First trip with my new DRZ 400

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Well thanks to this fine forum and the input of a few friends I settled on a DRZ 400S and picked one up two weeks ago. The impetus for this purchase was to have something to get around on at the King of the Hammers race in Johnson Valley CA last week.

Well it was a success I put about 50 miles on the bike over the course of the week, mostly across sandy double-track through the desert. I also let a friend borrow the bike for about 5 minutes which resulted in a front flat Not having a patch kit or spare tube, I had to ride about 8 miles back to camp on the flat. Surprisingly everything looks to be ok and undamaged from the incident. The majority of the 8 miles was very sandy, so I'm sure that helped. I plan to replace the trailwing tires with something more offroad friendly anyway, but I was pleasantly surprised that the front tire endured the torture of being ridden flat quite well.

Riding in sand was quite an exhilirating experience Ironically the bike handled 10 times better with a front flat in the soft sand than it did with a fully inflated trailwing. Also got stuck in the mud once and had to hop off and power the bike out.

Anyway, it was a great trip! Can't wait till the weather turns here on the East Coast and I can start riding more.

 

[robert]

Motorcycles tires are like any other vehicle tire in that they can be aired down for different environments. Anywhere from around 8-12psi seems to be pretty popular but you'll need a beadlock. There's some really good info on these bikes on both Adventure Rider and ThumperTalk that will help you get the most out of your bike. And yeah, I'm jealous of you getting to ride there!

 

[flux]

Personally I'd get rid of the stock Trailwing tires... kinda sucky for offroad use but good on the street... go with something a little knobbier like a Pirelli MT21 or others. I'd run 20 psi in those tires and forget about a rimlock as you won't need it til you get lower than 15 psi... all it does is prevent the tube from spinning inside the rim. A good way to combat that issue (which will rip the valve stem off the tube) is to NOT install the nut on the stem flush with the rim... instead back it up to the cap... this way if you start seeing your valve stem sneak into the rim you know you have an issue. Its very hard to balance a tire with a rimlock and they make changing tubes/tires more difficult.

Of course, that's all just my opinion. To each his own.

 

[jl8088]

congrats on "breaking" in the new bike. The DRZ is a very well round bike that will serve you well for many years to come. Auto-start is a very nice feature. I am jealous.

I am no subject matter expert and there are numerous opinions, but the combination of:
Front tire = Pirelli Scorpion
Rear tire = Maxxis Desert IT

seems to be a favorite of many for the terrain it looks like you're riding in.
The Pirelli is DOT and the Maxxis isn't. I can personally vouch for the Maxxis being an excellent tire with a slow rate of wear.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Thanks for the tire recommendation. Unfortunately desert riding will likely be a once a year event for me. Otherwise I'll be sticking to the forest roads and trails of the east coast(VA/MD/PA) mostly.

 

[MarcFJ60]

I was pretty happy with IRC GP-1s as a 50-50 tire. Kenda 270s have the same tread pattern and are cheaper, but the rubber compound and knobby height are different resulting in lesser performance on the street.

Slightly more aggressive would be a TKC-80. But I have been hearing really good reviews for the Michelin T63 and it is cheaper than the TKC. I will likely go that route on my 650 if I don't do GP-1s again.

 

[Oni]

Congrats Arya! :bike_rider:

l am running an MT-21 on the front and like it a lot. Once it gets scuffed in, it has an amazing amount of traction,street and dirt. Have some other Pirelli on the back, not super good, not super bad, but it didn't last long. I have a Dunlop 606 ready to go on it now.

Have fun! Take an MSF class if you can! What you learn can save your life!!!

 

[Katoomer]

20psi offroaad is a bit high for my liking, i prefer around 10psi, too much air is like riding on marbles

 

[flux]

But I have been hearing really good reviews for the Michelin T63 and it is cheaper than the TKC. I will likely go that route on my 650 if I don't do GP-1s again.

I have a set of T63's sitting in the garage waiting for the MT21's to wear out. Will let you know what I think when they go on.

 

[Scott Brady]

Great bike!

Thanks for posting the report. Have you looked in detail at any soft luggage options?

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Great bike!

Thanks for posting the report. Have you looked in detail at any soft luggage options?

I have not. I plan to do more short distance trips where a small backpack is more than sufficient.

I'm trying my best not to go nuts with this in terms of mods/add-ons and just learn to ride. I have enough hobbies that require garage time. I'm trying to keep this one a non-garage hobby :bike_rider:

However, if you have some information to share, I'll surely entertain it