Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128607
RIIIIRs:t;:J DR. On the open highway, the DR hums along at 60 mph as comfortably as can be expected for a "smallbore" single-cylinder thumper, and it does so without too much dancing around underneath you (even on the D.O.T. knobby tires that we mounted to our test bike). The DR is pretty fast on top, too. One time, I had it approaching 90 mph on a smooth dirt road before scaring myself silly and rolling off \he throttle. At these speeds, the DR-Z tends to wallow around a bit, but there was plenty left under the hood. Speaking of the number 90, that's roughly how many miles you can get out of the DR's 2.6 (including reserve)-gallon fuel tank, but 80 miles is a more realistic and safer figure to use when planning cross-country rides. 2000 Suzuki DR-Z400S So, is there anything we don't like about the DRZ400S? Nothing major, really, but our bike does have a slight lean spot that causes some on/off throttle hesitation. Oh yeah, handguards would've been nice, but who's to complain with all of the other nice features and improvements? In conclusion, Suzuki certainly upped the ante when it comes to off-the-shelf dual sport motorcycles, just like they did with the introduction of the DR350S 10 years ago. Their new DR-Z400S has set a new standard against which all other production dual sport bikes will be judged for years to come. eN IAbove) Rocky trails are no match for the better-suspended DR. (Left) The DR-Z400S maintains a slim profile. SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE TYPE: .. Liquid-cooled, 4stroke, DOHC, single BORE X STROKE: ... gO.Ommx62.6mm DISPLACEMENT: . . . . . 398cc COMPRESSION RATIO: 11.3:1 CARBURETOR: Mikuni BSR36 AIR CLEANER: Foam element LUBRICATION SYSTEM: ... Dry sump STARTING SYSTEM: Electric or manual TRANSMISSION CLUTCH: . . . ... Wet multi-plate type TRANSMISSION: 5-speed, constant mesh PRIMARY RATIO: 2.960 (74/25) 1st:. . . . . . . . . . .. . 2.285 (32/14) 2nd: . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 1.7 33 (26/1 5) 3rd: 1.375 (22/16) 4th:. . . .. 1.090 (24/22) 5th: . . 0.863 (19/22) FINAL RATIO: 2.933 (44/15) DRIVE CHAIN: #520, 112 links ELECTRICAL IGNITION TYPE:. . DC-CDI IGNITION TIMING: ... 7-degree BTDC @ 1500 rpm SPARK PLUG: . .. . NGK CR8E GENERATOR: Three-phase A.C. BATTERY: . 12V 6.6 Ah maintenance-free CHASSIS SUSPENSION FRONT: . Telescopic, conventional type, 11·way compression damping, adj. Preload REAR: Link-type, fully adjustable preload, 26·way compression damping RAKElTRAJL:. 27.1-degree/l 07mm (4.21 inJ BRAKES: . . . Discs TIRES FRONT:... ..80/100-21 REAR: 120/90-18 CAPACITIES FUEL TANK lINCL. RESERVEl:2.6 gal RESERVE: 0.6 gal. DIMENSIONS AND DRY MASS O/A LENGTH:. . 90.9 in. O/A WIDTH: 34.4 in. 0/ A HEIGHT. . 48.8 in. WHEELBASE: . . . . . 58.5 in. GROUND CLEARANCE: 11.8 in. SEAT HEIGHT: 36.8 in. CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT:. . 291 Ibs. GVWR:. . 740 Ibs. MSRP: . .......... . .. $5349 14 APRIL 5, 2000' a y a • e DR-Z4DDS CARBURETION: DISPLACEMENT: BORE/STROKE: ENGINE COVERS: COUNTERBALANCERS: COMPRESSION RATIO: COOLING SYSTEM: COOLING FAN: TRANSMISSION: PRIMARY: 1ST GEAR: 2ND GEAR: 3RD GEAR: 4TH GEAR: 5TH GEAR: 6TH GEAR: FINAL: CHAIN: METER: FRAME: FORKS: FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL: SHOCK: REAR REAL TRAVEL: RAKE/TRAIL: SEAT HEIGHT: WHEELBASE: FUEL CAPACITY: CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT: n e _ s DR-Z4DD/E DR35DES MIKUNI BSR36 W/THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR 398CC 90.0/62.6MM ALUJIUNUM YES 11.2: 1 LIQUID (THERMOSTAT) YES 5-SPEED 2.96 (74/25) 2.285 (32/14) 1.733 (26/15) 1.375 (22/16) 1.090 (24/22) 0.863 (30/23) KElHIN FCR39 JlUKUNI BST33SS 398CC 90.0/62.6MM MAGNESIUM NO 12.2:1 LIQUID (NO THERMOSTAT) NO 5·SPEED 2.96 (74/25) 2.285 (32/14) 1.733 (26/15) 1.375 (22/16) 1.090 (24/22) 0.863 (30/23) 2.933 (44/15) O'RING MULTIFUNCTION ELECTRONIC REMOVABLE SUB-FRAME 49mm SHOWA (NON-CARTRIDGE) 11.2 IN. SHOWA 11.8 IN. 27.1'/4.21 IN. 36.8 IN. 58.5 IN, 2.6 GAL. 291 LBS. 3.357 (47/14) O'RING MECHANICAL REMOVABLE SUB-FRAME 49mm SHOWA (CARTRIDGE) 11.52 IN. SHOWA 11.8 IN. 27.4'/4.56 37.2 IN. 58.1 IN. 2,6 GAL. 249/262LBS 348CC 79/71.2MM ALUMINUM YES 9.5:1 AIR NO 6-SPEED 2.818 (62/22) 2.500 (30/12) 1.733 (26/15) 1.333 (24/18) 1.111 (20/18) 0.952 (20/21) 0.826 (23/19) 2.733 (41/15) STANDARD MECHANICAL FIXED SUB·FRAME 43mm SHOWA (NON-CARTRIDGE) 11.0 IN. SHOWA 10.IN. 27.5'/4.6 IN. 35.0 IN. 56.7 IN. • 2.4 GAL. 286 LBS