Jumping from the yellow to the blue team
After owning a DRZ400 for about 2 1/2 years I recently decided to take the plunge and upgrade to a new bike.
I decided I wanted something with a bit more off road capability, albeit a little more costly on the maintenance side. It had to be a great trail bike and I wasn't worried about the racing side of things. Basically there were two choices for me. Orange or Blue.
Yes there are others out there but at this point in time they were ruled out because when it comes time to upgrade again, they are worthless.
As one dealer said to me, "he would not trade in a lot of the new European bikes because he knows he will never sell them".
So, back to the dilema, Royal Blue or Pumpkin Orange. The blue eventually won out for about $1300 reasons after many a sleepless night mulling it over. A brand new WR 450 now sits proudly where the DRZ use to sit and even with all the bits and pieces needed to get here up to trail spec, she saved me a heap of cash over the KTM.
This then brings me to give you my impression on each machine.
Suspension
The DRZ comes out of the crate pretty softly sprung at both ends and no amount of clicking seems to sort them out. I replaced and raised the front fork oil height by about 5mm and that made a bit of difference but it was still not all that confidence inspiring at speed. The rear shock was also serviced with good quality oil and regased. This again made a bit of a difference and its tendency to wallow was reduced but not cured. I found winding up the spring preload helped with stability in sand also, but you compensated a bit of ride comfort for it. In the end I think it would be money well spent getting a suspension tuner to give it a bit of an overhaul as I do believe you can get DRZ working better than I had it.
The WR on the other had is great straight from the crate and a couple of clicks here or their is all that is need for a plush ride that inspires confidence when the speeds get silly. Where I had to back off on the DRZ for fear of being spat off when the trail got nasty with woops and ruts, the WR just powers over them with just a small quiver through the bars. I was blown away how hard I could push this bike and it seemed the harder you rode the better it felt.
Motor
I thought that the DRZ motor was pretty good, tractor power, 3rd & 4th gear was a blast on the trail, was smooth as silk without a hint of vibration and you could slow down for a corner in 3rd then just use the torque to blast out without the rear end getting too out of shape. My only criticism is that the gear ratios are a bit out. Running the stock 14/47 gearing was great for tight single track but was a little buzzy on the transports and fast sand tracks. I found that 5th would take you from 60km/h right through to 140km/h, yet you would shuffle through 1st -4th in the first 50 meters.
The WR's motor on the other had has a lot more vibration, but has a lot more snap to it. Probably harder to control for novices but and absolute buzz to ride. Grin factor number 10. It also has heaps of over rev. Where the DRZ would sign off and you would have to change gears. The WR just keeps on going. The gear ratios are a lot wider spaced and a lot more suitable for the faster trails.
If tight single track was were you ride then I would probably run the 14 tooth front sprocket that comes with the spares kit. The 15 is where I will leave it for now though.
Ergos & handling
The DRZ was a little cramped for me even though I put on a higher bend bars. You do sit into the bike and it was a little taxing going from sitting to standing towards the end of the day. The seat was nice and comfy but was getting a little soft towards the end. The seat also sloped back a touch and you found yourself sliding back a bit and it was harder to get forward to weight the front. The tank was a little porkey and also restricted forward movement, but generally it was quite comfy on long trail rides.
The WR has a much better riding position and you sit on top of the bike more. The seat isn't bad for a competition bike and it has a good shark skin seat cover that keeps you locked in. The bars aren't a bad bend either and I have them pushed forward to aid not having to reach too far when standing. There is no adjustable triple clamp on either bike. The WR does have alloy bars though. One thing I did notice straight away was how much lighter the front feels on the WR. It was so much easier to loft the front to clear trail obsticals and it holds a line a lot better than the DRZ. You can carry a lot more corner speed too and the brakes are much stronger on the WR, you know if you get into trouble coming in to a corner you can usually pull up confidently.
Maintenance
The DRZ has the gong here. I racked up about 10 thousand K's on the DRZ and apart from oil
changes, didn't do a thing to her. She would happily commute to work and then on weekends hit the trails. Wash her off on Sunday night ready for work the next day. I didn't even have to change the break pads. I used 1 chain, 2 front sprockets and was still on the original rear sprocket.
She started first time every time whenever you pushed the happy button. The WR is going to take a little more looking after, but I expected that, oil is cheap however and apart from checking a few extra things regularly I do expect to get just as many k's out of the WR.
I knew someone who got 30,000k's out of their WR400 without doing a great deal to it. There are heaps of WR's out there and you generally don't hear too many complaints.
So which one is for you?
I would say if you are of average ability and want a bike that you can just as easily commute on as go on a trail ride, could easily rack up 30,000k's and maintenance isn't your thing. Your happy not to push the limits, then its hard to go past the DRZ. Apparently dealers are selling them off for around $9k on road at the moment and at that price they're a bargain. Mind you they haven't changed in 5 years, so you are getting a bike that isn't of cutting edge technology.
The WR on the other hand was designed just last year and updated this year. It would suit anyone from novice to expert and will just depend on how game your are twisting the right hand as to how fast you go. The bike can handle some serious speed, can you?
I still occasionally ride the WR to work but I only have 4-5k's to go. Any longer and it would be a little too much. You chew trough tires on the blacktop and the temptation to pop the front up could be a license killer. The boys in blue don't appreciate the skill.
The DRZ is without doubt one of the noisiest bikes around, stock standard! The B&B baffle helps a little, but it is still to loud. The WR has a much quieter noise footprint and when you are in the bush, there is nothing worse than a loud trail bike annoying other bush users. The sales guy was trying to sell me an aftermarket pipe and I asked him if it was loud. Not too bad he says. The brochure says CLOSED COURSE ONLY. Which means its loud. It looked real trick, but No thanks. Anyway, the WR puts out way more power than I will ever be able to handle, so power is not an issue.
In the end, both are good bikes, but for me the WR gives me a wider smile. I can push it harder and it inspires confidence when you do. In two years time however, Suzuki may bring out some WR/KTM competition and I wouldn't bat and eyelid changing back to the yellow team. For now though, blue has the gong and I am more than happy with my choice!