Suzuki DRZ400E
The 400 class of dirt bike somehow magically appeared around ten years ago as the perfect compromise between the then monster 600s (or so they seemed at the time) and the underpowered 250s (ditto)Funny thing is some of the older 600s now look quite small compared to some of the current high-stepping 650 monsters, while there's a bunch of super-capable 250s out there which leave even good dirt riders gasping.
Still the 400s have a lot to recommend them, particularly for those weekend warriors who don't have the super-sharp skills to eke the most out of a smaller bike, but would cheerfully avoid being jumped on by the bigger toys. A nice compromise.
And now I think of it, there's nothing wrong with lecky start. In fact that's been a pet hate of mine for near two decades - stuffing around with kick levers halfway up bastard slippery hills when I knew damn well there were perfectly good batteries and lecky legs out there somewhere.
Suzuki's leck-leg DRZ400 is hardly a revolutionary idea, but it's about the nicest version we've come across so far. Actually, we really like the powerplant, which (though not big in the bottom end) has a fat midrange and a super-willing top end.
Gearshifting isn't Suzuki's best effort - it tends to be clunky on the downchange.
Suspension takes a middle ground compromise - firm for nuff-nuffs (like me) but able to hack a decent off-road pace, while steering is at the slower end of the spectrum.
Instrumentation is simple but comprehensive and the general finish is good. There's a version with a kick-start back-up that we'd like to see here, but otherwise reckon this is a good toy.
Story: Guy Allen
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