should be able to ride anything, even
a four-stroke.
The entire plan, from blueprint to
rider acquisition, looked and sounded
like it was too good to be true. But by
the time we got finished riding the
DR-Z400E model, we were convinced
that Suzuki had a couple of winners
on their hands.
Mark Reese, Suzuki's Press Relations Manager invited us on a trail
ride at the Soboba Indian Reservation. We were to test the DR-Z400E
on a ride led by Malcolm Smith and
Bob Graziano, two of the gurus
behind the annual Soboba Trail Ride,
which is traditionally held in February. We would have loved to ride the
bike anywhere, but to ride with Mal·
colm and Bob in Soboba made the
entire experience that much sweeter.
As an added bonus, Mike Kiedrowski,
that four·time national motocross
champion we talked about earlier,
would also be on hand with the
almost fully developed race version of
the DR·Z that he will be using to contest the GNCC series. As if thi5 all
wasn't cool enough, the riding condi·
tions were made nearly perfect
thanks to the moisture in the ground
On or off the beaten path, the Suzuki
DR·Z400E is a benn-blast to ride.
By MATT FREEMAN
PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES
their new DR·Z400 was simple. Mix
the power and torque of a 400cc
four-stroke engine with the smaller
size, light weight and agile handling
of a 250cc motocrosser. And while
they were at it, why not make an
electric·start model as well and call it
a DR-Z400E? Throughout its development Suzuki engineers kept rethinking their plans. For example,
why not use some of the sportbike
technology that has made the GSX·R
lineup one of the most sought after
and competitive sport bikes on the
market? With such a performance·
based machine at their disposal, why
not acquire a former 500cc, 250cc
and 125cc national motocross champion to contest the DR-Z in the AMA
Grand National Cross Country series?
Heck, with a record like that, the guy
n 1998 word got out that Suzuki
was developing a water-cooled
high-performance four-stroke offroad machine. The DR350X had
served its purpose for many years,
but with the competition using more
advanced technology in building their
new four-stroke models, Suzuki knew
it was time to put the air-cooled sixspeed 350cc thumper on a shelf.
Granted, several adaptations of the
DR350X had seen the starting line
and finish line of many grueling offroad races (and even motocross
races, for that matter), but it took a
lot of time and money to turn the DR
into a highly competitive racer of any
kind.
With that in mind, Suzuki's aim for
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FEBRUARY 2,2000'
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