OK, either you've owned/loved one, or you haven't. I think I may have to have one. Tell me why I should/shouldn't want a DRZ, please.

OH COME ON, it's a suzuki, and it has those sexy spokers !

I hear ya, I've been feeling the SM urge.  I almost took a guy up on a trade of my Duc for his KTM the other day........still thinking about it.

I rode my dad's DRZ 400 before buying my own GS. It was not the SM version, not sure which you are looking at.
Man, that is a great bike if you like lots of torque. I rode it mostly in the dirt, where its great. But I even took it on a 900 mile road trip, does fine. Just be happy at 65mph or less all day.
I can't think of any major shortcomings, just make sure its what you need, its not as fun on the road as a GS.

Reasons to own it - it's been around for a while, it's well-sorted, it has a ton of aftermarket support, there are tons of stock parts, it's two bikes in one (the swap between dirt and street rims is straightforward), and it crashes really well (i.e. you can actually take it on dirt and ride it hard).

You have to want a dualsport/SM.  It's a mediocre bike if you're looking at a lot of freeway.

It's not an MX bike; it's heavier and doesn't have the suspension.

It doesn't do any one particular thing the best, but it does a lot of things quite well.

I got a WR250X because I like the weight, the suspension, and the FI.  M'boy is sticking with his Drizz, though.

SM garb:






Dirt garb:

Noooo ... the question is, where to find a DRZ motor and how to stuff it into a GS. That is the question.
Cool.
Buddha.

I really would like to get a SM this winter.  I still cant decide between the DRZ400SM and the KTM 690SMC.  I would love the have twice the power but is it worth twice nearly twice the cash?  hmm...

I don't like the maintenance and parts availability of the Euro 'tards.  That made my choice easy.  A friend of mine has a Duke and a KTM EXC SM/dirt convertible, and he's welcome to them. 

IMO, an SM isn't about power; it's about tossability and crashability, being more of a dirt bike on slicks than the other guy. 

one of the guys at work asked to flog my gs around the block today. "Sure, but you pay pay pay if you drop her!"

He's honorable, I'd not think twice about it. He didn't rev over 4K, puttered around the block, said he LOVED the gs. Kept looking at it, kept looking for flaws.  It's like he was buying it. (Not going to happen)


Think he has the bug !

Yes, the dr's are on my mind. Maybe it's just winter, i dunno.

Roadstergal - AWESOME shots, thanks for the advice and pictures !

DRZ

But beware, it will change you.   

Sidewalks, stairs, lane splitting, stoppies, wheelies, scaring little children, riding though fields to save a couple minutes, jumping curbs, jumping ditches, burnouts, general parking lot hooliganism.  All that and more.

I do miss all that now that I ride a GS. O well...

Quote from: GeeP on October 14, 2008, 06:09:26 PM
DRZ

But beware, it will change you.   

Sidewalks, stairs, lane splitting, stoppies, wheelies, scaring little children, riding though fields to save a couple minutes, jumping curbs, jumping ditches, burnouts, general parking lot hooliganism.  All that and more.

lol i ride my gs up stairs pretty much, often, wel lthe stairs are 6' high by 10" deep, to get aorund the cars ( that and the 14t helps 

Quote from: GeeP on October 14, 2008, 06:09:26 PM
DRZ

But beware, it will change you.   

Sidewalks, stairs, lane splitting, stoppies, wheelies, scaring little children, riding though fields to save a couple minutes, jumping curbs, jumping ditches, burnouts, general parking lot hooliganism.  All that and more.

Friend of mine twisted my arm till I rode his 690 smr........holy hell I couldn't have afforded the tickets for the list of traffic violations  had I been caught on the little 5 mile ride I did on it in town. Curbs, sidewalks, splitting, and cutting cross fields check on all of those.