Devon TRF Group Forum

rich xr · Clubman B

DZR400

Biff · Expert

Dunno nowt about them except they are bleedin heavy

Biff

danno82 · Clubman B

S is the dual sport model and K3 is the year 2003.

The S model is aimed at on road (rear footpegs, nice clocks etc) and off road.

The E model is the enduro verion and I am led to believe this is lighter with less bits and pieces on it. Also better performance ( I think)

The SM model is the supermoto version.

I'm sure someone with a bit more knowledge will soon be along to add more info to the above.

I have the DRZ400 SK3 and get on well with it... they are on the heavier side compared to the KTMs etc.

Personal preference is what it comes down to though.

All the best, Danny

rich xr · Clubman B

Cheers, hay biff is the gas gas still going well

brownie · Expert

ask richt4 he has an s model i think!

Biff · Expert

Hi Rich

Gasser = ace bike , light, quick turning, power + torque

Nuff said

When you out next?

Biff

V Twin Funster · Expert

I have a DRZ400E and I am very happy with it. Much better suspension than the DR350E and the DR350S I had previously. The DRZ is quite heavy compared to some bikes but it felt more manoeuvrable than the DR. The E has a more aggressive cam profile and chucks out a bit more umph but at the cost of low down grunt and I have found it a tad easier to stall during low rev technical stuff compared to the 350s I have had. It retains quite a meaty generator so running decent lights is not a problem. The E doesn't have a rear subframe like the S so luggage for trips to Mongolia might be more challenging to fit than the trip itself wink .

You can pick up 2001 bikes with electric start in good nick and get change from £1500.

Craig

RichT4 · Champion

They are great bikes and give good power plus don't need all felting that many other bikes do.

Gasser's - I must say Biff, I didn't see any DRZ's hemorrhaging fork oil after the forset day, but i did see fairly new Gasser doing it. biggrin

Nige · Expert

Hi Rich
S & SM have steel tanks, CV carb, proper lights, rear subframe and cams as mentioned.
E has plastic tank, FCR carb,higher compression and bigger exhaust header, the lights ect are bare bones.No cooling fan or stat on the E rads are different.

No real changes over the years to any models most parts are interchangeable.
My E weighs 130kg with a full tank i think an S would be about 140kg ready to ride.
Relaxed feeling to ride none of that urgent like an EXC400 or others. But it is nice to keep it rolling.

The engine was strong enough to market them as SM that a lot of people use for commuting.

Decent charging system.

50+mpg 10 liter tank. And unlike some bikes it burns the fuel rather than dump it on the floor. confuse

-- Edited by Nige on Monday 14th of November 2011 04:08:55 PM

rich xr · Clubman B

Cheers all, I'll probably let money time and location decide what my next bike will be rather than look for anything specific. Will be out to get whatever it is dirty asap.

jt · Powermonger!!

RichT4 wrote:
They are great bikes and give good power plus don't need all felting that many other bikes do.

disbelief biggrin

I could put links to the many threads showing the mods you have done to make your old clunker trail ready.......but I won't......

Nobody has mentioned the Donk E version yet but I guess Gruff or Pearcy will be along to comment eventually wink

RichT4 · Champion

jt wrote:
I could put links to the many threads showing the mods you have done to make your old clunker trail ready.......but I won't......

Yeh, but i'm the sort of guy that does every upgrade to his stead, just to be sure, whether it be performance or relibility. Many don't bother and experience no ill effects.

Plus the DRZ design has remained largerly unchanged for 12 years so it's a known quantity - all bugs found and fixed or fixeable, and it has a reputation as a bike that just gets on with it aww .

More importantly no bits fall off.. biggrin

Biff · Expert

RichT4 wrote:
jt wrote:
I could put links to the many threads showing the mods you have done to make your old clunker trail ready.......but I won't......
Yeh, but i'm the sort of guy that does every upgrade to his stead, just to be sure, whether it be performance or relibility. Many don't bother and experience no ill effects.
Plus the DRZ design has remained largerly unchanged for 12 years so it's a known quantity - all bugs found and fixed or fixeable, and it has a reputation as a bike that just gets on with it.
More importantly no bits fall off..

Don't like hill climbs tho........... biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin biggrin

Biff

RichT4 · Champion

Nah, in my case the bike would be capable if the rider was. Still, she went rolling down the hill a few times and yet didn't need the repair shop afterwards - not all the owners there could say the same biff lol.

Nige · Expert

What I'd like to know is.
How can the sum of so many top end componets end up so badly? And at what price?

delvey91 · Devon's Best

DZR 400? Never heard of it ;)

But thumbs up from me, Did 7000miles on mine in 6 months and never missed a beat apart from something that blanks the kickstart shaft coming loose, But otherwise spot on Never tried one greenlaning but it was pretty heavy? E model maybe the one to go for

Lucky · Clubman B

Ooh, err, I bought a DRZ400S only the other week and mean to try it in anger for the first time this weekend. If its ****e, Rich, you can buy it off me.

My reasoning was they're relatively cheap, plenty about to choose from, many already prepped for the lanes, don't need engine rebuilds every few hundred hours, blah, blah blah. The truth, of course, will be in the eating.

As to whether to go for an E or an S, I opted for an S because it was the best condition I could find for the price. Yes, the S weighs more but much of it is unboltable - luggage racks, rear footrests etc. Change the front sprocket to 14 (from 15 standard) and maybe the rear if needs be. I believe its as pokey as the E and more torquey low down, but admitttedly that's hearsay from a forum.

There are a few things you must do, like grind off the 'sticky out bit' on the gear lever which might otherwise puncture your engine casing first time you drop the bike, but there's a huge forum community out there so finding advice is easy too.

If I'm in Devon (as opposed to Sussex) this weekend, I'll give you a bell and you can try for yourself.

-- Edited by Lucky on Tuesday 15th of November 2011 03:24:21 PM

RichT4 · Champion

The 'E' runs 14/47 as standard, I run 14/49 for more low speed control but some go as low as 13T front.

I'm not sure the S is as pokey low down as the E either.
The carb is smaller and of different design which may make it better for slow engine speeds. DevonDan tried a set of S cams in his E engine to see if the milder cam gave more low end power, and then promptly removed them as they restricted the bike too much. I don't think they gave any extra low end power but then the engine wasn't an S to start with so maybe that was the issue.

Many people use the 'S' for green laning and I saw one at the Exmoor forest day event that was doing much better than me at the technical climbs so who's to say..

Lucky · Clubman B

Rich, read PM mate.

Nige · Expert

I think the small headder pipe gives a good bottom end.

maggotman · Clubman A

they seem a bit under powerd for how heavy thay are tbh

snasher · Clubman B

http://devongtrf.activeboard.com/t38293543/horizons-unlimited-mountain-madness-2010-plus-part-2-3/

The link on this above shows what you can do with a DRZ400e and S. TBM describes them as the Ford Fiesta of the green lane world and there is nothing wrong with that.

I rode mine on Devon Lanes, to London for work and then across France to take part in the 2010 HUMM - never missed a beat.

The S has non adjustable suspension, slightly less power and a rear sub frame so it's easy to fit racks etc.

SM is the super moto version. You can get kits/wheels to switch the e and S into SM type bikes and some people get two sets of wheels just for that.

The E is better on the dirty stuff has a plastic tank and grease nipples in all the right places. If you can go E then do and you can get racks to fit that beat the non-rear sub fram issue. The reason for the different power output is bigger carbs. It also has rim locks.

They are a doddle to work on.

Stick some renthal dakar bars on it, stainless steel gear shaft collar, Stainless steel front and rear wheel spacers, manual cam adjuster and route the breather pipes into the airbox. Oh, and a split fire spark plug keeps that lovely single sweet. After that just change the oil every 1500 to 2000 miles and a new oil filter every 4k.

I think the e has a standard 14/49 gearing (S 15/44 SM 15/37) I used to run 15/49 off road and 15/42 on. For Devon lanes 14/49 or 14/51 in winter means your in 2nd or 3rd most the time. It takes less than 20 minutes to change a rear cog and I used to carry a sproket and chain links and do it according to the conditions I found. MT43 good choice for a back tyre and an enduro front.

They make a great noise, lots of low down torque and sort the saddle (a bit more foam) out are all day comfy. Like the Ford fiesta spares are easy to get and cheap.

Is it a bit heavy compared to gas gas or KTM? Yes but not enough to make any real odds unless your in a race. If you want to be light on a bike loose a stone in weight.

Down sides aren't many in fact the only one is they are tall. So if you under 5ft 10" you might want to consider a suspension lowering kit.

Thumper talk is good web site for advice or speak to Gruff. What he doesn't know about them ain't worth knowing.

Get a good one and you won't regret it.

Cheers

Snasher

willywombat · Clubman B

just out of interest why do people change the wheel spacers to stainless .is it purely a cosmetic issue .? In my mind all they do is sit there and remain stationary which is quite a simple job!
please someone explain ....it's bugging me!

Newmie · Clubman B

Am I right in saying these engines are more relible compaired to the ktm and WR? or completely off the mark?

Nige · Expert

Uncle Ricky · Clubman B

RichT4 wrote:
The 'E' runs 14/47 as standard, I run 14/49 for more low speed control but some go as low as 13T front.

I'm not sure the S is as pokey low down as the E either.
The carb is smaller and of different design which may make it better for slow engine speeds. DevonDan tried a set of S cams in his E engine to see if the milder cam gave more low end power, and then promptly removed them as they restricted the bike too much. I don't think they gave any extra low end power but then the engine wasn't an S to start with so maybe that was the issue.

Many people use the 'S' for green laning and I saw one at the Exmoor forest day event that was doing much better than me at the technical climbs so who's to say..

That would have been me

snasher · Clubman B

willywombat wrote:
just out of interest why do people change the wheel spacers to stainless .is it purely a cosmetic issue .? In my mind all they do is sit there and remain stationary which is quite a simple job!
please someone explain ....it's bugging me!

The wheel spacers protect the bearing seals. The OS ones are made of some soft alloy that scores easily and then lets grit and water in destroying the bearing seals and then the bearings. Mine only lasted 1500 miles before replacement to the S/S ones.

Stainless ones, whilst slightly heavier, don't score so the bearings seals stay protected. Bearings are easy to change and aren't too pricey. I think I paid £6 a pair. Rear wheel takes 3 bearings front 2.

willywombat · Clubman B

thanks snasher ..now enlightened!

RichT4 · Champion

The wheel bearing spacer is a slight improvement but not really needed IMHO, I haven't done mine... The wheel bearings themselves are sealed, and the standard seal arrangement (even if 100% perfect) will not keep the water out of your going to be submerging the hub during river crossings.

The original stainless spacer replacement was for the counter shaft - (it sits behind the front sprocket).
Standard one is a rubbish steel one that can rust between uses and this rust can wear the seal it runs in. If this happens crud can get in and then start to attack another seal that sits at the bottom of the spacer.
If this seal fails the engine can pump all of it's oil out until you notice (f the leak is slow), or until it stops running, at which point it's time for new engine - luckily they are relatively cheap on fleabay.

This doesn't happen often by the way so is not a major worry but it has happened to a small number of DRZ engines that run in extreme conditions.

This particular failure also effects a number of other manufacturers engines so is not just a DRZ issue... it's is however something that is easy to avoid - fit a stainless steel spacer and you don't need to worry about it. wink