2000 Suzuki DR-Z400 reviews

PURCHASED THE 2002 DRZ400E IN APRIL 2003--NEW! I IMMEDIATELY WENT FOR THE DUAL SPORT CONVERSION AND HAVE BEEN CHUCKLING SINCE! I PARTICULARLY ENJOY THE LOOKS I GET FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT! THE BAJA DESIGNS DUAL SPORT KIT HAS GIVEN ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO RIDE HASSLE FREE AND LEGALLY ANYWHERE I CHOOSE. THE BIKE ITSELF IS AWESOME IF NOT A BIT HEFTY! NIMBLE BEYOND ITS WEIGHT ON THE TRAIL,SUZUKI HAS MANAGED TO DISGUISE THIS BIKE WITH A COMPACT CHASIS. THE MOTOR IS ANEMIC DOWN LOW BUT TORQUEY ENOUGH TO CHUG ALONG OVER THE CHOPPY FLORIDA ROOTS LIKE SILK! YOU CAN ALMOST RIDE THIS BIKE IN A SINGLE GEAR (3RD) WITH MINIMAL CLUTCH WORK! I GET A KICK(LITERALLY) BY TAKING IT OUT ON THE MX TRACK, JUST TO SHOW OFF ITS VERSATILITY....AND YES,I LEAVE THE LICENSE PLATE ON!........THEN ITS OFF TO THE WOODS AGAIN.... NO,ITS NOT THE PERFECT DUAL SPORT CONVERSION FOR THE AGGRESSIVE MX/WOODS RIDER....BUT WITH SOME SUSPENSION WORK THIS BIKE IS WORTHY OF SOME SERIOUS HAMMER TIME! Show less

I have been riding my DRZ-400E for about a year now and I am just starting to get it set up the way I want it. I put on the tallest Renthal Bars I could buy, and a White Bros. pipe. After rejetting and opening up the air box, the bike rips. Most of the power increase was in the low and midrange which is where I like it. Wheelies in 2nd and 3rd gear are not a problem. I talked to the Suzuki Factory Offroad Team in Mill Hall last weekend and they suggested the following for the suspension. 1. Set your rear sag at 4 inches. 2. Set you dampening and compression in the middle of the adjustments. 3. Pick a trial typical of what you like to ride and ride it over and over making adjustments on the fork; then when done on the shock. They said to do this before sending the suspension off and spending $400 bucks. They will be writing up an article on suspension in the next issue of Suzuki's "Route Sheet" their off-road publication. I usually ride a few Dual Sports, Enduros and Hare Scrambles every year and really enjoy the bike, it is a lot better than the old DR-350. Show less

I love my new DR. It has all the power I need for street and trail it is light and elec start is the future of dual sport bikes. It is not the YZ or CR 2stokes but if you want big air then this is not the bike for you can any one tell me where to get aftermarket parts for this bad boy. Show less

It's a little slow and heavy. Good on the road with stock gears & tires. It is a good bike. Email me if you come across any thing new on this bike dr400s. thx ps. thinking of a new spark arrester? Show less

I bought a brand new drz400s, after my dr650se was stolen. A much better bike, but if you're looking for anything more than casual trail use, you're not going to be happy. Has damping rod forks, and way to soft rear suspension. On the road it's pretty good, rides nice, smooth, but the bars will wobble once you go over 65 or so, and it sure could use a 6th gear. I've put DOT knobbies, and it's pretty good for trails, but it's to heavy and quite a lot to pick up when you're standing in deep mud. Going to trade it in on a yz426f, get a baha designs street legal kit. Show less

I spent over five thousand of my hard earned dollars on my DR-Z400. And let me tell you after a month of trail riding, I'm very dissapointed. I've only had a few really old dirt bikes and this was going to be my first real bike. All the reviews and mags were saying how great this bike is. So I got mine and popped some new tires on. After cruising the trails I've discovered that this bike is really lacking in the power department. I mean it's a nice bike but it could really use some more power. I can't find any after-market stuff so if you have any info on boosting the power you can e-mail me. Thanks in advance.. Show less

This is the best dual sport I have ever ridden!!! I just purchased my DRz400s yesterday after borrowing my friends for two days. I found this bike to awesome in the tight trails (the only problem being the factory tires, but I will change mine as soon as I get it. I had it up to 80 on the highway and it was smooth as glass (for an Enduro). I have grown up on dirtbikes and I had never thought that I could purchase an Enduro that could perform in the woods and still be fun to ride on the road. This is finally the answer. Hats off to Suzuki and I guarantee you will see a lot of these on the road from here on. I think the other manufacturers will follow suit after they see how many of these bad boys Suzuki will sell. Show less

Purchased new DRZ-400E in March and installed Baja kit 8 weeks later (it takes that long for Baja designs to fill an order these days). Have put over 300 off-road miles on this bike. The tires on this bike (when new) are super. This is a fun bike to ride off road. And is very easy to ride fast. The bike is heavy for an off-road ride, but handles very light. Way lighter than the XR650L I also ride. Dry weights (263)and weights w/o fuel(275) make interesting reading but if your are like me you start a ride with a full tank of fuel, and add extras. The DRZ-400E with a Baja kit, mirrors, real hand guards, DOT tires(MT-21), and full tank of fuel will run 301 lbs.(welcome to the real world). The electric start always works and is priceless as stalls always occur on a nasty hill or other difficult place to kick start. The bottom end power on this bike is nothing spectacular but the engine revs out long, to a wheelie poppin top end. My trail rides usually never get past 2nd or 3rd gear when riding in the woods and so I will be changing the gearing on this bike to get more bottom end. Since I'm twice the kid I used to be, and have to go to work on Monday, I don't do big air. This is good cause the DRZ suspension is soft, but it works great on small trees, roots, rocks and all the other tail stuff out there. Just don't hit the whoops too fast or the backend will act like a pogo stick. The DRZ400E is no street bike, don't do a Baja kit to one and think your going to have a dualsport you can ride to work or on highway, it's not well suited to road work like the XR650L. The DRZ is a dirtbike, trailbike, & playbike and a very good one at that. It's a good dual sport conversion if your street riding is less than 5% but be honest with your self about how much asphalt riding, if any, you will do. If anyone out there has experience with both the DRZ400E and the 400S factory dual sport, please post a review. Show less

Being an old two stoke power rider' CR-500 verses the DRZ-400e. I live in Alberta, Canada where there are all kinds of available riding from the Rockies to the loose sands of the prairies. The DRZ-400e is a blast to ride, point it a hill and hang on, the torque is where you want it. I drop the stock sprockets for a 49 and 13 tooth. This combination slows the bike down and makes it more user friendly in the tight trails and gives you a choice of three gears for any hill, if you can ride it up it will take you. I find the front-end light on the DRZ-400 to compensate for this problem I lowered the forks 3/4' it seems to help on those long steep hills where the front wheel wants to stay in the air. The electric start is a bonus as well, kick starting gone forever! Stall this bike in a bad spot for kicking no problem just hit the starter and you're off again! The extra 10 lbs. is worth it, kick the CR-500 or a YZ-426F all day. The DRZ-400 has a few small glitches that Suzuki could fix! <br /> ﾷ The seat slopes to the back of the bike and some riders don't like the handlebars in their lap! <br /> ﾷ The rev limiter is rather low, but the low end and mid range kick butt - it has torque needs some extra HP<br /> ﾷ The weight could be lowered a bit more (claimed weight of 262 on the electric start model - dry) <br /> Most of these glitches are after market fixes, but why? An after market pipe makes the bike produce from 4 - 7 more HP and you loose 10 lbs. of weight. An after market seat should fix the slope problem. The only problem that I haven't been able to find a fix for is the rev limiter, it seems the 400 can't take the high revs so beware don't over rev it! The DRZ-400 is a nice enduro bike and should not be compared to the YZ-426F but with a few mods it can easily run with the big boys. Show less

I've got the DR-Z400E and it handles typical of Suzuki, like its on rails. I'm able to carve up single track like a steak knife thru butter. The 262lbs is bore well, and to be honest it feals a lot lighter. "Enthusiast from Algonac" must have the S model, because the tires on the DR-Z400E are the same as the RM250??? The S model has DOT tires, so of course they are not too aggressive, not to mention: lower compression, girlie cam, smaller jetting...etc. It's street legal. I'd suggest getting the DRZ and converting it to Dual-Sport via aftermarket kit if you want to ride it on the street. But not me, the DRZ is pure and pure a trail bike, and as such is an absolute blast to ride. That electric starter is the rage! Everyone, I mean everyone, loves it. For my weight, 195lbs, the bike's suspension is just about right as is, but with more than a dozen and a half rebound and compression settings on the front/rear, you'd have to be a supercross wantabee if you couldn't get it set up right. If you're under about 145lbs or so, you could probably ride supercross style with the factory setup, though it might be a bit much bike weight why's for you though. I'd buy the Electric start model for sure, it's only a $100 bucks more and is a lot easier to start, and less complicated too. Email me if ya wanta know more, as I've only got limited miles on mine so far. Its pretty quiet for a 4-stroke. The baffle plate comes out very easily with the turn of three allen bolts and then the noise goes way way up, and so does the power. LOL. Take it easy, and keep on roosting! Show less