www.laspeedgarage.com

In the last few years, we have grown aware of all the fun to be had at lower speeds, on much affordable machines with greatly reduced maintenance, a greater resistance to crash damage and a whole new level of increased giggle factor everytime we thumb the starter on these amazing little bikes. You don't need to hit a 186 mph limiter, nor have much more than 40 hp to have a great time.

Owners post up your pics, vids, mod lists, and future plans!

I rolled my '09 off the showroom floor just a few days after Tetge purchased his after promising that if he were to get one, that I would too. Oddly enough, though only seperated by two digits, my plates showed up with a lower number than his (?). But still, that is sorta cool.

We took two different routes, with him wanting a light, reliable , road going single. While, I wanted to retain the bikes multi-surface ability and though doing everything from multi day rides sport touring rides through the Sierra's, canyon slaying the biggest, baddest race replica crotch rockets available, to running single track off road trails in everything from desert sand and rocks, to mountain trails through pines and stream crossings. It's also been on every kart track in So Cal, and several big Road Race tracks, packed double, served some commuter duty and everything in between... all, until recently with nothing more than what is known as a "3x3 mod" (nothing more than a hole in the airbox lid, and proper jetting) and some minor brake upgrades, really nothing more than a larger bolt on rotor and more track temp friendly pads and a larger capacity fuel tank. I've recently added a pipe, and have some fancy suspension components waiting to be sent out to the shop for rider specific set up.

Amazing little machines. This thing has provided more smiles, and more injuries (my fault - exploring the limits of man and machine on a closed course) than any other bike I have ever owned.

So post up what you've got.

More pics.... this silly thing averages 50+ mpg, can cruise at 70 if it has to for hours on end, hits an honest 100 mph, has been raced in the local Supermoto series races, including a Novice Main event (in the rain!). One of the most fun things is going on rides with other skilled supermoto group rides, and oddly enough, running big rides with the vintage crew, who run around on Vincents, Nortons and BSAs.

More...

Same bike, different route. Here they are. I stuck with the up-pipe, while Tetge later went with the Black and the twin kick ass down pipes and stripped off all the graphics and labels. We have parked our bikes side by side, and people don't even recognize that they are basically the same bike, with just different colors and options.

Having owned a zillion bikes and cars over the years, I have to say that the Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM out in my garage is very nice. It was inexpensive to purchase new. Full coverage insurance is very cheap and the license fees are not too bad compared to most machines. It burns regular fuel and doesn't require a lot of maintenance, although it has an immense appetite for high end premoium rear tires, which last about 3000 miles at best. Fronts go about twice the rear, so it eats three tires plus mounting and balancing every 6000 miles. It also uses tubes and it is recommended to replace the tubes with each tire change. However, it is not a daily driver. I keep it on a Battery Tender so its small battery holds up as it is nearly impossible to bump start with its high compression single cylinder engine and it has no kick starter. It also has a very high seat height and the stock seat, which is about 6 inches wide, and which is hard as a rock, is beyond uncomfortable. But, seats can be replaced or reworked and another good feature of the DR-Z is that is has been around since the stone age. This year, Suzuki has made the DR-Z 400SM available again so it is still being sold.

In any case, it is very inexpensive, but, it is a great handling motorcycle with superb ground control and nice stable behavior. It is only a 398cc single and with a heavy rider all up weight makes for less than amazing power to weight ratios. The best magazine test that I ever saw said it went 14 flat at 85 in the 1/4 stock, but, I find this hard to believe as the bike runs rather poorly as delivered due to being strangled with ultra lean intake settings for smog purposes. A simple jet kit and the cutting of a 3X3 hole in the top of the air cleaner box under the seat resolves this nicely but if they went 14 flat at 85 stock, it must have been a 49 state bike with a 90 pound rider. Also, the true top speed of the bike is not great, perhaps an honest 100 mph might be possible under perfect conditions but, acceleration, as we know it, is virtually non existent beyond 80-85 mph. The bikes speedometer is very optimistic, by design, so it would say 106 at 100 actual.


Still, the DR-Z is a bundle of fun and it really proves that vast amounts of straight line performance are not necessarily required to have fun. There are ample videos of various DR-Z rides, if a person searches youtube under Tetge

Love the bikes!

That dual exhaust looks very trick.

xjrguy wrote:Love the bikes!

That dual exhaust looks very trick.

It is a Yosh piece and hence expensive. Also, all the experts say that it is only for bling and that it adds no performance as well as hanging down under the bike and being unprotected in the event of a crash or tip over. But, since I only ride the street, I like it. It does make changing the oil really difficult as it is routed under the engine and engineered to tuck in as tightly as possible. The aftermarket Clark tank is also nice as it holds ~4 gallons. Clark says that it holds 3.9 gallons but Brakelate and others have experimented and found that a bit more than 3.9 can be squeezed in. At 40 mpg it gives the bike some real range. The final mod, other than bar end mirrors, was a Corbin seat, which is another expensive piece, but entirely worth every penny since the stock seat is torture.

The DR-Z has sort of taken me back to my motorcycle based roots when it comes to performance motoring. It is light weight which makes it easier on an old crippled person to handle the bike and relatively cheap to own and run. Anyone who has ever pushed a Busa up a driveway with a bit of incline and who has maneuvered almost any sports bike or heavy touring bike, etc., around, knows what handfuls they can be. If they get away from you, it can take a tow truck to pick them up. And, it is no secret that cornering is enhanced by light weight. So, the DR-Z really saved me when I had to part with my '03 Cobra due to a shot left hip that hurt too badly to use the clutch and ended up with a boring grocery getter auto trans replacement cage. I can still go out and for a nice brisk ride and bang gears and, in a Walter Mitty sort of way, I can pretend that I am piloting some muscle machine at serious speeds. And, pretend or not, it really is fun since one can not be accused of overkill if they are on a DR-Z 400. In fact, I have epic races with city buses and trash collection trucks and, I am still burning about that bicyclist who out accelerated me from lights all across town. But, raw speed is not everything.

Sort of feeling out the place, it is nice to be able to post pics very easily. I just need to figure out how to post mulitple pics in a single post. I would also like to see what it is like to post links to vids, and if they "self embed" as some sites do, or how you go about doing that, rather than just showing a link.

Let me try this...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CZTGqk0Gno[/youtube]

Hmmmm. Still not quite what I was looking for. Perhaps it is "operator error" on my part, and I just need to figure out how to use the functions of the forum properly.

Finally I found you guys! I thought you all went south for the winter. My DRZ IS READY WILLING AND ABLE ! Did GMR today & may do an Ojai ride tomorrow to see if I can find any Easter Eggs there!