Drz400 Thread

[Doctor Zed]

So I am riding home today and notice my dash has no power.
Hmmmm. I wonder if my lights are working?
I flip the high beams and the bike kinda slows/starts to die.
High beams off.
Horn? Same deal. Great. WTF!
My DRZ has almost 38,000 miles on it.
Is this the stator failure I had heard about and thought I was immune?
Any ideas guys?

The battery is less than a month old. I replaced it after it failed on my trip around Lake Michigan.
Maybe that battery dying was related........

[ptgarcia]

Originally Posted by Dr Zed

So I am riding home today and notice my dash has no power.
Hmmmm. I wonder if my lights are working?
I flip the high beams and the bike kinda slows/starts to die.
High beams off.
Horn? Same deal. Great. WTF!
My DRZ has almost 38,000 miles on it.
Is this the stator failure I had heard about and thought I was immune?
Any ideas guys?

The battery is less than a month old. I replaced it after it failed on my trip around Lake Michigan.
Maybe that battery dying was related........

Most likely the stator. Pull the cover and take a look. Its usually pretty apparent when they fail.

[Spacelord]

I've got a MRD standard, a stock carb and a stock exhaust in the flea market for sell.

[redirt]

Originally Posted by Dr Zed

So I am riding home today and notice my dash has no power.
Hmmmm. I wonder if my lights are working?
I flip the high beams and the bike kinda slows/starts to die.
High beams off.
Horn? Same deal. Great. WTF!
My DRZ has almost 38,000 miles on it.
Is this the stator failure I had heard about and thought I was immune?
Any ideas guys?

The battery is less than a month old. I replaced it after it failed on my trip around Lake Michigan.
Maybe that battery dying was related........

Check out the FAQ section at TT: http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=397
There's a whole charging system & stator issue that can be easily fixed.... hopefully.
Sounds more like batter/reg/rectifier issues than stator, I'm hoping..

[JJJZJ]

I am in the process of putting a new headlight shroud on my bike and decided to clean up the mess of wires underneath while I was at it.

I got everything together and have this one white plug with no home. I cant remember if i found it like that or I cant find the other end. Two wires are going in. Black/Yellow and Black/White

Does anyone know what this goes to?

[bobfab]

Originally Posted by JJJZJ

I have a 14/41 sprocket combo on my bike right now, but would like to gear it down a little for the tight forest riding i do.

Does a 14/47 combo make sense for forest single track, gravel roads and pavement riding that doesn't exceed 60 mph usually?

It is probably a good time to upgrade the chain as well. What length of chain should I look at with this combo?

Thanks and I will continue using the search button in the mean time.

Mine is 14x47 and if i recall correctly it topped out around 72mph. It was too slow for california superslab but great for surface streets around town or trail connecting roads.

[wickedthunder.com]

Originally Posted by Dr Zed

So I am riding home today and notice my dash has no power.
Hmmmm. I wonder if my lights are working?
I flip the high beams and the bike kinda slows/starts to die.
High beams off.
Horn? Same deal. Great. WTF!
My DRZ has almost 38,000 miles on it.
Is this the stator failure I had heard about and thought I was immune?
Any ideas guys?

The battery is less than a month old. I replaced it after it failed on my trip around Lake Michigan.
Maybe that battery dying was related........

Mine only has 12,3++ miles and had a similar problem this past weekend. Was the 1st time it's ever done that other than a battery problem I had once before. Had rode 60 miles or so and everything was fine, made a stop for water and stretch and when I turned the key back on to start it there was nothing on the dash, no lights, no power or anything, completely dead. I chased the wiring and fuses from the battery for about 10-15 minutes and they were all fine. So I jiggled the bundle of wires behind the headlight and everything popped back on. It happened one other time on my ride and jiggling the wires worked again so definitely got to chase down that problem and fix before any major riding continues.

Naturally with that many miles on yours and having to replace your battery recently, and after reading/hearing about all the horror stories posted on these forums you assume the worst like stator failure, but just saying it might be something as simple as a loose connection or something...

Did the bike die as you were riding it?...or just no lights ,gauges, etc. but still running?

[Stillupright]

Originally Posted by reddirtjoe

my s with 14/47 tops out at 90mph in 5th bouncing off the rev limiter

I'm geared the same and find a "comfortable", meaning I don't think I'm hurting the motor much, to be about 55. I don't think I've ever topped out. But then I don't really want to waste my tires on paved roads either.

My question - looking for ideas
I did the 3X3 mod with rejetting last summer. There is a dirt pile close to the house where I've set up some practice tracks, lots of fun. After 10-15 minutes running in 1st and 2nd gear the DRZ starts to surge and hesitate, making it very hard to ride, when it happens in technical places I come close to going down. Then it will stall. Sometimes smell fuel after stalling. To restart I have to open the throttle and push the starter button for several seconds. Runs OK for a while. If it starts this sequence and I take it onto nearby street and punch it, clear its lungs so to speak, it will work fine for another 5-10 minutes before going into the surging cycle again. Any ideas what's causing this? Too much fuel for the amount of air? Riding on roads (paved or dirt) this does not happen.

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by Stillupright

I'm geared the same and find a "comfortable", meaning I don't think I'm hurting the motor much, to be about 55.

i have literally cruised super slab for nearly 100 miles straight (as far as i can go until i need to get gas) at 75 indicated with 14/47 gearing on my S, and the motor didn't seem to mind at all. i make shorter slab trips (25 miles or so) several times a week at 75 indicated.

the motor is revving and makes some noise, but it just keeps on keepin' on. i don't think you have to be concerned about hurting your motor by crusing over 55mph.

also, it seems to me that tire wear out a lot more from starting and stopping around the city than they do on the highway.

just my experiences in case they are of any value to you.

My question - looking for ideas
I did the 3X3 mod with rejetting last summer. There is a dirt pile close to the house where I've set up some practice tracks, lots of fun. After 10-15 minutes running in 1st and 2nd gear the DRZ starts to surge and hesitate, making it very hard to ride, when it happens in technical places I come close to going down. Then it will stall. Sometimes smell fuel after stalling. To restart I have to open the throttle and push the starter button for several seconds. Runs OK for a while. If it starts this sequence and I take it onto nearby street and punch it, clear its lungs so to speak, it will work fine for another 5-10 minutes before going into the surging cycle again. Any ideas what's causing this? Too much fuel for the amount of air? Riding on roads (paved or dirt) this does not happen.

wild arsed guess...

sounds like maybe your carb is flooding? perhaps a problem with the float?

[/wild arsed guess]

[Drizzt]

Originally Posted by LittleRedToyota

i have literally cruised super slab for nearly 100 miles straight (as far as i can go until i need to get gas) at 75 indicated with 14/47 gearing on my S, and the motor didn't seem to mind at all. i make shorter slab trips (25 miles or so) several times a week at 75 indicated.

the motor is revving and makes some noise, but it just keeps on keepin' on. i don't think you have to be concerned about hurting your motor by crusing over 55mph.

also, it seems to me that tire wear out a lot more from starting and stopping around the city than they do on the highway.

just my experiences in case they are of any value to you.

[/wild arsed guess]

Sure while the engine may last doing that, there is a very increased likelihood of engine failure from the top end. Over on TT long runs of high rpm usually equates to valves dropping very quickly. If I were to do this I would be checking my valves more frequently. personally, I find about 55 to be nice. 65 is tolerable, and 75 is just flat out uncomfortable, and that's with 15/44 gearing on it.

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by Drizzt

Over on TT long runs of high rpm usually equates to valves dropping very quickly. If I were to do this I would be checking my valves more frequently

yes, 14,000 miles seems a bit long to go between valve checks to me at any RPM...though most people seem to not need to actually adjust them for much longer than that (but they are probably not cruising at 70+ with 14/47 gearing).

i also use high-quality synthetic oil and change it every 1,000 to 1,500 miles.

so far, i have about 5,500 miles on my DRZ and the valve clearances haven't yet changed at all.

i dunno...we'll see how it goes as i put on more miles on it. i will end up being a long-term test case as i have no choice but to ride a good bit of slab...and 14/47 is the minimum i want for offroad (i would even like a few more teeth on the back)...and i don't feel like swapping sprockets several times a week.

it does make sense that the sustained high RPMs would be hard on the valves...but, so far, the thing still runs/sounds/checks out like new.

again, just my experience with the DRZ to this point (prior to the DRZ, my bikes were all 2 strokes). fwiw and ymmv and all that.

[955616846]

I'd be fairly reluctant to cruise the engine at 8k rpm +/- for extended periods.
My S was geared for peak hp at ~130kph (ie 15/44 - stock gearing) for a recent 24hr ride. Maximum cruising speed during that ride was mostly somewhere near 120kph with a few stretches done at ~130kph. I couldn't help feeling that I was beating on the bike just a little. Rolling home at the end of the day I enjoyed the scenery at around 90kph.
The bike is now geared 15/47 for a couple of rides that I have planned for the next few months where speeds will be entirely below 100kph.

[markjenn]

While I'm sure you wear the bike out a little faster at sustained high-RPM vs. lower, I doubt it is a huge factor in most people's use of the bike. I've ridden my DRZ at full-throttle, 80+ for several 30+ min sessions and noticed no ill effects. If I really were expecting to get 50K+ miles out of the bike, then I might be a little more conservative, but it is a very rare DRZ that has more than 20K or so miles on it.

- Mark

[JJJZJ]

Well I just put my 150 jet in today and I think that was the ticket. The engine has a smooth powerband now and more power to boot. So for anyone searching down the line...

DynoJet Stage 1 Kit
150 main jet
Needle in the #4 clip
3x3 air box mod
stock exhaust
Fuel Screw 3.5 turns out

This seems to be the ticket.

Originally Posted by JJJZJ

I found them over at rockymountainatvmc.com for $2.97 a piece or something. I will report back if the 150 or 155 is a good fit. Thanks.

[Plane Dr]

Rev's don't really matter much to a stock engine, it's pretty mild tune. You may blow some oil out the breather if it is sustained 70+ miles at a go. But not many have the fuel or butt for that. If the oil get's old it will blow some (ask my buddy who had a DRZ ).

I need to top my oil regularily for the high rpm/speed issue but I tend to run 75+ mph (15/38) so it still turns around 6700-6800 rpm (75mph). All my riding is done there (slabbing/commute can be fun too) and the engine overwhelms the breather a bit in my case.

The valve issue is somewhat random and mainly associated to a cam change (original hotcams) or them being out of spec. It is recommended to check the valves way more frequently than the manual. The range is from 1000 miles and goes up. It really depends what you are comfortable with. After the first shim (or not) if they start to move there is an issue.