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DRZ400SM or a DR650 with 17" wheels & tires?

38K views 54 replies 34 participants last post by  SUMORYDR 
#1 ·
Which would be more fun on the street? I would get the 17" wheels and tires for the 650. Both are the same $ relatively. I weigh 250 and am 6' tall. I would buy brand new. Which would you do and why? Thanks for the opinions.
 
#27 ·
Wheelz

earl said:
I think I was just sold on the DR650 from that pic! What a NICE looking street tard!

Could you please post more details on the rims and tires? Looks like a/m rims laced into the stock hubs? 120 front and about a 150/160 rear?

What did you do for speedo recalibration?

Thanks.
The wheels are excels 4.25x 17 rear and a 3.50 x 17 front
i bought a new suzuki front hub (Not that dear new) and had the rim laced to it and used my stock rear hub laced to the 4.25 and the guy that did the lacing swapped the spokes and his labour lacing it for the stock rear rim He had someone needing that size for a dirt track bike.I managed to then pick up a complete rear wheel from the breakers rl cheap. Speedo wise i went for an Acewell 3700 Fantastic unit! tyres 120/70 -17 front and a 150/70 - 17 rear but i could have fitted a 160.

Regards Aussie



:arsenal
 
#28 ·
the_aussiedr650 said:
The wheels are excels 4.25x 17 rear and a 3.50 x 17 front
i bought a new suzuki front hub (Not that dear new) and had the rim laced to it and used my stock rear hub laced to the 4.25 and the guy that did the lacing swapped the spokes and his labour lacing it for the stock rear rim He had someone needing that size for a dirt track bike.I managed to then pick up a complete rear wheel from the breakers rl cheap. Speedo wise i went for an Acewell 3700 Fantastic unit! tyres 120/70 -17 front and a 150/70 - 17 rear but i could have fitted a 160.

Regards Aussie



:arsenal
Thanks, that's what I figured!

That's a seriously cool a/m speedo set up! :thumbup:
 
#30 ·
dr 650

I have an 02 DR 650 converted to supermoto, Staintune pipe, carb jetted, airbox opened and a 07 Husky 610 SM. I did a track day recently and took both bikes. I ran most of the day on the Husky but took the Suzuki out for a 30 minute session. I was suprised that the Suzuki ran almost as fast as the Husky but was seriously lacking in the suspension department. With a little work on the suspension I believe the Suzuki would run very near the times the Husky would.
 
#32 ·
I've had a 650 SM for a while and it has been both interesting to do and super fun for a longer time on the road. I have dropped 15kg of stuff from the bike and am running a set of DRZ250 forks and an DRZ400S rear shock amongst a host of other mods. Can't kill it.

 
#34 ·
I have an 04 DR650 with 50,000 kms on it and it has never let me down.Did the motard conversion myself on the cheap and have geared it for highway running.Its steady at high speed and the soft suspension is pretty well suited to our crap roads in Oz.The only thing I've found with DR's is the lack of aftermarket bits compared to DRZ's.My two cents worth.
 
#37 ·
us1ss said:
Thanks for all the input! i decided on the DRZ400SM, I bought a 2007 black one. I am going to put about a thousand miles on it then put carb, pipe, etc.. and hopefully it will be enough for loads of fun.

Thanks again, Mike
As you say, DRZ400SM does a better job in SM riding.
DR650 would do better in long journeys but I wouldn't say it would give you the wow-factor. When you hot it up, the DRZ400SM really barks and smoke most of the 400's. Besides, it's already a SM bike. Fully setup for SM riding. Have you seen the French DRZ-400SM ad? It's crazy, you have a fully stock bike but the bike can do most things that a track bike does without doing any mods. :rock:

Happy DRZ-400SM riding. Hope you get the mods soon.
 
#38 ·
Out of curiosity how does the fuel mileage compare on the DR650 vs the DR-ZSM?
 
#39 ·
bhd1223 said:
Out of curiosity how does the fuel mileage compare on the DR650 vs the DR-ZSM?
My so-called 10L tank takes me around 160km before starting to choke and move to reserve. The bike has gone upto 180km before I got to the Petrol Station. The wierd thing is how much more can I travel with the reserve. And when I refuel, it only filled upto 8.5L. So my question is where did the 1.5L go or is there still 1.5L left in the reserve??:headscrat
 
#41 ·
I wouldnt have bought either should have gone for the 644 engined CCM
or the 400 engined 404 CCM.
Same engine only much better spec'ed WP forks and shock and Brembo brakes
as standard.
The 644 engine can be lightly modded by re-jetting to 150's and 27.5's
removal of the airbox lid,K&N air filter,race can and junking the throttle valve lift gubbins.
 
#49 ·
The DRZ400 has a modern liquid cooled engine, built to rev and built to last. I think it and the 650 stock put out the same power and the 400 is lighter.

A good all around DRZ would be a DRZ400E converted to an SM (If you state allows the conversion for the street).

Or, you can add the E carb, header pipe, and cams to the S/SM motor (same motor) and have a much more powerful S/SM. Add a $590 Athena big bore kit and you have 440cc and way more power (and better cooling for the larger cylinder)... same reliability. Lot's of options with the 400.

I'm not sure how the 650 is on the highway but both my DRZ400 bikes (SM/E soon to be SM) get blown all over the place. They have no problem going fast, just too light for daily highway use... wears one out. I even have a windshield on both which helps greatly. Regardless, I take the back-roads to work (40 miles round trip every day) because they are wooded, twisty and sssoooo much fun on the DRZ.

I'm 6' tall 205lbs. If you will commute on the highway every day, I might say go with the heavier 650... but I've never ridden one.
 
#50 ·
RobotMachines said:
The DRZ400 has a modern liquid cooled engine, built to rev and built to last. I think it and the 650 stock put out the same power and the 400 is lighter.

A good all around DRZ would be a DRZ400E converted to an SM (If you state allows the conversion for the street).

Or, you can add the E carb, header pipe, and cams to the S/SM motor (same motor) and have a much more powerful S/SM. Add a $590 Athena big bore kit and you have 440cc and way more power (and better cooling for the larger cylinder)... same reliability. Lot's of options with the 400.

I'm not sure how the 650 is on the highway but both my DRZ400 bikes (SM/E soon to be SM) get blown all over the place. They have no problem going fast, just too light for daily highway use... wears one out. I even have a windshield on both which helps greatly. Regardless, I take the back-roads to work (40 miles round trip every day) because they are wooded, twisty and sssoooo much fun on the DRZ.

I'm 6' tall 205lbs. If you will commute on the highway every day, I might say go with the heavier 650... but I've never ridden one.
i think you're only looking at peak hp numbers. dr has more horsepower all over the place vs the drz. hooligan bike go drz, everything else the dr is a better call imho.

the air cooled dr engine will also outlast the drz liquid cooled.

i owned the drzsm, and my buddy had the dr w/ 17's. i got on the freeway on his bike and thought "this doesn't rev that bad", then i realized i had one more gear! freeway the dr destroys the drz.
 
#51 ·
RobotMachines said:
0.

I'm not sure how the 650 is on the highway but both my DRZ400 bikes (SM/E soon to be SM) get blown all over the place. They have no problem going fast, just too light for daily highway use... wears one out.

exactly how it is for me. anything over 70 and your getting blown all over and top that youll experience speed wable.
 
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