400 suzuki street or dirt ( sorry if repost)

[Tazz]

I like the design and feel of the KLX400 / drz400.

Looking at the street version and want people's opinion on how many upgrade compression ( gasket) , Cam ( intake), Carb (offroad version)?

I am not 20 yrs old ( not even 30 anymore) anymore, yet like to tear it up on the weekends. 80 dirt and 20 road to and from the dirt.

Street:

Decent lights and instrumentation

Same suspension

More street legal / insurance safe.?.

Low compression = cheaper fuel

Dirt:

Minimum lights with no instrumentation

higher performance

Insurance: "iffy" at best.



Loads of people own the street version, is the power / performance livable. Throttle response ok on the street version for the bush?

Need advise from both sides :

Thanks.:tup:

 

[DRuZer]

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I am very happy with my S, and most the folks I know with the E are happy with it. I wish I had ridden the E version to compare. I would opt for the S, even though the E version has more power and is lighter. Heres my two bits worth on why:

The power costs: high test isn't always easy to find in hicksville. And your fuel economy will be proportionately worse (the ponies have to be fed!). Probably degraded reliability with the higher compression (although its still probably stone-tough).
Another point: the carb jetting is (I've heard) more sensitive to variations in elevation, which, if true, would be a big detraction for rides like the dead zone and poison mountain, where you can ride from sea level to nearly 7000 feet.

Probably 90% of the weight savings with the E will evaporate once it's dual sported.
The S has excellent lighting and instruments, and a cooing fan (it is needed at times), which is probably better and heavier than aftermarket stuff. The E also saves a pound or two on the subframe: the S's extends under the rear fender. However, it provides a good grab for hauling the beast out of ditches, etc., and better support for racks, if you choose to go that route.

I don't think you'd save much more than 5 pounds when all's said and done. Regardless, the Suzi is heavy compared with the thoroughbreds (Husky, KTM), but cheaper, more reliable, and probably more comfy (less uncomforable?) to boot.

Finally, the E offers a couple of grease nipples on the linkage (but still lacks a critical one!)

For the price of legalizing the E, you could get an S with a jet kit and a pipe, and probably make up half the power difference!

Thats the argument I had with myself before I bought!

By the way, I know someone with an S for sale! Ridden by a girl, only off road twice, yadda yadda...
PM me if you're interested.

 

[Taxguy]

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I agree with DRuZer, I have the offroad model and while I like the extra power, I have considered dualsporting it and decided not to. By the time I had it done I would have changed the bike considerably (rear subframe etc.) and I think I would rather just buy the street version to start with.

But the new KTM 450EXC that is street legal out of the box........

 

[yardsale]

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Tazz,

As someone who's owned both an S model (stolen) and an E model (my current ride which I've made street legal) I think DRuZer is right on with his assesment. If I had to do it all over again I'd get an S model and change the carb to a E model one,getan E-model rear sprocket (slightly lower gearing)and be done.

I love my E as I've got it set up now and to me the biggest thing that separates it from the S model is the instant throttle response. When I borrow my buddy's S model the throttle feels like mush due to a combination of gearing and the carb. It's not just outright power that's the issue. I find the S model hastons of power for me off road but when I want to get the front end up over something in a hurry it's just so much easier and fun with the throttle response of the E.

I've done the Dead Zone and some other relatively high altitude rides (say, 7000 ft.) and not noticed any problems with sensitivity to elevation but maybe you have to go higher than that to notice it. I'm using stock jetting on the E and I get approximately the same mileage out of my oversized tank as the S model guys (about 300 km) but I'm paying more for premium...

I do commute on my bike during the warmer months and itworks fine even with dual sport tires but I'm always looking for 6th gear... :?

A number of people on Thumpertalk have added the E model carb to the S with good results so I don't think there would be much problem doing the swap with that knowledge base to pull from.

Good luck! Dave

 

[DRuZer]

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Good to hear from a E rider on this. I think I might look into the E carb, 'cause the throttle response on the S is 'mushy' all right - it is hard to launch the front wheel. I always thought it was just the weight! And maybe its even better for the range of altitudes that we ride, since I have spent quite a bit of time tuning mine to get the best compromise. It seems pretty finicky - going from a clean filter to a dirty one with a dirty filter skin seems to make quite a big difference.

As a way of getting around the 6th gear: I found going the other way with the rear sprocket (smaller, like the SM's) a great way of gettting better highway performance. I have a 41 rear, and its like gaining a gear on top. Natch, you loose the low speed control for tight trails. But with a 41 rear, I can run a 15 front (as big as will fit without chopping up the swing arm plastic protector) and get the less buzzy road cruising speed. If I want to go on a trail ride, I can drop down to a 13 front . Granted, its still higher geared the the E's 14/47 combo, but lower than the stock S, and good enough (with a little clutch use) in the tight stuff. The clutch can take quite a bit of abuse, and is relatively cheap to replace if need be. At least, I haven't worn it out yet!

If someone offered an output shaft that accommodated the easy-change front sprockets of the XR400, I would be willing to spend big $ on it!

 

[Floored]

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If I had to do it again, I'd probably go with the S. The rear subframe, good instruments, fan and ease of insuring are awfully appealing. Considering what we get into, you're going to want to drop the gearing though.

If you want to bypass the FCR carb and go straight to Fuel Inj with a 6 speed, well then there is always GasGas!:dr:

 

[Pee Wee]

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Floored wrote:

If I had to do it again, I'd probably go with the S. The rear subframe, good instruments, fan and ease of insuring are awfully appealing. Considering what we get into, you're going to want to drop the gearing though.

If you want to bypass the FCR carb and go straight to Fuel Inj with a 6 speed, well then there is always GasGas!:dr:

Or the Aprilia RXV 550 v twin fuel injected....74hp at the rear wheel after derestricting !!