SUZUKI DRZ400S V HONDA CRF250L/RALLY

Lee Frost

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Not sure this is the right place for this thread - if not, can a Mod move it please?
After a (shortish) break from biking, I've got the damned itch again and fancy buying another steed that I can use for UK trails as well as maybe longer offroad trips that would involve carrying gear (Iceland, maybe Morocco).
I've done those trips on a KTM 640Adv and 690 before and I'd owned several DRZs over the years, which I really (really, really) like.
Question is, should I go for another DRZ400S, or something like a Honda CRF250?
DRZ prices are getting higher and the bikes are getting older. For the same money (or less) you can pick up a low-mile CRF250 that's at least 10 years younger than the DRZ.
I'm 5ft 11 and 12 1/2 stone.
A few folk on here have dabbled with the CRF250 and I know gurus like Chris Scott and Austin Vince are fans of the little Honda.
Bikes like the Honda CB500x and BMW G310GS appeal, but I don't want to spend £3k+ on the bike then another £2k+ on mods to make it fit for purpose. Ideally I'd like to keep my budget to around £3k for the bike, maybe £3.5k at a push, chuck some soft panniers over it and head off into the sunset :thumb2
 
Hi had the drz sold it, had the crf250l must have hypero fork and rear spring sold it, cb500x kept wife still rides it, honda transalp is the one i picked up a low miles under 6k miles and bloomin love it, fitted some mitas eo7's bunged a 30mm spacer for a bit of front pre load and max pre load on the rear and the bike hasn't had a day off since only my view but there good ugly but good.
 
Chris Scott preffered the Himalayan to the crf250 and g310. but if you really like the drz get another one . try and have ago on a crf or something else you like the idea of ?
 
Hi had the drz sold it, had the crf250l must have hypero fork and rear spring sold it, cb500x kept wife still rides it, honda transalp is the one i picked up a low miles under 6k miles and bloomin love it, fitted some mitas eo7's bunged a 30mm spacer for a bit of front pre load and max pre load on the rear and the bike hasn't had a day off since only my view but there good ugly but good.

Have you ever ridden the Tranny offroad on slippery stuff? I had a 600 for a few years and although a lovely bike on tarmac it wasn’t one I fancied going off road with.
 
Yep all the time on the easy muddy gravel grassy sandy flinty norfolk lanes, did a day last week around pymoor now that was some sticky crap.
 

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My vote goes to the Himalayan .
Try one , there are amasing bikes for the money , not the fastes mind , but simple and do 85 miles to the gallon.
 
Thanks chaps. I’ve been reading Chris Scott’s reviews of The Himalayan and I have to say, I’m warming to it! Looks very cool, you get a lot of bike for the money, and it seems very capable on and off-road if you don’t want to fly through the air or break the land speed record!
 
Itchy boots also loves her CB500X with double the power at 47HP. She'll never need the additional height the RR suspension provides but Lee would! How about a set of AS Magadans and other farkels? Not for £3.5K though.
 
Pity you sold that great DRZ a while back Lee, not wanting to rub it in.
 
Pity you sold that great DRZ a while back Lee, not wanting to rub it in.

Serves me right :p
Actually, I sold it, bought it back, then sold it again :blast
My problem is that I'm not very good at hanging onto things of value when I'm not using them. I can always find something different to spend the money on that I reckon I'll use more. Then months later I regret it. You'd think I'd have learned by now! :blagblah
 
I would suggest getting a test ride on a Himalayan then look for a used bike with all the accessories that is still in warranty. They are not for everyone and they are step down in performance from a DRZ but there is something about them that you will only understand by ownership.
After buying mine my GS did zero miles and my other bike (115bhp) did 14 miles in 12 months, did 3k miles on the Himalayan during that time.
Buy a used bike for the right money and you won't lose much money if it's not for you.
 
She did, left in the past now

She has a Honda 500 now

She had to leave the Himalayan behind so she could fly home quickly before the coronavirus lockdown.

She then bought the Honda at home and I'm not sure she's used it too much as yet because of travel restrictions.

** edit ** She's taken the Honda to Iceland so I'm a little behind the times with that one.
 
Its still the Himalayan for me , we own two .
My son just came back from Switzerland and Italy , did the Stella on it and to get out of France did a sprint of 670 miles on it in one go .
We changed tyres and went off roading in the Dales , so trackable , so easy to ride and feels abit like the old G/S
And yes i had all the EXC, WR , DRZ, KDX , CRM , CRE :blagblah
The Himalayan is a proper mid size overlad bike !
 


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