Attn: DRZ400 Owners

[Creeper9]

A buddy of mine (no computer) is going to be picking up a new '03 DRZ 400e, and he asked me to post a question on here as to what your experience with this bike has been. He's looking for information on what problems you've had, what mods the bike responds well to, any maintenance issues that should be addressed right away, things like that.

Also, since I'm only familiar w/ two stroke break-in procedures, I didn't want to tell him to brek it in the wrong way. What break-in procedure do you recommend for the DRZ? Is it much different from what you would do w/ a two stroke?


Thanks
-Kurt

 

[Hondaman_06]

well i don't know any mods for it but i know the break in procedure i used on my 4 stroke and it has worked extremly well. I would ride for about an hour at a time then let the bike set and completely cool off before i rode again. For about the first 10 times of this i didn't get the bike past half throttle. After i did that i would ride the bike for maybe a little over a hour at a time but wouldn't keep it in the high rpm's for more than a couple of seconds. I did this about 8 to 10 times also. After that i was off to riding normal. When i broke my bike in it was winter time so you might want to shorten the riding time up a little. I can tell this really worked great because i have rode other 4-wheelers/ dirtbike with improperly broke in motors and there is a huge differnce in power. This method worked best for me and i hope somehting similar to this could help your friend also.

 

[Derhntr]

The DRZ manual will tell you. I rode mine easy about 5 hours then changed oil, checked plug. Then dropped the hammer.

Recommend 5-10 hour oil changes for first 2 months then every 800-1000 miles. Has worked for me. 01 kicker has over 3000 miles with no problems.

GREASE the shock linkage. Mine and many others have been shipped DRY.

MOD's Many re-jet and re-pipe. I run totally stock. A 13 tooth countershaft sprocket works great for tight stuff.

Brian

 

[biglou]

Pull the cover off the airbox and bump the main jet up to a 158-160. That is the most bang for your $3 you'll get out of it.

 

[WoWman]

A few things:
---Grind the sharp edge off of the shifter, it'll go through the cover in a bad dump.

---Rejet to 160mj/ stock pilot with stock exhaust and lid removed
---Rejet to 165mj/ 45 pilot with new exhaust and lid removed.

---I have the model EKP needle in it. It is a yamaha part, a fatter needle than the OXBN (stock) needle. Gives a bigger midrange pull. I don't have the part number on hand, I'll get it though. It's like 11 bucks at a Yammie dealer, sudco.com may have it or carbparts.com.

---Taller handle bars are needed if over 5'9 or so, Jimmy Button renthals are the tallest (and best, IMO)

---Extended shifter may be needed too (bajadesigns)

---BK mod (limits the "squirt" in the carb, reduces off idle bog to minimum, do a search or go to thumpertalk.com)

---Keep an eye on the water pump cover, some of them weep alittle bit.

---A good skid plate (bajadesigns is the best bang for the buck)

---Thumpertalk also has cool ign/clutch cover gaurds, better than the Bajadesigns ones.

---Watch the battery, some have had problems with it draining.

As far as changing the oil, do it earlier than every 800-1000 miles! That is a very long stretch for a dirtbike! I change mine every 15 hours of riding.

Use non-synthetic until FULLY broken in, then switch to a high grade synthetic. This will keep power/shifting to a premium.

Lets see, what else...the valve that tightens up first is the right intake, uh...oh yeah, the suspension is a little bit soft. If over 180lbs or so, new springs/revalve of suspenders will be needed for racing. If under 180, maybe a revalve only. THis is only neccesary for big jumps/racing.

I have the 2001 DRZ400E, about 2000 miles or so, all off-road. I am 240 lbs/ 6 foot, I did not do the suspension and I have lived with it. It truly is a great bike, I have not had ANY problems with my bike. I do kinda beat on it too, I use WOT about 70% of the time I'd say. I have only done basic maitenance, very miticulous about it though.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!! :)

 

[Creeper9]

Thanks for all the replies guys!! I printed off this post and gave it to my buddy. Now he just has to wait until the '03 bikes come in!!

-Kurt