is it wrong?
 

that i really want a drz 400??

they seem to be cheap new about 4k?? so hopefully second hand be even cheaper! would want it dare i say just to be a hooligan, wheelies and just mucking about on ( private road of course cough!). Em any input?

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No. got for it. Have one. I must say, i would love one for riding in london, but not sure how I would mount a topbox.

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not wrong at all, do it. christmas-present-to-self perhaps?

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hey alpine, what does it say under the James Hetfield on your avatar?

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"for when emo's just need a punch" or similar. But its not about that line, its about The Het.

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Cool :-)

I've seen Metallica loads, they never fail to deliver. Awesome.

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I've seen them once. At reading this year.

Oh.

My.

Good.

God.

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I was there this year as well, they sure kicked ass.

Sorry to the OP for turning the DRZ 400 post into a Metallica love-in :-)

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Metallica = good, DRZ = good


get a DRZ, its the bike form of metallica. Metallica in two wheels.

just work on those neck muscles :mrgreen:

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hmm... what is the opinion on these actually off-road e.g. jumps occasional moto x bike.

Any other bikes out there similar?

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i think they'l be ok off small jumps, they have reasonably longer travel suspension. I asume its harder than a more dedicated off-roader becaue of the road bias. But you could have a bit of a laugh on it

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My mate takes his off roading all the time - he swears by it

He's no pro off roading but then again I assume your not either

So go for it :)

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If your looking at new then it won't be very good off road, they only come in the supermoto version now. On road they are a hoot. An older off road version should be quite good for green laning.

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still looking what is people opinion on using the drz to commute say 40miles (80 miles round trip?) not sure if i am aloud to have 4bikes in the garage yet? so may trade in the sv?

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I was looking at getting a DRZ, but i decided to get an SV instead.

A 2006 DRZ can be found on ebay for just over 2 grand with low mileage. If you want to do offroad stuff on it, then you can buy a set of the enduro version wheels, but its not a case of just swapping the wheels, the brake heights are different but it can be done.

The other alternative would be the KTM SMC650. Wow, what a beast. The loudest bike i have ever heard and they look great, but will set you back £3000 for a used one.

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Get one.

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im tempted enough!!:rolleyes:

what about that commute though 40miles? 80 mile round trip A-roads? cheers

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If you've got 4 bikes, then you won't need to do the commute on the DRZ anyway, ja? Or are they not all your bikes :-)

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Page Lone Wolf - he bought mine off me. I never enjoyed it much be he certainly has warmed to it.

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I wouldnt mind one, but i think i need a KTM RC8 more :P

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yeah if i get it will have 4 bikes if dont sell the sv. TL not exactly most fuel friendly for the commute, yamaha xj600 would be ok just bit boring for the 40miles! and the the trusty*cough* sv650

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I'd be very interested in more detail on this if you know exactly how it should be done...

I've looked into it with the XT660, but you do it the other way round. You buy the XT660R enduro version, a set of XT660X supermoto wheels and a replacement 'R' brake disk. Fit the smaller 'R' brake disk to the 'X' wheels and remove a small plastic fender extender style mudguard and the wheels and disk bolt straight in. Then you can change from 'R' to 'X' within 1/2 hour. It's also recommended you upgrade the forks with preload spacers they are too soft for a supermoto, but apparantly thats a good mod for an 'R' anyway. You end up with one of these....

http://www.xt660.com/gallery/display...hp?imageid=947

I asked the Suzuki dealer in Edinburgh about converting the DRZ as that was what I originally wanted to do, but they said the front axles were different so the SM wheels won't bolt into the Enduro forks. If this is wrong I'd be dead pleased as a DRZ is much lighter and more suited to green laning than the XT.

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You'll find the seat a bit hard, need to get some padded cycling shorts. TBH thats not what the DRZ has in mind, in 40 miles of open Scottish roads you'd soon get tired of a lack of power as well. It doesn't have the same potential for a quick 90mph blat past a long line of traffic as the other bikes in your collection.

Well if you ask me you've already got your commuting bike! If your not going to use it for commuting get it on ebay, because it has no other uses and so why do you have it? ;)

Keep your other bikes nice and clean and ready for fun, and make the divvy do the job it was built for! You can always jump on one of the other bikes on a sunny morning if you're a bit bored.

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Go for it, they are great fun, not the comfiest of seats as has been said but they can be modified easily enough

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ok went looking today and i have ended up very very confused and was wondering if you lot could help. Went into an offroad dealer and they have a new DRZ 400 in say they got it in last week has the 09 stickers on. (had a look but i wouldnt be able to tell the difference between the 08 &09 stickers). However there is more it appears this is the E? version i think? PLastic fuel tank, knobbly tyres, 2 inch higher suspension, no indicators rwu forks instead of usd ones, no speedo just the odometer??:confused: I thought they stopped making them? As i say i am confused now? After advice on here seems the e is the one to go for as can always put the sm wheels on etc but i thought they stopped doing them? help:confused::confused::confused::confused:

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I commute my sv650 curvy about three times a week in good weather along the A406. I only learnt to ride in the middle of this year so I'm a 44yr old novice.

I also have ridden an 08 drz-400sm and it is like riding a bicycle in comparison. Speed isn't an issue as you can't go that fast on these roads, but it is extremely light, very easy to manouvre, but ultimately lacks a bit of poke.

Personally I would be torn between them, but the sv wins with a touch more power. I suspect a Ducati 696 sits nicely between them both with decent power, but a more upright riding postion than the sv. Of course the 696 costs £££ and the DRZ are certainly excellent value for money.

I think the decision has to come to personal preference, and the roads you use.

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any one any idea on my previous post though? and what about its use on the road with no indicators etc etc cheers

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I really have no idea, i just heard it could be done.
However, a good place to start looking would be http://www.thumpertalk.com/ which is an american based forum but it does have some british members and a dedicated section for the DRZ400. I'm sure you could find your answer on there.

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Yep, you have me confused too. I'm only going by what Saltire told me and I could easily be wrong as I didn't research it any further (and whilst Saltire should know better than us, they are still human and not all knowing super-beings either!).

I'm now off to google the 'E' version and see what I find. I'll post up what I find.

Which dealer did you go into? Also worth checking if the one you saw was road legal!

I specifically asked Saltire about the possibility of buying an enduro version and doing a supermoto conversion. I was told the enduro version was no longer on sale and that a supermoto conversion wasn't possible anyway. I'm not surprised by this because as you rightly say the two use different forks, so I wouldn't necessarily expect the SM wheels to be a straight bolt-in to the normal 'E' forks.

An SM conversion, even if it was possible, wouldn't be as good as a genuine SM because of lack of USD forks, better brakes, etc.

I specifically looked for a bike all where this could be done and end up with a supermoto, off roader and commuter all in one bike, with only a quick wheel swap necessary after the conversion was completed. The XT660 was the answer, but the only one's I managed to get confirmed that the rear swingarm was the same was the 2004-2006 bikes. This isn't to say the 2007 swingarm is different, just that I don't know, it's something I'd need to get confirmed if I wanted to buy a 2007 bike. Also I forgot to post above that the speedo cable needs moved to the outside of the forks to accommodate the wider tyre.

Don't rush out and buy a bike based upon advice you get on a forum. None of us are all knowing super-beings and all of us could easily be wrong about something. It's as good as speaking to a drunk old man in the pub. ;). Ask the experts and do your own research.

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The US Suzuki website has a DRZ400S which it says is a "road legal" DRZ400E. It also has the DRZ400SM.

The UK website only has the SM.

The French website doesn't have either.

So what Saltire told me is probably correct about the Enduro version no longer being on sale, though Suzuki clearly still make them, you'd probably have to import one from a country that has them on sale or buy secondhand. I suspect the one you saw in the off road dealer was not road legal. Could you make it road legal? I have no idea but this may help http://www.motostrano.com/sucokistle.html

As for what Saltire told me about conversion, that may be the case for the Supermoto to Enduro conversion, but look at these http://www.motostrano.com/sucoki.html for converting the other way round. Best check they would fit a UK spec bike though and enquire about shipping costs to UK (or if you are confident look at what parts you need and buy on ebay!).

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as it stood it was not road legal but the dealer told me he would register it and put it on the road, i think it would need horn, indicators brake light, high/low beam. It is definetly the e version with the plastic tank etc just got me a little confused expected to see the sm but then there was an e there which i thought they stopped doing?

Anyway after having a look on other forums like thumper talk you Can get supermoto wheels for the e:) yes it wouldnt be as good as the sm but i really want to try offroading too. Will have to wait and see on monday as getting a phone call then. Cheers

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Let us know how you get on and how much the dealer would want for it OTR? I'm sure there will be fork upgrades available for the 'E/S' that would make it closer to the SM. Are the wheels the guys on thumpertalk are using OEM suzuki SM wheels? Or are they using an aftermarket wheel like those supplied with the Motostrano kits?

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it seems to be a mixture, i will let you know on monday although i am getting concerned myself that the bike will not be able to be used on road but the dealer said he would sell it on the road so presume he would need to put on all the necessary bits are they

horn
high/low beam
brake light
indicators

anything else?

will let you know on monday cheers

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Not sure what the comprehensive list is but a rear reflector should be on there I think, which is why tail tidies are supposed to be for track use only.

Not sure indicators actually need to be on there, unless they are fitted by the manufacturer from new, then you don't need them for an MOT and are expected to use hand signals, but maybe thats just for vehicles over a certain age.

The DFT's website should keep you straight.

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righto, not been on the forums much over xmas so missed this one...

firstly, about the S/SM/E models

the S and SM are exactly the same except for the SM having 17" wheels, USD forks and a better front brake (stand is shorter and there's probably some very minor differences but that's the main stuff)

the E model is different, it has a 39mm FCR carb where the S has a 36mm CV carb, the head has fewer gaskets so the compression is slightly higher and stock it doesn't come with road papers or anything you need to make it road legal, it also has an off-road silencer

it's pretty simple to mod the S model to E spec

the dealer will most likely be registering the E model as a type approval exempt enduro bike, as it doesn't meet the requirements for type approval and modifying it to do so is very time consuming and pretty costly, if you're expecting lights i'd ask as they're not a legal requirement, only a horn is required

secondly, personally i wouldn't buy new, you could probably pick up a used one for well under half the price which has barely been run in, just a thought

any questions just shout:cool:

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thanks could you go more into this type exempt enduro bike? would i still be able to ride it on the road, would i have problems insurance wise and mot's cheers

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i really like the drz but i think i'd get a ccm 644 if i was getting a supermoto just out of preference cool bikes though.

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Oh and the reason for new is the 0% finance

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that is very tempting :cheers:

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yeah although everywhere up here seems to have closed until jan:smt072