DRZ400E - 7 Weeks Of Ownership.

THE DOCTOR · Jun 19, 2009

A happy owners photo review of the past 7 weeks.

ebay photo. Owner located 5 minutes from where I live.
Checked the bike out, made an offer, a deal was done & the guy followed me home with the bike.

Took it for a few brief rides & made a list of things 'to do'.

Bodywork replaced & minor cosmetic jobs done.

Gearing changed by 2 teeth to make it a bit more bearable on the road travelling between the trails, rimlocks & heavy duty tubes fitted.

General tarting up.

GPS hardwired in to provide a reliable trip meter & speedo, helps out on those trails too.

SM wheels purchased & fitted to add to the bike's versatility.

..& today I replaced to old headlight & fitted a road legal CE unit.

Love this bike, the fettling isn't over yet! :thumb2

Although I now have a set of SM wheels, off road is still my main interest.

D6 · Jun 21, 2009

its lookin good doc

metropolis2k · Jul 2, 2009

Wow that looks exactly what I'm planning to do! Do you have another bike or is this your main one? I'd be looking to get it as an inner city commuter and weekend off-roader, alongside a more comfortable sports tourer.

Big Den · Jul 2, 2009

very nice, gives me something to aim for with mine

THE DOCTOR · Jul 2, 2009

metropolis2k said:
Wow that looks exactly what I'm planning to do! Do you have another bike or is this your main one? I'd be looking to get it as an inner city commuter and weekend off-roader, alongside a more comfortable sports tourer.

I've got this as my main touring tool. :thumb2

THE DOCTOR · Jul 2, 2009

metropolis2k said:
I'd be looking to get it as an inner city commuter.......

I got 71mpg out of mine today over 129 miles, if you're commuting on it buy a bloody good lock & chain 'cos left unattended it'll get stolen for sure.

metropolis2k · Jul 3, 2009

Cheers for the tip. Fortunately where I work has very secure bike parking (20 foot electric gate is the only way in) - I just hope where I end up moving to in London has the same.

Can you take me through your switch between SM and off-road wheels? Sizes, any changes you had to make, do you share brake rotors between them, etc. Cheers!

THE DOCTOR · Jul 3, 2009

metropolis2k said:
Can you take me through your switch between SM and off-road wheels? Sizes, any changes you had to make, do you share brake rotors between them, etc. Cheers!

If your SM wheels have hubs to match a DRZ - Talon hubs will be stamped TW745A front (with speedo drive), TW748A (without speedo drive) & TW644A rear, it's just a case of swapping the wheels over. New wheels should come with all spacers. My Talon hubs have a 20mm insert tube so the wheel bearings are not the same as the std DRZs. Talon can supply bearings to match their hubs no problem. I use the std 400E front disc but there is a conversion available to use a larger SM disc with a caliper bracket.
That's about it for the front, I also lower the yolks about 10mm.
On the rear, again it just slots in but because you want a smaller sprocket (my 50, 48 & 47 tooth trail sproks are too tall for road use) you'll need to use a shorter chain.

With 15/42 gearing & SM wheels it will hit 92 & cruise nicely around 55 to 60.
With 15/48 gearing & trail wheels I'm screwing it to hit 80 but it performs better on the rough.

I've just ordered a 40 toother for the SM so I'll let you know how that performs when I eventually fit it.

http://www.talon-eng.co.uk/

metropolis2k · Jul 3, 2009

Wow, thanks for the great advice. That's just what I've been looking for. I probably won't be shopping for the bike until I actually move to London but I just can't help myself and will probably spend tomorrow afternoon trying to find one locally to check out!

Hopefully I'll be back posting in here in a few months time with a new bike!

tinatrim · Jul 3, 2009

Wow, its looking good, take it thats one happy Doc. :thumb2

PottsyGS · Sep 29, 2009

I like your headlight / fairing, where did you get it?

Also how do you get on with MOT / Police without indicators?

I am doing my drz400e up for on and off road use, so interested to find out.

THE DOCTOR · Sep 29, 2009

PottsyGS said:
I like your headlight / fairing, where did you get it?

Also how do you get on with MOT / Police without indicators?

I am doing my drz400e up for on and off road use, so interested to find out.

I got the headlight from Wemoto, it's not a perfect colour match but it is road legal.
Indicators are not required if the vehicle wasn't built with any.

It's a pain sometimes when riding on the road though. I fitted a litted curved mirror to the handlebar brace so I can look behind me under my right arm.

For road use you'll need front & rear stop lights, horn & rear reflector at least.

slparry · Nov 25, 2009

THE DOCTOR said:
I got the headlight from Wemoto, it's not a perfect colour match but it is road legal.
Indicators are not required if the vehicle wasn't built with any. It's a pain sometimes when riding on the road though. I fitted a litted curved mirror to the handlebar brace so I can look behind me under my right arm.

For road use you'll need front & rear stop lights, horn & rear reflector at least.

Hey that's not far from my gaff, just up from Llangollen yes?

THE DOCTOR · Nov 25, 2009

slparry said:
Hey that's not far from my gaff, just up from Llangollen yes?

Btw, my SM wheels are still for sale but I changed my username to....

the beer hunter · Nov 25, 2009

....The Beer Hunter.

the beer hunter · Nov 28, 2009

Dr. Z - 30 weeks into ownership..

slparry, I was up there again today.
It started out quite nice when I left home, popped into Claire House when I saw this from the road..

Snow on the mountains, looking from Llantysilio

rockchunk · Nov 28, 2009

For road use you'll need front & rear stop lights, horn & rear reflector at least.

[/QUOTE]

not entirely true fella the only requirement for a daylight mot is a horn just remove all the lights including any reflectors and you should be issued with an advisory stating that there are no lights fitted simples

slparry · Nov 29, 2009

THE DOCTOR said:
Btw, my SM wheels are still for sale but I changed my username to....

I can't see the for sale section, I'm guessing they'll be too dear for me but let me know as I was looking for a set of wheels (although I'd been looking for trail wheels to put my dual sport tyres on rather than the off road ones it's wearing at present)

slparry · Nov 29, 2009

the beer hunter said:
slparry, I was up there again today.
It started out quite nice when I left home, popped into Claire House when I saw this from the road..

Snow on the mountains, looking from Llantysilio

If you're up again pop in for a coffee, I'm in Gwynfryn just up from Wrexham

the beer hunter · Nov 29, 2009

slparry said:
I can't see the for sale section, I'm guessing they'll be too dear for me but let me know as I was looking for a set of wheels (although I'd been looking for trail wheels to put my dual sport tyres on rather than the off road ones it's wearing at present)

If you have snail-cam rear axle adjusters & conventional forks these wheels will fit.
Can't comment if they'll fit other models of DRZ 'cos I don't know for sure.

THE DOCTOR said:
A set of gold talon hubs laced to Morad rims to fit a DRZ400.

£380 collected from The Wirral.

I bought these 2nd hand in June this year & have put a few 'sunny day' miles on them.

Fitted with 120/70 & 150/60 ContiForce SM 17 inch tyres with plenty of life left in them.
Wheel bearings AOK & all spacers included.
Straight & true with decent spokes.
Rear disc & 2 rear sprockets, req's front disc (std DRZ E or S will do)
It came with a 42 tooth sprocket but I've also bought a gold Talon 40 toother which has not been fitted yet.
Black short SM fender included too if required.
Wheels slot straight in to std conventional forks & no changes required to brakes.

A few things to point out.
The front wheel has no speedo drive.
The hubs are made for a Husqvarna but have spacers made to fit a DRZ. If you ring Talon (to replace the sprocket or discs) & quote the numbers stamped on the hubs they'll confirm they're Husky hubs.
Some rubbing where the speedo drive would be (very minor, doesn't even show up on the photo).
Slight fettling to front hub lip (approx 0.5mm) to accommodate std DRZ disc.

I paid £400 for these in June & drove all afternoon to collect them from Welshpool.

DRZ400E - 7 Weeks Of Ownership.

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