Well, the owner would not budge on the the $2500 price for his 1999 DR350 w/ 1500 miles, or I would have bought it already. So I kept looking on CL and found a 2001 DR-Z400E w/ 4500 miles for sale for $2000. I've gone to look at & ride the 350, but not the 400 yet. The 350 was in great shape and ran good, but since the 13 yea-old original tires are still on the bike, I'd have to get a set of tires for it, and the valves have never been checked. I think the price is about $500 too high, but the owner is firm on the price. I don't know what kind of shape the 400 is in, because I'm going to look at it the day after Thanksgiving, but the owner says it's excellent, and the water pump was replaced this past summer. It has Perrelli 70/30 street tires on it, but since I'm planning on doing some serious dirt riding, I would want to put some knobbies on it. I'm thinking the DR might be a better pick because it's air-cooled and lighter, but the DR-Z is 2 years newer and at least $500 cheaper (I'm hoping the owner will sell it for $1700, but I'll offer $1500 when I ride it Friday). This being a 350 thread, I'm sure you're biased; but which one would you choose and why?.Would you spend the extra $500 bucks for the 350? (I'm gonna put this on the DR-Z400 thread and get their opinions too) Thanks for your input.
If the bike has a kickstand switch and the kickstand spring is getting old and allowing the kickstand to sag, it could cause this problem. Other steps: Make sure all connectors in the wiring harness are properly connected. The ground cables to the coil sometimes come loose and cause this. Try replacing the spark plug.
Dr350... Air cooled, 6 speed. Older, simple. DRZ400... Water cooled, 5 speed. Newer, more complex. The deciding factor for me was the gear ratios on the DRZ. It really needs another/higher gear. If you are not going to do much pavement, it's probably not a factor. I'm a dirt rider, but it seems there is always a good bit of tarmac on every ride I do.
"Need help im in death valley and my DR won't start . getting gas but no spark? any ideas! 97 350s. we were coasting down hill then would not start" Double check the connections at the battery posts and then see if there is any juice in the battery. Good luck and post up once cured. Canadian FJR
Personally, i wouldnt waste MY time on the DRZ after owning and riding the DR350. Thats SOLELY my opinion though, so you'll have to make your own as well. lol As for WHY i feel this way, you may be wandering? As another rider said, the biggest thing for ME, is the 6spd transmission...LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEE it! Wide range of gearing that can be fully changed, adjusted via sprockets, and made to fit your riding style. THAT is the biggest for mechanical reasons in my opinion. AS FOR MY BIKE, it has the CV carb on it and 60+ MPG is EASILY achieved when i ride or play. i dunno about the newer ones, might have pumper on them? Mine is Kick only as well, another plus...batteries go dead, or crap out at most terrible times...with a manual kick start...no sweat bro! lol (Pop starting works too, but its tougher) i think someone said the DR's are lighter too? probably not by a whole heck of a lot, but still...it adds up when your laying on your side...(it'll happen...we all fall down, and the older we get...the worse it feels when ya do! lol). Air Cooled, No rad juice to leak out when ya got busting through the brush and jiggly weeds. (this happend on some Badass Western PA rides with a few liquid cooled bikes...its SUCKED bag!) I could go on and on, and on....and on, BUT im not, everyone here will says "Put a sock in it wagz..lol" As i said, these are SOLELY my opinions as to why i love my DR and wouldnt trade it for a DRZ...not to mention...the DR seats are way more comfortable..i have problems with not getting comfy on seats..lol The Decision is yours sir, but if i had the money, and a 99 was sittin close by with low mileage at that price....itd be sittin next to my 93 that is currently nestled warmly into my garage! Either way, i hope you enjoy whichever bike you purchase!
i have the rack, it works great in my opinion..carried a case of brews on it for my friend. (i dont drink) He wasnt happy about my detour i made though..LOL had to let it settle before he could drink them! BAHAHAH!
Preach it, brother Zac, preach it! I love my kick start only 1993 DR350 dirt model for the same reasons (I've upgraded the suspension). I was at an invitational DS ride in Nevada this past September and I had the oldest, least technically advanced machine there (by far). I rode it 550 miles each way to the event on pavement and then had a blast running right along with everyone else (everyone else trailered in). My friends asked me what machine I would pick if someone were to give one to me. I told them I would get another DR350! Sure, there are many better machines on paper. But the DR350 is just a dream at accomplishing everything I want to accomplish. Is it a magic pill for everyone? No way. But it is really great for me. Regards, Gregory Bender
+3. We had a DRZ400S, it was a nice machine but really a pig. Not more powerful than a DR350, transmission was worse, suspension was a bit better but had to tell with the extra weight. I have a street legal 99 dirt model DR350 now, I get to ride it once in a while but it's my wifes dual sport/desert machine. She can start it in one or two kicks and loves the bike. The only thing she misses from the DRZ is the magic button.
On the '99 DR350se you can add a kicker, if you want to. BTW you can get a wide ratio gear set for the DRZ....It's a little pricy and would be a little work.... http://www.novaracing.co.uk/suzuki-drz400-wr.htm http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/914780-drz-400-wide-range-gearbox/
Sounds like for me at this point if it aint broke don't fix it. I did the cir clip and the clutch dos'nt drag and neutral is easy to find. I'm just going to go for it!
Hi Gerri! I hope you guys get it started but more importantly the Turkey Dinner at PSR is awesome! Tell the wife we said hi Post up what the issue was. Maybe side-stand or power connection?
Has anyone wired grip heaters to this brown wire and used the black for ground? The wires are very small gauge, I wonder if they can handle heaters and maybe an accessory plug for GPS?
A GPS would be fine, but for heated grips it would probably be best to use that wire to trigger (terminal 86) a relay, which would then energize the higher-draw accessories such as heated gear (terminal 87)... The relay is essentially a high-capacity remote-controlled switch that bridges the gap between the Battery (terminal 51) and the accessory (terminal 87)
I think I get it, that is if a relay is something I buy and hook up like the diagram above. Is there any special relay I look for at a parts store or do I just ask the guy at NAPA for a 12v relay? Thanks for the helpful info!
I found automotive relays are cheap, like less than $10 including a plug on harness, so that is what I will go for. The grip warmers package states that they draw less than 3 amps so maybe a relay isn't necessary but maybe someday I'll want a heated vest or something and the relay might come in handy.
Sorry for the late reply... been feasting with the fambly. Yes, as you've seen, relays are cheap. Any auto parts store will have a 20-ish Amp auxiliary lighting relay for less than ten bucks. I think I paid six or seven dollars each a couple years ago when I wired a 12-volt air compressor in my Jeep. Happy Thanksgiving!
Well went thru all the wiring checked out the connections on the side stand and clutch switches that were removed. Decided that it was either the coil or the cdi unit was the suspect. Luckily there was another inmate (Marty) in the campground with a 99 DR and he let me swap out both his coil and cdi, one at a time and the culprit was the cdi...arrgh, not fixable here so our weekend riding is finished Anyone have an extra cdi they want to sell? So just hiking for us then. Thanks for everyones help. Cory: the PSR TG meal was excellent, they had over 400 people show up for it, a lot more than were camping here!
