Suzuki DR-Z400E Questions & Answers

Best to post this on thumpertalk in the DRZ section.

Suzuki make the DRZ400E Dual sport and DRZ400SM supermoto versions for the Australian market.

The DRZ400E came out in 2000 and is largely unchanged in 2022.

Thumper talk has a lot of information in this model.

Hi Paul, it depends.

I use the choke when starting it if I've left it for more than a few hours, but my idle drops back down after a few seconds (maybe 5-10) back to normal.

If I leave it overnight or a few days, it takes a minute or so but I leave it for another 30 seconds or so to warm up so the throttle is reliable.

Yes Paul it's normal because of electronic ignition mapping and /fuel injection. It's the way they're set up. Turning off an engine kills it. Hotter oils probably won't make a difference and neither will short rides. .

Phillip is correct. It should fall to idle almost immediately. Air cooled singles don't operate that much hotter than other configurations but they use less oil. So after you turn them off a breeze can cool them. If the bike has an oil cooler then it runs cooler quicker.

If you got a carby engine
1) run choke on full for 30 seconds then lower to half for 30 then turn off. If it idles run for 30 seconds see if motor revs freely.
2) run full choke then lower to quarter - so it will idle then ride off. Turn choke off after a kilometre.
3) try starting it without the choke. Give it a couple of throttle twists and hit/kick the starter. Good for XRs .

how much horsepower the engine

No, nothing in the owners manual, but in the supplementary owners manual the curb mass is 138kg ~ 304lbs.

On the Drz400, there is no mention of the weight on the engine only the mass weight of the whole bike.

Yes you are. Irrect

Yes, they have weak cases. Search for 'drz400 case protectors' or 'drz400 case guard' on eBay. You should be able to get them for about $40 delivered. Glue them on with a liberal dose of some high temp RTV silicone, let it sit overnight and you should be ok next time you drop it. Also, check the back of the gear shifter and rear brake lever for anything pointy and file it down flat as these can pierce the cases during a drop too.

Right case cracks on the inside behind the kick start idler gear shaft.

Quality aftermarket pipe, DJ jetting kit, iridium plug, remove snorkel off top of air intake box.

Thankyou for letting me know, David C

The Z400e comes with the keihin carby, you can get it re-jetted, add on a pipe and play with a sprocket kit.

Yes, I am 6' 3" and it will be ok providing you get a DSG tall seat and raise the bars up by 40mm... and get proper weighed springs as the std one's are only good for riders up to 70kg with all riding gear on! The DRZ400e's are one of the best bikes for steep single track in my view.

Im 6'2"..98kg's..bought a drz400e 2010 on gumtree for $2900..came with all the mods..had the rear suspension adjusted by a mate with a hammer n flat head screw driver. It doesnt bottom out now. He checked the jetting.. Australian DRZ400e's come with the 165 jet !!! Ive had KTM's before. Too much maintenance (horrible valves) . Drz's come with grease nipples(made to last not like the throw away KTM's) DRZ's = torque monsters !!!! KTM = ATM. constantly pulling out cash to keep em running

Hi Chesty
I have a Pro-Circuit system on mine, including the header. I have heard good reports of Staintune. Depending on where you are, Vince Strang in Inverell, NSW, is a DR guru, and carries a lot of stock, check out his website.

personally I'd go with staintune can't beat them for price and quality, aussie made and all that. Yoshi make one their dearer danmoto make one its chinese and made for the dry s and sm so I'm not convinced that it will fit straight on.
for the moment i drilled the crap out of the spark arrester baffle, still loud but not as bad as taking the arrester out all together either way anything more than a 15 min ride you will want ear plugs

You can get gpr exausts off ebay there great and get a bomb header aswell holy crap it will be good

Mate Barrett have slip on muffler for $450 no real gain in swapping out the header pipe, either that or a staintune for about $650 Yoshimura are great but cost more

Leaking compression? hmmm that's a tough one.

I found some body had relocated the coolant overflow tube end to under the coil when it pressurised it ran down plug lead n out the drain hole

The 650 is a better choice for that type of riding but the 400 can do it provided you change the gearing to whats used on the s or sm model. Clarke make a 16 litre tank i think which is a good option as its not to bulky. The 400 has more grunt than the 650 but the 650 revs less which makes it a bit nicer at high speeds.

one question pls ... would you mind telling me about the gear ratio ( front and rear sprockets teeth )

that I should change to ...plzzz??

Rgs,

Sunil,

Purely offroad ; F-14....R-47. Will cruise happily at 75-85 km/h. Great for offroad! Offroad/town riding ; F-15.... R-47. " " 85-95 km/h. Good offroad compromise. Open dirt roads/country roads ; F-15....R-44. Sit On 110km/h all day.Stay out of the tight stuff offroad.
Purely road ; F-15....R-41. Wanna ride across Australia?

I would look at at least 15/43 gearing and a long range tank. Me, I wouldn't go over 17 litres as the extra weight would make it a pig off road. A gel seat or at least a lambs wool cover wouldn't go astray either.

Don't expect to do those distances on a good knobby tyre, you will need to find a more road biased dual sport tyre to cope with that sort of work.

For long road trips you could look at changing the gearing so it will have better top end.. a safari long range fuel take go up to about 30 litres if your need..For bitumen maybe look at less aggressive tires, which will improve better wear and better traction. Honestly though, you could really get away with bare minimum, great bike that hardly needs servicing! have fun mate!

Not built for distance work unless you're hardcore. Best gearing would be F-15,R-41 for 500k+ travelling. Just don't get into any tight situations offroad, OK! Avon Gripster tyres, 32psi front, 36psi rear.( Drop 10psi per tyre for extensive dirt road use.) The original tank should be good for at least 200Km, (You should get around 22Km/L on the open road.) Bullet proof bike? Certainly! Gonna need a bullet proof behind to do 500K's though, on that seat, balieve me, Ive tried!