I'm looking to buy a motard

[mike1991]

i'm looking at buying a motard preferably a suzuki drz400sm they just seem to be on the higher priced side for a "toy" to say the least.
was just wondering do they come up in the $5000 ish price range? did not really want to pay 8+k

[oneblackflag]

i'm looking at buying a motard preferably a suzuki drz400sm they just seem to be on the higher priced side for a "toy" to say the least.
was just wondering do they come up in the $5000 ish price range? did not really want to pay 8+k

Pretty sure I've seem them in that range when I was looking for my bike. How long have you been looking?

[mike1991]

Pretty sure I've seem them in that range when I was looking for my bike. How long have you been looking?

not long week or so just looking for a motard for around town/to work bike but did not want to go over $5000 for one at the moment.

[oneblackflag]

not long week or so just looking for a motard for around town/to work bike but did not want to go over $5000 for one at the moment.

If you got the dual sport version it would be easy to find one, then you can do your round town stuff + do adventure and trail rides.... Easy to get a Motard wheel set for them too.

[Devil]

Yeh, DRZ400E has more power too. Plus you're not really missing out on much going with the adv version. I've been riding my KTM 690 Enduro R round with Pirelli MT90's on and they're great on the road.

[oneblackflag]

Look at this... http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/dual-purpose/auction-711823441.htm
Plenty of cash left over for mods and a wheel set.... If you really need them (you don't), but nice to have:yes:

[mike1991]

cheers for the help did not even think about going that way :) will be sending a few emails to them. are the supermoto wheels easy to find/buy once i want them?

[oneblackflag]

cheers for the help did not even think about going that way :) will be sending a few emails to them. are the supermoto wheels easy to find/buy once i want them?

Think I saw some on Torpedo7 for the DRZ, wait till they have a sale again... They were cheap a month ago, not so much now.

Im in Hamilton and bored so if you do get keen on that DRZ I could have a look at it for you.

[Ender EnZed]

Pirelli MT90's on and they're great on the road.

+1

ADV tyres are way better on road than most people expect, you can still scrape the pegs on your favourite roundabout.

[strandedinnz]

DR-Z400SM's are great ... lots of cheap parts if bad things happen, and service interval is relatively long and cheap to get done :-)

I got my 2010 model a year and half ago for $6500 and it was in perfect condition! Now of course it's a bit scuffed and has an extra 25,000km on it! But never missed a beat! (excepting the aftermarket LED indicators packed up). Nothing wrong with getting one that is a bit scuffed for less money and then buying a full Acerbis plastic set for $200 off of Ebay and some stickers :-)

Tyre wise I have Pilot Powers on mine, but that was only because I couldn't get a replacement rear Avon Distanzia ... loved the Distanzia's, nice for gravel, mud and general use, the Pilot Powers are good on road but suck on gravel :-( Only downside of the Distanzi is I think they wear a bit quicker when doing lots of mile munching (like I do).

[george formby]

Pirelli MT90's .

Sticking a pair of them on my stink wheel in the near future. Great tire, excellent on wet tar & gravel, too. Oh, cheap as.

Oops, motard. DRZ, yup. But what about the Kawasaki motard? Don't recall the model but seems to be plenty about at a fair price.

[John Carroll]

New to the site but thought i would post something. Just picked up a 2006 SM610 and rode it from Christchurch up to Auckland and lets just say I wont be doing that again in a hurry, not the best for long journeys. Have it as a fun commuter and its a great bike. brakes bled, new oil and filter and a set of Diablo Rosso II's. Great fun on the twisties but coming from dirtbiking a little nervous on the cornering still lol...

[400sm]

i'm looking at buying a motard preferably a suzuki drz400sm they just seem to be on the higher priced side for a "toy" to say the least.
was just wondering do they come up in the $5000 ish price range? did not really want to pay 8+k


I have had my DR-Z400SMK5 for 9 years now.

I paid $11,000 for it !

It is worth every cent..

Competent And Comfortable in all of these...

1. Road
2. Commuter
3. Circuit
4. Motocross
5. Adventure
6. Trail

I plan never to sell it. It's that good.

[Phil.T.Tipp]

Competent And Comfortable

You lie! Lol, I love my DRZ it's mental, but comfortable, nein.

My arse goes to sleep after 10miles, and the human-parachute sitting position keeps me to under 90kmh for anything over 15mins. Not to mention the gentle speed-weave oscillations which set in at 100, banked over on the motorway. Best kept to the minor roads, in 3rd, at 80. Braaaaap!

[strandedinnz]

You lie! Lol, I love my DRZ it's mental, but comfortable, nein.

My arse goes to sleep after 10miles, and the human-parachute sitting position keeps me to under 90kmh for anything over 15mins. Not to mention the gentle speed-weave oscillations which set in at 100, banked over on the motorway. Best kept to the minor roads, in 3rd, at 80. Braaaaap!

"speed-weave" ? I don't get any of that even if I cane it to 140! (as fast as I can make mine go on the flat while carrying lardy me!) .. bearings on your bike OK ? Wrong substances being smoked ? ;-)

It does pay to invest in a nice fat seat, there are a couple of places that can make one for not too huge amount of $$$ ... my seat is nice! 200km a day with not a single numb bum cheek!

[oneblackflag]

"speed-weave" ? I don't get any of that even if I cane it to 140! (as fast as I can make mine go on the flat while carrying lardy me!) .. bearings on your bike OK ? Wrong substances being smoked ? ;-)

It does pay to invest in a nice fat seat, there are a couple of places that can make one for not too huge amount of $$$ ... my seat is nice! 200km a day with not a single numb bum cheek!

Bike spandex helps.... The padded shit.

[Phil.T.Tipp]

Feck, mechanical sympathy inhibits me from approaching 140 on mine - perhaps a change of gearing and a big-bore kit might help :rolleyes: I'm no fatty either!

My head bearings are actually on the way out, this was brought to my attention when I got my new tyres fitted recently. Master plan is to book it in to get them done and fit braided hoses and new pads at the same time. I scored a Wemoto braided brake line kit for 80GBP on eBay, can't wait!

I came to the DR-Z from an R6 in the UK - I'm still kinda calibrated for licence-munching speed, razor-sharp steering and eye-popping braking, none of which are evident on the supermoto - but it's a different game here and the fun-factor is extremely high on a stupidmotard in kamikaze Dorkland traffic :eek:

[strandedinnz]

Thrash the DR-Z! It likes it rough! ;)

I dropped the tooth count on the rear sprocket of my bike, makes it a bit less buzzy at highway speeds, apart from that just got a louder pipe and a K&N filter (with the 3x3inch hole chopped in the airbox).
DR-Z's make one of the better lane splitting/filtering machines, nice and high up, light and very manoeuvrable and just enough go to get out of trouble .. plus you can bounce them off the tarmac/cars and not get too hideous a repair bill :)

[Phil.T.Tipp]

Agreed, I have the 3x3 mod and an FMF Powerbomb full stainless pipe (previous owner) - I think the jetting needs a tweak though. I also went for Michelin Pilot Powers over the Pirelli MTs I replaced. I'm 90/10 road to trail in any case.

Can't beat the motard for the commute; turning circle radius, vision in traffic, steering reponse at slow to medium speed - launching at the lights and general malarkey is de-rigeur :msn-wink: The brush guards I have are handy for wing-mirror high-fives too.

My only quibble, is the bloody seating. The old DR was designed for all-day-in-the-pegs off-roady riding - Suzuki put zero thought into repurposing the frame/seat as a supermoto - a fat seat is a must. In fact, my seat cover's a bit tired and scarred - maybe instead of a recovering I should go for a new foam profile... Where did you get yours done?

[strandedinnz]

My only quibble, is the bloody seating. The old DR was designed for all-day-in-the-pegs off-roady riding - Suzuki put zero thought into repurposing the frame/seat as a supermoto - a fat seat is a must. In fact, my seat cover's a bit tired and scarred - maybe instead of a recovering I should go for a new foam profile... Where did you get yours done?

The pictures below are my seat, apparently McDonald Motor Trimmers in Tauranga made mine. A friend of mine got his bike seat redone by DR Trim in Morrinsville (really nice work they do!)

297039297040

[Phil.T.Tipp]

Nice, I'm liking the phat seat. Might have to give those DR Trim chaps a visit. Thanks for the info! :niceone:

[400sm]

You lie! Lol, I love my DRZ it's mental, but comfortable, nein.

My arse goes to sleep after 10miles, and the human-parachute sitting position keeps me to under 90kmh for anything over 15mins. Not to mention the gentle speed-weave oscillations which set in at 100, banked over on the motorway. Best kept to the minor roads, in 3rd, at 80. Braaaaap!

Seat has never been a problem for moi. My alltime one day record is 1600km. Had to buy a cushion from the warehouse on the way home tho !

Speed weave has. Have found that ditterent wheel and tyre combinations affect this problem.

Have seen 171 kmh indicated on the speedo once. The tail wind was 100 kmh tho, as l was chasing the cloud shadows !

Gearing was 16/41 at the time.
I now use 16/39

[Phil.T.Tipp]

[QUOTE=Gearing was 16/41 at the time.
I now use 16/39[/QUOTE]

Wow, that's a pretty big change, -3T at the back and -1T at the front (given that stock is 15/41) - what does that do to your low gears and top speed?

I take it you needed a new chain too?

[400sm]

Wow, that's a pretty big change, -3T at the back and -1T at the front (given that stock is 15/41) - what does that do to your low gears and top speed?

I take it you needed a new chain too?
The actual net tooth loss to chain length, is only 1 tooth from standard.
ie (15+41 is 56 teeth. 16+39 is 55 teeth.) You only have to change the chain if there is more than a sum difference of 4 teeth. So the chain stays the same :-) This is the beauty of being able to mix and match 15,16, 39 and 41 tooth sprockets to get your optimum gearing without a chain alteration !
Neat eh:-)

I gear the 400 for 5th gear for tarmac and shingle. I don't gear for Top speed. How it cruises at 100/130 is my goal. Low gears, not a problem.

When l gear for offroad, l use 13/43 which is the same chain length as 15/41 ! ( l have 18" and 21" wheels for this)

[400sm]

The pictures below are my seat, apparently McDonald Motor Trimmers in Tauranga made mine. A friend of mine got his bike seat redone by DR Trim in Morrinsville (really nice work they do!)

297039297040

Gosh those SMs look nice eh ! ;-))

[Phil.T.Tipp]

Neat eh:-)

Genius sir :sherlock:

[strandedinnz]

Gosh those SMs look nice eh ! ;-))

SM singular .. it's the same one in different photos :)

But yes .. I love mine, great fun toy.. except when it's pee'ing down and I have a 100km to get to work :(

[400sm]

SM singular .. it's the same one in different photos :)

But yes .. I love mine, great fun toy.. except when it's pee'ing down and I have a 100km to get to work :(



Sorry, I was meaning our SMs in general , as well as your fine machine..:drool:

.....of course I am totally biased ! :rolleyes:..


Woh, do you do 100km every day ???
(I did 200km per week for a number of years)

[strandedinnz]

Sorry, I was meaning our SMs in general , as well as your fine machine..:drool:

.....of course I am totally biased ! :rolleyes:..


Woh, do you do 100km every day ???
(I did 200km per week for a number of years)

I used to ride a GSXR600 ... I think I much prefer the Motard style, far more usable .. though I do miss being able to blast past nigh on anything ;)

Yup .. I live in Mangawhai and work in the city, I will confess I have caved in and bought a Smart car for the days when it's raining as my "waterproofs" aren't but he time I've got to the city :( It's hell not being able to lane split and sitting in the queue from Albany, I've no idea how the mere mortals stick it out day after day! I have been tempted to see if my car will fit and lane split though ... looks like I almost could ;)

[400sm]

I used to ride a GSXR600 ... I think I much prefer the Motard style, far more usable .. though I do miss being able to blast past nigh on anything ;)

Yup .. I live in Mangawhai and work in the city, I will confess I have caved in and bought a Smart car for the days when it's raining as my "waterproofs" aren't but he time I've got to the city :( It's hell not being able to lane split and sitting in the queue from Albany, I've no idea how the mere mortals stick it out day after day! I have been tempted to see if my car will fit and lane split though ... looks like I almost could ;)

Omg . . . 1000 k's per week??!!
Good onya . . . must love your job AND riding !