panels didn't come with the quick release fasteners so I reused the original ones (you can get them out just fine if you're careful). Also where the two panels meet, it doesn't sit as flush as with the original plastics. Therefore I have mixed feelings about them.

Since you have a considerably bigger market over there in North America, personally I'd try to source some original plastics from people who swapped them out for a different colour, or lightly used ones.

[OhioYJ]

I've bought two sets of UFO plastics now. They come with the insulation for the right side panel. They do not come with the clips as mentioned. Both times I've bought new clips just to make things easy. I have an S so the rear fender did have to be trimmed. I also did have to trim the air box door. Since this was on two different air boxes it's not the air box, it's the plastics. I'm also picky as I want panels to line up.

As mentioned OEM plastics fit better, but you pay more. I've found you can pretty quickly adjust the panels with a sander and get them to fit properly. Just remember it's plastic a sander takes off material fast, trial fit many times during the process.

 

[sbmon]

I have purchased most all different options of aftermarket plastics for the drz. IMO they are nearly all of similar quality. The r techs were just as good as ufo, aecerbis, etc. 

something worth mentioning there are several variations of the yellow so just be aware not all yellows are the same hue.  
 

Also a soldering iron with an old (throw away tip) makes for easy trimming non oem plastics. If you don’t have that you could just heat up an old knife. 
 

lastly I am not say that other bikes (non drz) have decent options with regards to aftermarket plastics. I have purchased fleabay Chinese plastics for pit bikes that were absolutely terrible quality. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by sbmon

[npm]

The Dzus fasteners for the air side panel can be sourced at Kurvey Girls. 

https://www.kurveygirl.com

 

[bumtarder]

https://www.wheelingcyclesupply.com/shop/product/dzus-fastener-kitdrz400ssme/754

 

[glamabilly]

Thanks for all the info, my tank is a bit faded, so I’m not that concerned about an exact color match, if I put a new set of stickers on it, I’m sure it will be less noticeable.  I was mostly concerned with one brand or another just not fitting well, sounds like the ones mentioned all work fine, since I’m cheap, I’ll probably just go with the best deal I find.

thanks. 

[ptgarcia]

You better shop around for what's actually available.  For a bike that's been around for decades there are very little options for replacement plastics.

[OUTERLIMITS]

Not sure if it matters with the "S" as it has the subframe extension, but on the "E" and "K" the Acerbis rear fender has a fairly sharp edge if you lift the bike there.  The oem rear fender had a nice flat area for your hand. 

[Gosling 1]

17 hours ago, ptgarcia said:

You better shop around for what's actually available.  For a bike that's been around for decades there are very little options for replacement plastics.

Yeah, a bit frustrating. The DRZ-S bodywork has been used for for over 20 model years. You would think some aftermarket supplier would offer a full plastics kit, at least in white, yellow, and black.