Warming up to a DRZ - few questions.

Never had a problem, starting on the trail...................always spot on - had XR's since 1994 and never had a bad'un the same can't be said for KTM or other makes I ride with

I have had allsorts of exotic enduro bikes, with electric start - but never been without a XR, in the garage and all the other bikes have been sold in preference

Seen plenty of others, where the battery goes flat (especially on euro dirt bikes) and then they have to kick start it (if they have one) or tow it out as many enduro bikes have deleted the kickstarter

Yes, my dear Mother used to love her Morris Minor as well.
 
Not sure if I'm gonna say something very stupid, but...
I'm decently heavy, might not make sense to go towards small engines?

I am similar to you....6’2 and 17st

I can ride a 250 to 500 with no problem

Here’s a pic of 2 of my 250’s and they have no seat

I have no problem with 250’s

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I am similar to you....6’2 and 17st

Yes I'm a bit heavier than you (about a stone).
I'd love to try a trial bike at some point.

I can ride a 250 to 500 with no problem

Ok.

I'll rephrase it though.
Every time I want to go greenlaning or in the areas where I usually roam I'd have to ride it for 140/180 miles back and forth from central London, without taking into account the mileage I'd do on the lanes
I'd really wouldn't want to go lower than a 400cc. :D
 
My WR will sit comfortably at 60 mph all day long.
I say comfortably, the seat is quite hard but the engine is a terrific little thing. The tank is good for about 110 miles or so.
 
you will be better off with a 650 if you are doing that distance . an old 650 dakar would do the job , might not be the best on the trail or road but will save your good bike . bmw 650 x would be nice but a bit harder to find . as xr 400 its history and should stay that way .
 
I ran a DRz 400 for a few years when I was into rallying. The engine is bullet proof but suspension is horrible and it needed a lot of work to make it even ordinary.

The CCM with WP suspension was a very good compromise.

But neither had a patch on the KTM 450 I subsequently got, that improved my stage times by 10-15%. That was quite a needy bike though! I think Darkhorse on here had it off me in the end.

Anyway, I digress.


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I keep thinking about this and I know everybody goes 'this is the best bike' and invariably it's the bike they currently run.......BUT........I've had two of these, the earlier carb'd version and the later EFI and I'd have thought it would be ideal. AFAIK your issue is having a bike that's good to do some miles getting you in and out of London, not high maintenance yet light/small enough to have fun on the trails whilst learning a bit more about off roading.

It's a Husky TE630 (600cc). They are really light for what they are so don't think of it as KTM690 size and weight 'cos it isn't. The engine is bullet proof, normal service intervals, and they are more than half decent off road. They are also very easy to ride.

I used mine for everything from touring northern Spain to Hill Climb racing to technical trails in Wales to commuting to work etc etc etc

Owen Snell, on here, now owns mine and I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you what he thinks of it if you drop him a PM.

The only issue is they don't come up for sale very often so are tricky to source second hand. Husky no longer make them but the rights to the bike were bought and are now sold under the SWM brand.


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Andres
 
I'm thinking about buying a DRZ400E to do (and learn) some greenlaning and potentially have a cheaper/lighter bike than the GSA to trash around.
Looks like they are not really easy to find... so it might take a while.

Questions:

I'm very heavy (6'3", 17st) while I can loose some weight, I'd still be on the heavy side. Am I going to squish it?
How much am I looking at in replacing the springs?

Common faults, things to look at?

I was told not to get the S. Correct?

Not very important, but what's the average range with a full tank?

Thanks in advance.

For what it’s worth, I had a bog standard DRZ S and rode it beyond both my and the bikes capabilities having loads of fun , at the same time I also owned a Yamaha WR250 . There is no doubt the WR was far easier to ride off road and much more capable than the DRZ. However, if you are after a bike to dip your toe into the green lane/off road world,AND also use to ride to the area ,AND use to ‘trash around’ to quote you., You could do worse than go fora DRZ -either an E or S , upgrading springs and shock would be worthwhile.

Another bike much criticised, especially from biking reviews/ press launches was/is the Yamaha XT660R, not an obvious choice, but I have seen one riding pretty extreme off road, crashing one day probably 30 plus times ,standard bike but no bent bars etc.

Buy a bike, see if you like it then you can always make your own mind up what route you want to go down - EXC,FE, WR,GP, or possible a retro XL or DT&#55357;&#56833;
 
Thanks.
To be fair, I'm not under any illusion that the bike won't be any good for me (capabilities-wise). As long as it has 2 wheels and goes forward by rotating the throttle, I'm good. I just want to be sure about size and longer transfers.

I'm looking at 2 DRZ now on ebay one E (2.7) and one S (2.5) plus I'm scouring for other models. It's just my knowledge of small enduro bikes is very limited, so I don't know which ones to search for. :D
Found a WR400 (plated) but the ad seems a bit sketchy.

I was considering 600cc bikes too, but, as this would be a third motorbike, and with a pretty specialised use, maybe it is better to stick to 400cc and suffer a bit on the transfers :)

PS by 'trash around' I mean learning and dropping it without being bothered too much. I do drop my GSA every once in a while while greenlaning, but it still is my "main" bike and I'm always worried about doing some expensive or extensive damage that will keep it off the road for longer periods.
On a smaller, 'spare', bike... that worry would be off my head.
 
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I was out yesterday with a mate on his - 2010 model and he’s had it from new

DRZ-E model with flat side carb

It his ‘go to’ bike for the trails and whilst he owns full on proper enduro bikes for racing in events - he loves his Z

Ride and put away he says, until the next time you drag it out
 
Bought a DRZ400 at the end.
I'm in Italy at the moment and I'll only be able to play with it when back in London in sept :bounce1 :bounce1 :bounce1

It is an S. Previous owner did quite a lot of work on it. It is in very good shape.
 


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