DR-Z400 Used or New?

WindyChuffer

WindyChuffer

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I've been pondering over a dirt bike for a while, and from the reading i've done, the DR-Z400E seems like a good choice, selecting the E model over the S or SM models. Road use will only be to, from & between green lanes.

Now the problem I have is price. As Timpo mentioned in a previous post, just about any dirt bike with an MOT is worth at least £1K, and I've seen quite a few DR-Z400E sale that are from 2001 - 2003 for £1,300 to £1,600. Which is pretty darned good residual for a an 'old bike' that wasn't "expensive" to start with !

So need to ask some advice.

Reasonable price?

What should I look for when examining a used one?

What are the likely things that could be cause of a £500+ bill to rectify if I buy a lemon?

I must admit it's tempting to play safe and buy new @ £3,920 list as I guess a lot of these machines have been thrashed, but struggling with that...phew!:blast

Many Thx. :thumb
 
The only thing i know of is engine rattles, if the bike has been self serviced (which a lot of the older ones will be) sometimes the "O" ring oil seal on the rear of the oil filter comes away with the filter and if not noticed and replaced it may cause low oil pressure and engine damage :eek:
They are pretty robust otherwise and i am in the same dilema, cannot believe how they hold their value.
 
Engine rattles are usually caused by a worn cam-chain guide (the rear guide) and occur at around 15-20k miles. £50-ish in parts and half a day in the garage will cure that problem.

Greg
 
Greg Masters said:
Engine rattles are usually caused by a worn cam-chain guide (the rear guide) and occur at around 15-20k miles. £50-ish in parts and half a day in the garage will cure that problem.

Greg
Click to expand...

Which sounds like no change from £350 all in incl. labour !
 
They are very solid bikes. I bought mine 2nd hand for the sort of money you mention and got a fantastic bike.

Often a 2nd hand one will have been 'sorted' for you eg case savers, decent bars, sump guard, rad guards etc etc so actually constitute very good value. As a bonus, when you come to sell you will get what you paid for it.

May I suggest sir keeps an eye on the For Sale section in a week or so's time............ :augie

Andres
 
WindyChuffer said:
and I've seen quite a few DR-Z400E sale that are from 2001 - 2003 for £1,300 to £1,600.

. :thumb
Click to expand...

where did u see these? there a lot cheaper than i can find, im in the market for summat around 1600 and cant find anything at the mo:(
 
Don't assume they have all been thrashed . Most engines have not because its difficult to thrash 'em off road. OK so they may have been dunked or dropped a lot obviously but there are still some nice un's, they are just a bit harder to find. Thanks to a tip off from Timpo I dropped on a one owner bike that was really well cared for and maintained with only very light laning, no corrosion, plastics are almost like new. Had to pay a few hundred above the top price mentioned though but so what. Its had the necessary mods done as Andres said, and I'm not really going to lose any dosh on it. Only been out on it 4 times so far so i'm not exactly gonna wear it out and doing the odd bit of maintenance like bearings etc is part of the fun of ownership.

They are very robust and if you bide your time there are some nice ones around BUT you have to pay a little extra for 'em. I'm no expert, far from it, but after hunting around and looking at lemons I would say its not worth getting a ratty one for the sake of saving £3-400 quid. Buy a new one though and it will quickly become worth £1500 (or more) less than you paid for it.:nenau

Just my 2p:thumb

Ian
 
I bought a 2007 with 156 miles on it, yes 156. I paid 2600 for it. Not as much as a scratch on it.( there is now!!) They have gone up a bit in the last few months, Mate of mine bought a 2002 for 1500, its a cracking bike too. Pay 2000 for one and you should get a good bike. dont worry about the age. I had an e before the s and to be honest id rather the s, the e has more low end power but unless ur a pro it wont make a huge difference
 
http://www.trailrides-wales.com/

Timpo said:
How did the weekend go?

Timpo.
Click to expand...

Awesome.

The Bike - DR-Z400E
Very impressed with the two days I had on the DR-Z400E.

I was pretty impressed with the DR-ZE. Seat height not too high. Bags of bottom end torque and smooth power delivery. Quite forgiving of accidental throttle squirts when get thrown off balance. Bags of torque on the road too, but top speed limited somewhat, but hey, its a dirt bike.

To put this into context, I haven't done much motorbike off roading (~5 days all in prior to this w/e), but have done years of mountain biking and the skills do transfer. I'm just over 5' 10" and not long in the leg. I guess I'd call myself an early intermediate motorbike trail rider.

On this basis, I found the bike fine. Responsive. Powerful enough. Smooth. Controllable. Not too heavy, and quite chuckable. I wouldn't say it was in any way too much for me.

The Rest of it
I went with http://www.trailrides-wales.com, a small family set up based here. Had two days of great riding, stunning scenery, good company and fantastic weather. I'll be going again for sure.

One good crash due to rider error (too much front brake on damp rock descent) and over the bars, head first into a grass bank, but all OK.
 
I was in DK motorcycles, stoke on trent on Saturday, they had a new drz e for sale at £3800 plus otr charges, dont know if this is of any help

ferret:thumb2
 
Just sold a DRZ 2001 'S' model for a grand to a tosser from this forum. Lowered with off-road kit, bash plates and guards. They are out there if you know where to look...:)
 
FERRET said:
DK motorcycles... they had a new DRZ400E for sale at £3800 plus otr charges
Click to expand...


Now seriously, this is a fecking bargain for anybody looking for a virgin ride on the trails. This 'E' version is no donkey. I have just done two days on the trails (and I have a G450X in the stable too) and the bike got me up what the others on the ride failed to do..... Dolanog Hill..... and no fluke, as when challenged, I went back down and rode it again, no-one else cleared it, me twice!;) Other bikes were KTM250EXC (2T), KTM450EXC, GasGas300, XR600, XR650, CRF230.
The power delivery is very trail friendly, and knocks the spots off the higher powered (and lighter[bullshit]) machines....

I would be interested in assisting anybody with the 'on-road' conversion should they need any advice.....

Timpo.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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