DR-Z 400 E - any info welcome

Hi all,

It's been at least 2 years sins my last message here. But as of this week I
am as exited as a 35 year old male in a bike shop with a pocket full of
money...
I am going from a 1989 DR600 Dakar to a DR-Z 400E. And my which list so far
is:
16 L Acerbis tank, Bark Busters of some kind and a decent bash plate. I will
use it a little bit to commute (my XT500H will do the rest) and about 10
weekends a year in state forest around Melbourne. The bigger tank is for the
possible participation to the Wild Boar Ride later this year. My driving
stile has toned down and I don't believe that I need any specs improvement
in order to enjoy this bike (correct me if I am wrong).

Any warning, info, web link, etc. are very welcome.

Thanks, Patrick

 

3 months from now you will have wished you bough a wr...

 

Many thanks for all this.
Turns out the 16 L Acerbis tank is not coming to Oz anymore due to fitting
issues on the slightly different Aussie model DRZs ? There is a IM something
made in Oz, also 16 L and $500. Will let you know more later.

As for R&V Aqualine, many thanks for the link... I have send them an e-mail.

Any difference between B&B and Whipps ?

Thanks, Patrick.

 

Mmmmmh ! I've had a DR750 for 10 years and my DR600 for the last 4 years.
They are not the best but I love their reliability. I sold my DR750 after
90'000km (~20'000km off road between Europe and mostly Northern Africa) and
the clutch and 1 size up piston are the only things I changed.

AFAIK and correct me if I am wrong, the DR-Z400 is also fairly robust.

How much is the WR ? The DR-Z is at $8800 including on-road cost at the
moment.

Patrick.

...

 

Ignore Doe, its a school kid. Look at his other dribble.

The DRZ is a very competent bike. If your serious, they were winning
numerous races in Aussie Super Motad this season, fair enough not
stock, but shows what they can do. But if your serious you can spend $
on them. There are places that hire them here in Melbourne, so try
that for a day!

If I had the $ I'd go one just for elect start, but the old XR400 will
do for now.

Check on the WR in relation to servicing. The new CRF Range of Honda
recommend a piston and ring every 10 comp hours!

 

an xr400 eh biggus. that must take some skill to ride.

anyhow patrick the crf is a motox-er and yu won't be wanting one of
those, so disregard biggus. the wr is the 3rd selling bike in aus. ask
you local yamaha shop.

 

How about giving us some usefull information. Honda sells more postie bikes
than anything else, so does this mean we should all go out and buy a postie
bike because their sales are so high?

Just because something sells well doesn't mean it's necessarily the best
thing. Just look at Yamaha and their R1 and R6 bike sales going through the
roof, it's not the bike, it's Rossi.

Above all, opinions differ, but don't back it up with bullshit sales
figures. Lamest excuse ever.

Cam

 

an xr400 eh biggus. that must take some skill to ride.
they still win open class enduros overseas, so yes they do.

I think you should go look again Mr Know-it-all.
The CRF Range replaces the XR range. Even the XR-L range is still 04
models.
http://www.hondamotorcycles.com.au/motorcycle+range/off+road/default.htm

When does your school go back?>

 

With all due respect I doubt the R1 and R6 sales numbers are much to do
with Rossi. The R1 is without doubt the best looking of the Jap 1 litre
sportsbikes at the moment and has been for the last couple of models.
Given there's only a smidgen of difference in performance between all
the jap litre bikes people will choose the pretty one..

It's also a lot more civilised than the early R1's, the 05 R1 I had over
Xmas didn't try and smack me in the face with the tank once If you
rev limited it to 7 grand it'd make a brilliant learner bike (and no I'm
not joking) serious mumbo up top but very progressive and easy to ride
at low revs.

JL

 

For sure, and I wasn't aiming large disrepect at either bike as well.
They've definately got the looks, and everything else to go with it. If
however, you would like to believe magazine reviews, the best bime in '05
was the Gizzer 1K, with often the ZX10R 2nd, and in '04 is was a ZX10R for
those that like their bikes interesting. The R1 is a fantastic machine but
seemed to lose out in a few reviews for whatever reason.

Anyhoo, a moot point I guess. I know they're a great piece of kit ........
not that I'd have one. They don't come in Green.

Cam

 

. They don't come in Green.
you could paint it..

 

Umm, as a reader of pretty near every bike mag available in OZ
(including the imported ones), I'd again respectfully disagree with the
above. The GSXR squeezed out the R1 in 05 on the track indeed,
absolutely, but the 04 and 05 ZX10 didn't get a look, almost all reviews
said - bloody good first attempt, but... (bit like their motoGP bike
really). The 06 however is purported to have fixed all the weak points
and is now a *very* strong contender. The Honda is generally considered
the best road bike of the 4 (and the weakest on the track).

Having said that, the general consensus is that there's really only a
poofteenth from first to last, and the REAL differences are ergonomics
and aesthetics. You won't go wrong buying any of them, so buy the one
you like the look of and which is the most comfy to you.

Nothing that couldn't be fixed by a visit to a spray painter if that's
your desire

JL

 

Thanks guys... Great info.
I'm amazed how a question about a DR-Z400E got the "You won't go wrong
buying any of the 4 in line 300km/h 1000ccm road monsters..." Not good for
me... They can't take nobbies

For those still on the off-road issue, I dropped by Honda and they tried to
sell me the XR400... I like the good old air cooled simplicity and love the
electric + kick start option (push starting an electric only with battery
problem in the desert is far from fun. I know I did it for 2 weeks) but I
can't swallow the $2500 extra for the privilege to ride a Honda.

As for the best big tank for the DR-Z, everyone seems to agree that the IMS
is the best. www.imsproducts.com

Last questions, as I don't trust any bike shop and probably never will, does
changing the oil myself cancel the warranty or not ? And if the price was
close (and you lived in Melbourne) would you buy it at Peter Stevens
Dandenong or BTX Ferntree Gully ?

Thanks, Patrick.

 

<soundfx type='can of worms opening'>

From what I hear if you buy it from P*t*r St*v*ns you'll be needing to do
your own oil fills/changes before you get it home from them...

;-)

big

 

Welcome to Ausmoto, very few threads stay on topic

 

Paging Moike to the courtesy phone....

JL

 

Doing any 'mechanical' work during the warranty period can result in the
company refusing to honour the warranty. Whether they will do that is
moot, since it can be a public relations disaster. However, since they
are much more likely to refuse to honour the warranty if you haven't
taken the bike to an authorised dealer for the scheduled services, I
don't see how changing your own oil helps you.

Cheers

Andrew

<--- Remove The NO and SPAM When Replying --->

 

In aus.motorcycles on Fri, 27 Jan 2006 07:48:52 GMT

I think you'll find that is no so in Australia.

The services must be noted but the manufacturer can't refuse to honour
the warranty if the service isn't done by their people.

They may not even be able to refuse if not done by a licensed
mechanic.

It may vary state by state. Best bet is to look on the website of the
big motoring organisation in your state - NRMA/RAA/RACQ/RACV/RACWA.

It's a common question from car owners and I'm sure I've seen the
answer that is more or less "if it's noted in the book as being done,
then they can't refuse the warranty unless they can show the problem
was directly attributable to negligence on the part of the person who
did the service". Not say it was, show it was. But check for
yourself.

Zebee

 

You're right but why risk it? The legal issue at the heart is the onus
of proof, and while consumer protection laws attempt to some degree to
shift that back to the manufacturer, the manufacturers are always one
step ahead. If the swing-arm breaks under warranty, they'll prob fix no
matter who did the oil changes, but if the motor seizes you may get a
fight. And the point about the fight is that you may be right and you
may (eventually) win, but unless you've got a bit of money behind you
(much more than the bike is worth) you'll lose because it is costing too
much, and you give up before it is finished.

Alternatively you can decide to ignore the warranty. It only lasts a
couple of years at best anyway, and Japan Inc tend not to make lemons
these days.

And go out of your way to buy something where error codes don't need to
be checked a diagnostic computer ...

Cheers

Andrew

<--- Remove The NO and SPAM When Replying --->

 

That's a good start.

Are we talking a bout a brand new bike here? If so, I don't know, but
I'd imagine that if I were the manufacturer i'd feel I'd want some
assurance thatr all services were done properly before I'd want to pay
out. You'd be needing to do a bit more than just change the oil. So
for a new bike, I'd get the early services done professionally.

If it's a used bike, "Warranty? We don't got no steenking warranty!"
The only Warranty you're likely to find is one you pay extra for, and
fromm what I've heard lately, these tend to have so many exclusions and
limitations as to be pretty useless.

Which pretty much means that the only reason to visit a dealer is the
convenience of looking at more than one bike at a time.

BTX? Never heard of them. I've bought a used bike from P*t*r St*v*ns
before, so if it was up to me, I'd go to BTX every time.

Whether you buy a bike from a dealer or privately, you should give it a
full service immediately (if nothing else it establishes a known
starting point and gives you a chance to give the bike a good
check-over.) If you can't do it yourself, take it straight from the
dealer to a reputable mechanic. I didn't do this for a week with the
bike I bought from P*t*r St*v*ns and discovered that because it doesn't
seem to influence the appearance of the bike, they don't even check the
oil level. A new big end bumped the cost of the bike by 25%.

Moike

(not quite so bitter after all this time.)