Suzuki DR-Z400SM reviews

It is a very easy bike for beginners to start out on. I have one’d it for 4 years and it is a very reliable bike. All I have done to it was put plastics on it and replace the exhaust. All in all it is a very good reliable and fun bike Show less

I just passed the break-in at 600 miles. The bike has settled into its own very well. Myself, I changed the oil and filter at 50 miles, 250 miles, then at 600. I plan on going out to 1,500 miles, then using a sythetic blend oil from then on out. This DRZ 400S is a great commuter bike with benefits. Now that I have passed my break-in point, I will get it out on the trails a little bit. For the most part I can tell you it's a very responsive motorcycle. It handles very well in the corners and has enough power to get up to speed on a two-lane road. I don't ride highways on this bike. I might do that with a sprocket change for top end. The mileage has been about 63 mpg. on mine. I did lots of roll ons and took it easy for the most part. It will ride at 70 mph. with out vibrating you to death. Most of my riding has been at 60 mph. or less. On dirt roads, it's sure footed and moves out when needed. It's a great bike that is light, agile and road worthy. At 5'10 I have to "tip toe it at a stop". It takes a bit of getting used to it. I love this 2012 DRZ400S. I hope this review has helped you out. IT'S A GREAT DUAL SPORT. Show less

I have owned the bike since late April, 2012. I have taken it on the trails, dunes and the tracks. It has performed well in all conditions. Unless you're buying a dirt bike specifically made for one purpose, I recommend the DR-Z400S to everyone. It's quality and value surpass the price tag by far. It easily sets a new bar for the phase "you get what you pay for." I like to keep it on the dirt myself and found that it takes very minimal modifications to excel in this type of riding, but works great for other types of riding as well. For example, if you're using the bike as a daily commute to and from work or other places on the road, simply change the sprockets to your liking "if" you are not satisfied with the ratio on it from the factory. It's very simple and very cheap. The same goes for the dirt. I have replaced the dual sport tires with knobbies and changed the sprockets from standard 15/44 to 13/47. That takes away from the top speed which is ridiculously high and gives so much more torque at a twist of the throttle. There are many more ways to modify this bike to conform to your liking and because of the popularity of this bike there are videos on You Tube. There are explanations on forums and just so much reference on the Internet that you will find with ease the "how to" and result of any thing you'd like to modify. When I did some research on this bike prior to buying it, I found people who have successfully tailored their DR-Z400S to their style. Freestyle - as hard as it is to think how, it has been done. Of course, trail riding needs nothing for that except sprockets maybe, depending on how tight the trails are. Asphalt - a lot of people love to do that and it takes little to nothing to make it a specialty road pounder. It handles great, has low maintenance and by reading and conversing with other's, these DRZ's will last a long time and they have a incredibly high resale value. I give it two thumbs up. Show less

I have been riding since I was a kid and have owned too many bikes over the years and I have to say that Suzuki is a quality product. I recently purchased this bike and instantly fell in love with it. I was looking for a dual sport that would favor dirt riding more than street but be able to get to the trails without a problem. The DR-Z400E fits the bill. The previous owner outfitted this machine with everything that I could ever want which makes it an amazing desert bike but at a low cost. I will keep this one for a long time. Show less

This is the first bike I have ever full-out owned. Everything else has been family or friend or borrowed, etc. I've financed it, and let me tell you, I was nervous. I wanted a 125 dirt bike to learn on, yet I drooled over GiSXRs and the great sexy Hayabusa might. I worried that my friends with Harleys would "laugh" at my little 400. I worried about my ability to take it to the next level and become an official on-road rider. This bike has not let me down. It has been great! It has enough power to scare you on day one, but you soon get comfy with it and it is really a nice balance. It is more than enough for the dirt or the trails. Most of my experience has been fairly flat desert riding, but I'm yearning for some hill-country trails. It handles super at high speeds off-road. It eats up the bumps and jumps. On-road it handles beautifully until about 75 mph. After that it starts to wobble a little but it's not at all unstable, just the source of my -4 for quality. It's not a German or Italian bike. Every little piece was not machined by a magical elf. There is some play here and there and some mold marks, but hey, I also didn't pay German or Italian money! I knew what I was buying and have no complaints. It's merely an honest expression of fact. It is very light so it will take some definite wind damage when it blows. Riding 30 feet of the back of tractor trailer at 65 mph. is a blast on a dry sunny day! It's terror on a rainy night! Although the wind does blow you a bit, it is light enough to easily correct. It's not for old men, but not too difficult to tolerate either. Also, the seat is not cosmic comfort. That is definitely not for old men. Aftermarket seats are available. Your mileage may vary! For a local commute, it's no biggie. On the trail, you're standing a lot anyways. But I would not take a ride to Austin on this thing, without additional padding! I have not truly topped it out, but from the looks of it, it might make 100 mph., in stock form. But it is very happy at 60-85 mph. which is more than enough for commuting and letting loose a little after work! At about 88 mph. the power just kind of stops and it inches up to at least 96 mph. I felt like it had a few more mph., but I was running low on runway! It is not a bike you buy for speed. You buy it for versatility. It's a bit of a Swiss Army Knife of bikes. Having and riding a bike already gives you this terrific sense of freedom, but this literally double that sense! Now you can go off-road for fun or crash avoidance, and you can easily cut the median in a construction or traffic jam situation. Try that on a GSXR-1000 and see if you don't end up buying a mirror and a fairing?! This bike is tall! I don't know how close to record-tall, but it is freaking tall! I have managed to drop it five times in the first two weeks, but none the second two weeks. My drops we're all stationary or stopping-starting: once I hesitated at the top of a small steep incline, stalled it (my fault for not clutching) and was not able to catch footing to stabilize it for restart before it was heading for the ground. I did something real similar on the same obstacle a few minutes later. It chug chug chugs real deep, but when it finally does stall, it's a hair sooner than the engine sound would have you expect and POOF! it's out like a light. I always just feel like it's got a few more RPMs until stall, then BANG! 317 lbs. is a light motorcycle but a heavy dirtbike! Just let it go down! Hold the bars straight to protect the mirrors and clutch/brake but just let it go on down. It is so tall, you won't get the leverage to stop it, you'll just hurt your back. It's no biggie. Nothing harmed. The tank is skinny. Nothing hangs off that can be damaged. No real fairings. It has a nice ding to the bar-ends and a scratch on the the rear axle-end, but mostly just to my pride! Another drop was in my front yard. It is so tall that trying to turn it around on your toes is just stupid. Get off and walk it right quick. It will save you from hearing the neighbors laughter! Another drop was in my garage, I just noobed and forgot the kickstand. I barely made this mistake, I caught what I did almost immediately, like at 5 degress of tip, but at such a height, all I could do was sing 40 words of praise to myself as it fell excruciatingly slow to the floor! It's a long way down! I did order the Kouba Link DRZ-2 lowering dogbones for the suspension to drop it 1 1/4 inches ($70 direct). However, by the time it arrived in the mail, I agreed with all the service techs and experienced riders, I no longer wanted to lower it. I had gotten used to it and it was kind of cool. The kickstand is so massively stable that I mount the bike from the peg while it is still parked. The dirt-bike suspension settles several inches lower than it sits when unloaded, and everything suddenly feels fine. don't let a one minute sit in the showroom scare you away from this bike, you get used to its height quickly. But also, when you buy it, just go ahead and drop it on the ground right there. Just tell everyone around that that is what you intend to do and drop the thing, because you will drop it! Just get it over with! The only other negative I can think of is the gas tank. 2.6 gallons is freakin' small, but 65 mpg. is awesome. I'm getting more like 45-50 because I can't stop winding it out and riding it in less than optimal conditions, but it still beats the heck out of a big V-Twin or a 4cyl sport bike on fuel economy. Do not buy a 250 street bike. They are just too small for the freeway. They're great for learning or for a parade, but terrible for commuting. I bought this as a balanced alternative to a bike I couldn't afford and a bike I was afraid I would feel underwhelmed by. I have not been let down. I have disclosed a lot of negatives here, but that's human nature. Ultimately, I love this bike! It's really a great efficient commuter, and if you're feeling frisky, you can pull a U-wey and go back and explore that dirt lane into the brush you passed back there. You've got time on the way home, right? Options are awesome! If you are thinking about this being a best-of-both-worlds option, it is! I really love this bike and don't regret buying for a second! Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps! Show less

I was riding an XR80 for three years and out grew it in skill and size. So I found a used DRZ125L for $600 that was blown up. I rebuilt it for around $150 with a Wisco piston kit. The kit increased the compression to 11:1. After it was done the bike was so fun to ride I ran three tanks in a week. It was slow due to the extremely restrictive exhaust and intake. After a KX100 carb, Pro-Tec exhaust and air box mods, this bike had enough power to get into 5th gear up hill. The only other thing I didn't like was the stock fork springs because they were way to soft. I am an agressive rider so if you are just trail riding they are perfect. Show less

This is the first bike I have ever owned that was not a Yamaha. I was a Yamaha dealer in Connecticut for several years, many years ago. I still own a 2008 Yamaha XT 250. I traded a 2007 Yamaha V-Star 650 custom for the 2009 DR-Z400SM. It's 200-plus pounds lighter and all around, a great bike to ride. It's not as comfortable at 80 mph. as the V-Star, but all other factors considered, more fun to ride. There are lots of "goodies" to buy to make the bike your own. The "gel" seat from Suzuki is worth every penny. The water cooled engine a huge plus, inverted shocks much better ride, Excel wheels are a great upgrade. All in all, it's a great bike in every way. The dealership is also a super place to buy a bike. This was the third in three years. Thanks for the great customer service at both locations. Show less

This has been a great bike, it has never let me down. It is mostly ridden off-road and does a commendable job for a dual sport. It's a little heavy, but for trail riding and a little on-road riding, I couldn't ask for anything more. Show less

I love this bike. I traded in my KLX 110. It's a big difference in the two. The seat on this one takes about 30 minutes to get broken in but after that it is a really enjoyable bike. I love mini even though mine is a 2008. Show less

Now that I've got some decent miles on the bike I figured I would give an update on it. The bike begs for tight back roads(living in New England there are plenty!). The brakes are good and under hard braking the bike is still controllable. The supermoto tires are fairly good on dirt, they make it a little bit iffy and suck in the sand. Unless you plan on racing it if you're gonna spend any amount of time on the dirt you should get maybe the dual tires or a set of motocross tires, but it's still a ton of fun. I do wish it had a gas gauge or light like the GSXR's do. Show less