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Just ordered an '09 DRZ400SM, fitted with Pro Circuit header and muffler and a jet kit on delivery! Some dealerships in AU are throwing them away these days, I can only assume the '10 is coming? AU $9250 on the road exhaust and all. Should pick it up next weekend  - it's my 'moving to a house with a triple garage' gift.
the letter b fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Aug 8, 2009 |
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Aug 8, 2009 00:14
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Yeah, I went for that end mostly because of cost, I wanted to get a motard ever since I rode a buddy's for a day, but the KTM's are not far off twice the price here. I had a hard enough time convicing my other half that we needed to have 3 bikes and 2 cars in the garage, so thought it best to keep the costs down  Little does she know I'll still be spending us out of house and home with the aftermarket on these things.
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Aug 8, 2009 08:43
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So I got the bike a couple of days ago, and fitted the exhaust today. Pro Circuit T4 full system.. The thing sounds nuts with the baffle out! I've got a box full of nice things on the way from Langston Racing and a jet kit ready for me to cut a hole in the airbox next weekend. First impressions: 1. These bikes turn you in to a criminal 2. There is no shortage of people to encourage you to be a criminal when they see the bike Oh god, what have I done?  Here it is sleeping in it's new home after a big day of new tyre scrubbing. 
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Aug 15, 2009 12:26
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I just got home from my first miserable weather commute on the DRZ, I only commute between 21 and 30 kilometers. My choice is 2km of main roads + 18km of freeway + 1km of suburban streets or; 30km of main roads and suburban streets, probably 15km of each Today it was very very wet and very very windy, with some hail thrown in for good measure, so I chose to take the 30km route to keep my speed down, and also avoid some very windy parts of the freeway that open up on to some empty plains. I must say, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but it is pretty miserable. There is 0 wind protection, which is bad enough when it's not raining/hailing. I'm also new to the riding position and handling characteristics, so I was consistently nervous about lowsiding on a wet/oily corner (I'm sure I'll get used to that in no time). My other bike is an '06 Transalp, which has a surprisingly effective screen and fairing, is like a couch to sit on, and has been through similar commutes plenty of times. I have no issue riding that thing in any weather this city has thrown at me. For some reason it rarely rains in the morning here in Melbourne, so I'll rarely be tempted to take the transalp to work over the DRZ, so I'll have my fair share of opportunities to practice the miserable trip home. I've taken it on a couple of 100km+ rides and my rear end, neck muscles and leg muscles will probably not tolerate much more than double that. Especially not for days on end. In summary - I agree with Spiffness about the bike's versatility - if it's your only vehicle, it's probably not up to scratch. hosed if I'd ever get rid of the thing though  In the first 7 days of owning the bike I've had 10 wheelie requests. One from a train driver, while he was driving said train. 
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Aug 24, 2009 09:23
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MetaJew posted:How terribly impractical are these things? I'm torn between thinking an SV650 would be a good first bike, and the DRZ. The problems I see with the DRZ is that you probably never would want to take one on the freeway, and their minuscule gas tanks lead to a very short range. Am I right in thinking this? The freeway isn't that bad and you get used to it pretty quickly. If you're going to do a boatload of freeway miles you could get different sprockets to stop the engine buzzing like a motherfucker at freeway speeds. I use a freeway for about 20km most mornings to work, unless it's windy (50km/hr+) because I'm a pussy. But then, like Endless Mike says, I'm only doing that to get there quickly. If I have time up my sleeve I avoid the freeway at all costs, it's just too much drat fun getting to work in the morning. second/third/fourth/fifth/sixthing the 'wish I'd bought it first' - it's my second bike and it's seen far more fun, excitement and wrench time in it's first 2000km than my transalp has in 10000km for these reasons: 1. I stacked it 2. I stacked it again Both incidents (including one that punched a hole in the engine case) cost me no more than $80 in parts and a couple of hours. This bike has taught me more about riding in the same distance than my TA and more about where my limits are and how I can go about pushing them to learn more, without crazy speeds being involved. They loving rule. edit: the range is a bit of a bitch sometimes, I manage 150km/90ish miles to reserve if I'm riding moderately, for that reason I'm considering a larger tank They still loving rule. the letter b fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Oct 22, 2009 |
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Oct 22, 2009 08:44
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