Drz400 Thread

[generatordave]

Hey all,

I am picking up a new drz 400 Friday or Saturday and of coarse I am pshyched and looking forward to getting into the adv world.

I have read what I could find about immediate upgrades/must do before hitting it to hard.

This is what I have so far and any additions would be apreciatted in advance

• skid plate
• radiator guard
• side cover caps or guards? Caps seem the wiser to me
• locktite somewhere/ everywhere? side covers fasteners I think ( please offer support here)
• hand guards
• disable kickstand safety

It sounds like the acct problems of the past are not here currently? so no need to go mcct ?

Ok so thats what I know of..............Fire away at me with your words of wisdom!

Dave

[wild0]

Words of wisdom -
What every DRZ Needs; Protection, Reliability fixes, Common Maint.

[cherrywaves]

My gf won't let me get the new DRZ until I finish paying off my Busa. :/ I'm kinda glad she's the smart one but damn I want to own this bike!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by generatordave

Hey all,

I am picking up a new drz 400 Friday or Saturday and of coarse I am pshyched and looking forward to getting into the adv world.

I have read what I could find about immediate upgrades/must do before hitting it to hard.



This is what I have so far and any additions would be apreciatted in advance

• skid plate
• radiator guard
• side cover caps or guards? Caps seem the wiser to me
• locktite somewhere/ everywhere? side covers fasteners I think ( please offer support here)
• hand guards
• disable kickstand safety

It sounds like the acct problems of the past are not here currently? so no need to go mcct ?

Ok so thats what I know of..............Fire away at me with your words of wisdom!

Dave

if you are going to ride offroad at all, i would also suggest wraparound handguards to protect your levers when you drop the bike (and protect your hands from trees, etc.).

i'd also suggest an LED taillight if you are going ride offroad. the stocker isn't always up to the abuse of hard offroad riding. a smaller, more tucked away LED is less likely to get broken during a crash...and the LED lights hold up to the pounding better than traditional bulbs.

you may want to drop the gearing to 14/47 or at least 14/44 (the S comes with 15/44) if it is an S model and you are going to ride technical trails.

and, DOT knobbies if it doesn't already have them.

[Rainshadow]

Originally Posted by LittleRedToyota

you may want to drop the gearing to 14/47 or at least 14/44 (the S comes with 14/44) if it is an S model and you are going to ride technical trails.

I'm thinking you ment to say the 400s came with 15/44 and that you should drop it to at least 14/44. That's what I'm running and it seems like a great compromise between low end tractor and top end speed. I'm still in third gear on most hilly fire roads, but can crawl up some pretty steep stuff.

Definitely case guards. My new to me drz had only been ridden on the road and it had a dent in the shifter side case from a drop in the previous owners garage. Don't forget to file the sharp edge off of the back of the stock shifter. It's like a little wedge waiting to punch through the case.

I love mine so far!

[cherrywaves]

im starting to see that there is more than i could ever dream of doing regarding mods to this bike. this thread is the ultimate thread for the DRZ.

[generatordave]

Thanks everyone,

I will read thru the links!

Pretty exciting stuff, gonna have to celebrate

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by Rainshadow

I'm thinking you ment to say the 400s came with 15/44 and that you should drop it to at least 14/44.

yep...just typing too fast. thanks for the correction.

Don't forget to file the sharp edge off of the back of the stock shifter. It's like a little wedge waiting to punch through the case.

yep. another great tip.

[Rainshadow]

Originally Posted by cherrywaves

im starting to see that there is more than i could ever dream of doing regarding mods to this bike. this thread is the ultimate thread for the DRZ.

I'd be careful of that trap. A lot of guys dump thousands in their DRZs to improve performance only to find that there are other higher performance bikes out there that are still better for specific applications. Look for posts by HellSickle for an example. He spent a lot of time and money trying to make his bike into something it wasn't and then switched just about the time he'd finished his project as it still wasn't what he was after.

I'm still in the honeymoon stage with my drz, but I really enjoy it for what it is. Unless you like to wrench and tinker for fun, make some basic mods to improve it's performance (like everyone does with just about every bike) and have fun. It's a jack of all trades, master of none kind of bike. Unless you have a quiver of bikes for specific uses, the DRZ handles just about everything well enough to be fun. It's not going to win races, have cutting edge performance, or blow every other bike off the line/up the hill/through the mud, but it will get you to remote places and back without falling apart, requiring tons of maintenance, or being picky about fuel. It's a bike for people that want to have fun riding; that may sound obvious, but reading other posts about some bikes I'm not so sure it is.

Don't let logic get in the way of getting your DRZ!

[generatordave]

It's a bike for people that want to have fun riding; that may sound obvious, but reading other posts about some bikes I'm not so sure it is.

Don't let logic get in the way of getting your DRZ![/QUOTE]


Yep I'm with you there.

I just want to do the things that you might think the factory would have done when they built the bike.

so protecting my investment by doing a few basic things is a no brainer.

I don't mind stock if it performs to my needs and from all I have read I think the 400 will be my key.

I do want to set it up with bags etc for some adv rides.

Thanks Dave

[generatordave]

Hey Rainshadow,
Nice country out there.

I was on a coastguard ice breaker stationed in portland back in 1986 "Glacier WAGB-4"

and traveled around a bit.on a gs550 back then.

would love to get back there and rid adv someday............it's much like VT

[bobbed06]

[QUOTE=Rainshadow;18962065]I'd be careful of that trap. A lot of guys dump thousands in their DRZs to improve performance only to find that there are other higher performance bikes out there that are still better for specific applications. Look for posts by HellSickle for an example. He spent a lot of time and money trying to make his bike into something it wasn't and then switched just about the time he'd finished his project as it still wasn't what he was after.

Hellsickle spent alotta time and money on his DRZ?? Your kiddin right?....If jettin a carb, tuning the shocks and running the stock piston and cams for over 8 years is dumpin alotta $$ into a DRZ I would hate to see what a cheapskate DRZ build looks like.

Hellsickle considered a Stock E model as inadequate and never so much as upgraded the cams, or piston, or even the STOCK exhaust for that matter. His bike is not the one to gauge what a DRZ can be...By no stretch.

[Rainshadow]

There's definitely a laundry list of changes to make that will increase your performance and the bikes longevity significantly that you want to do right away. I'm talking more about some of the mods that folks do that cost thousands and thousands of dollars in an attempt to make the bike perform more like a bike that costs thousands and thousands of dollars more. It's a fun, reliable bike that needs a couple of minor mods to make it perform like a really fun, reliable bike that goes plenty fast over rough terrain. The Thumper Talk list of mods is a good one. I personally wouldn't do anything else. If someone needs more high end performance than that they should be looking at different bikes.

Some people complain about the bike not having a 6th gear. I guess that would make it a better ADV bike where there were long sections of highway involved. I hate riding on the highway so I only really care about dirt and asphalt connector gearing. The five speed works just fine for me.

If I still lived back East I'd either be in Vermont or NH. I grew up in NY/NJ and spent a lot of time in the White River Junction area, skiing at Stratton/Killington/MRG, and climbing at Cathedral/Whitehorse. It's a great part of the country.

Enjoy the DRZ! I know that I'm loving mine!

[Rainshadow]

Originally Posted by bobbed06

Hellsickle spent alotta time and money on his DRZ?? Your kiddin right?....If jettin a carb, tuning the shocks and running the stock piston and cams for over 8 years is dumpin alotta $$ into a DRZ I would hate to see what a cheapskate DRZ build looks like.

Hellsickle considered a Stock E model as inadequate and never so much as upgraded the cams, or piston, or even the STOCK exhaust for that matter. His bike is not the one to gauge what a DRZ can be...By no stretch.

Fair enough. I guess the way he vaguely complained about it I assumed that he had spent a lot of time and money on it. He does seem to hang around this thread even though he's looking at the world through Orange colored glasses now. I'm sure that he'll chime in.

My point is the DRZ is a fun bike with basic mods. If I ever get to the point where I need super high performance or the ability to cover more highway miles I'll definitely shop around. I don't see either of those happening.

[bobbed06]

Originally Posted by Rainshadow

There's definitely a laundry list of changes to make that will increase your performance and the bikes longevity significantly that you want to do right away. I'm talking more about some of the mods that folks do that cost thousands and thousands of dollars in an attempt to make the bike perform more like a bike that costs thousands and thousands of dollars more. It's a fun, reliable bike that needs a couple of minor mods to make it perform like a really fun, reliable bike that goes plenty fast over rough terrain. The Thumper Talk list of mods is a good one. I personally wouldn't do anything else. If someone needs more high end performance than that they should be looking at different bikes.

Some people complain about the bike not having a 6th gear. I guess that would make it a better ADV bike where there were long sections of highway involved. I hate riding on the highway so I only really care about dirt and asphalt connector gearing. The five speed works just fine for me.

If I still lived back East I'd either be in Vermont or NH. I grew up in NY/NJ and spent a lot of time in the White River Junction area, skiing at Stratton/Killington/MRG, and climbing at Cathedral/Whitehorse. It's a great part of the country.

Enjoy the DRZ! I know that I'm loving mine!

Well, the post that you made previously kinda refernced Helsickles bike as the prime example of someone going way too far with mods, when in fact it was basically a stock E model.

Even a heavily modded DRZ has extremely easy maintainance schedules and component lifespan (20k mile piston changes, 40k crank inspection) that easily lends itself to actual real world dual sport use like going to work, running errands, and daily use without the constant worry of riding around a service schedule of valve adjustments, top end wear, and oil change intervals.

The DRZ has a skill set that can be put to use on a daily basis. The High Comp 434cc kit, Hotcams (better cams than the E) FCR Carb, and Full Exhaust will make the DRZ more powerful that most realize. 52 Hp at the wheel is alotta power for a dual sport bike, not to mention that its still very road friendly and can idle along trails all day. Grab a handful of throttle and your gone.