DRZ400E

[Tony Nitrous]

Had to go into the city this morning so called in at a bike shop...

10am ......



Went back at 2pm......



Home by 3pm......



So far it has a grand total of 3.6K's on the clock.

[Tony Nitrous]

It's tall !   Being used to just road bikes for the last 30 years it was always going to feel tall, but I can only just get both side toes down, or one foot by sliding over. Not hard to fix but I'll see how it go's.

It's loud! Stock as a rock it's got a bit of a bark to it, in a nice deep solid way.

Funny being on a new bike with a fuel tap and a choke lever!

It may be what I was after, a brand new Suzuki under warranty but low tech and basic.

[grog]

Got what you wanted Tony, now just dont get it dirty 😎😂

[Tony Nitrous]

Got what you wanted Tony, now just dont get it dirty 😎😂

Thanks.

Still working out what I've got!  Trip counters count both up and down and I think they do time and distance.

Found a grease nipple on the swingarm.

Bead lock bolts opposite the tyre valves.

Tyre PSI is half what I'm used too.

Haven't had anything like this in ages. More learning to do.
Looking forward to trying out the local trails.

[Kiwifruit]

Very nice Tony. That should give you hours of fun. Well done 

[lurch]

Good choice. There are some nice easy gravel road rides close to you when you're ready. Blackbutt via either Mt Binga or Waterhole Gully Rd are a couple of my favourites for a casual run. I always take a break and admire the view near the Nukinenda homestead along Waterhole Gully Rd

There's quite a large aftermarket for these, most of which is available from one place - Adventure Bike Australia

They're definitely loud off the showroom floor. There's really no need for an aftermarket exhaust, other than aesthetics. The stock one flows quite well but the flow and slightly irritating tone can be much improved with a bolt on muffler tip from B&B or quitened down with one from a business called Kustom Works by Adam.

It'll be revving its tits off as you approach highway speeds. It's common to switch to 15/44 gearing as a good all rounder.

There should be a plastic duck bill looking thing wedged in the fuel filler. If you rip that out you'll get a couple more litres in it, handy with only 7L capacity currently.

If you feel like you need to uncork it there's a series of tried and proven low cost mods to wake it up a little. The "3x3 mod"and some jetting is all it really needs.

Stock headlight is as much use as a candle with an alfoil reflector. A Stedi H4 LED (LEDCONV-H4-M) is a worthwhile upgrade or there are numerous full headlight replacement options that are better again.

And lastly - a radiator fan kit is good insurance if you're putting around.

[lurch]

Actually there's one more thing. The swingarm pivot, linkage and steering bearings are best described as having a slightly greasy appearance from factory. For poorly maintained bikes it's somewhat common for the main linkage pivot bolt through the frame to become one with the bearings as a result. Do yourself a favour by disassembling your brand new bike and greasing them for years of trouble free riding. The grease nipples you spotted do help but they aren't the ultimate answer and they aren't present in all the areas mentioned.

DR650's are/were the same (but no grease nipples). Both come with wheel bearings that only have seals on one side as well so water crossings can create issues.

[grog]

lurch, youve got that stuff covered, so good. Me, i know nothing on dirt bikes but enjoy reading your knowledge 👍👍

[Tony Nitrous]

Actually there's one more thing. The swingarm pivot, linkage and steering bearings are best described as having a slightly greasy appearance from factory. For poorly maintained bikes it's somewhat common for the main linkage pivot bolt through the frame to become one with the bearings as a result. Do yourself a favour by disassembling your brand new bike and greasing them for years of trouble free riding. The grease nipples you spotted do help but they aren't the ultimate answer and they aren't present in all the areas mentioned.

DR650's are/were the same (but no grease nipples). Both come with wheel bearings that only have seals on one side as well so water crossings can create issues.

Huge thanks !!  That's a lot of great info.
I have a lot to learn.

I suspect it'll get a pretty easy life. I normally get my latest bike regularly dealer serviced whilst it's under warranty, and my bikes aren't doing big mileage now, one of the ones I'm currently using has done 12,000K's in 3 years !

I bought a 4WD Toyota so I've been exploring a few gravel roads, around the Pine Forests, out behind Perserverance Dam Hall, down to Toogoolawah, the pine forest detour to Blackbutt etc. All pretty tame but probably suitable for an old bloke decades out of practice.

Thanks for the tips and info. Huge help.

[lurch]

It's a sickness grog. Many hours spent in the shed prepping mine and a few of my riding buddies bikes to take on Australia's most remote areas. It also pays to have some know how when help can be days away

[Tony Nitrous]

I picked it for a few reasons, the price played a part, as well as I wasn't after the latest high tech bells and whistles, I wanted something with a local dealership, something with a proven history.

Doing more reading up on them, looking at where folk have been, seeing them used as hire bike up at the Cape etc, by the Army etc. I think I underestimated them a bit.  They are a bit more than another LAM's bike.

[lurch]

Not the most exciting ride but they're solid, reliable and versatile.

One of the Cape York tour operators saved my trip actually. They have a thin cast alloy throttle slide (vacuum release plate officially) that's prone to metal fatigue as the km creep up. The corners break off and in they go. Some, like mine, eject the pieces through the exhaust while others aren't quite so lucky.

Mine developed this issue roughly 200km from Musgrave Roadhouse. It coughed and spluttered as the pieces passed their way through the valves and left me with a 5000rpm idle. I finished the day out thinking that was the end of the trip but in the morning the NQ Dirt Bike Tours truck with a dozen DRZ's on board was parked near our camp. I explained my situation to the owner and was handed an entire spare carb to rob whatever I needed from and return to him when I made it back to Cairns, along with whatever replacement parts. He didn't want a name, phone number or a single $.

It's something that should be checked/replaced at around 15k along with a foam isolating ring it sits on. Mine was at 30k and I was only vaguely aware of the issue at the time.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Great reading, I love learning new details about bikes.  Is there an aftermarket option, say a proper plated steel version for this slide plate?

[lurch]

Great reading, I love learning new details about bikes.  Is there an aftermarket option, say a proper plated steel version for this slide plate?

There are billet versions available but the tradeoff is that they wear the carb body. Far from ideal. It's a Keihin FCR39 carb. Used on lots of bikes and there are 2 or 3 different versions of the plate, so it's important to make sure you order the same one again.

I think it's more common to hear of the issue on DRZ's because they're capable of much higher mileage than the higher performance enduro bikes the same carb was used on. They also sit at sustained higher revs over longer distances in comparison to an enduro bikes short blasts, so more vibration exposure.

None of my comments are aimed at labelling the DRZ as a bad bike, far from it. These are just some of the realities of dirtbike riding. Prior to the soon-to-be-released updated model they were largely unchanged since 2000 so there's a massive knowledge base and I've been hands on with quite a few. 

[KiwiCol]

I've been toying with the idea of a DR650 for a while, I'd be very interested in whatever you have to say about them Lurch, if you feel inclined.