I’ve got two awesome adventure bikes that I’ve built using the drz 400 and the Sport Touring Suzuki dr650s. Let’s talk about which one is right for you. All right so I’ve had these bikes for the past few years and I’ve taken them on a lot of different adventure. I can tell you that both of them make great little adventure bikes. The nice thing about the Suzuki dr650s is they’ve been around for a really long time. If you’re looking to pick one of these up they’re usually easy to find they’re inexpensive and best of all. They’re both reliable bikes easy to work on so great motorcycles. With a few accessories, you can make them awesome adventure bikes.
Now I’ve done bike builds on both of these bikes so be sure and check out those videos. If you’re looking for a good dual sport bike to play around on. If you want to build an adventure bike to spend days or weeks out on the trail both of these are very capable machines. Let’s compare them talk about them and see which one is gonna be best for you. All right so let’s first of all talk about the specs of both of these bikes. They’re both carbureted four-strokes they both have electric start five-speed transmission. Now the dr650 is a 644 CC air-cooled engine and it does have an oil cooler.
The drz 400 is actually 398 CCS and it’s liquid-cooled both of these bikes have proven reliability with their engines. The kerb weight of the dr650 is 366 pounds where the drz 400 is 317 so a bit of a weight difference. Their seat height on the dr is inches where the drz 400 is. Two inches of seat height difference ground clearance. The dr is ten point four inches dr z eleven point eight fuel capacity. On the dr is three-point four gallons and the dr z holds gallons both bikes have a 21-inch front wheel. The dr has a 17 inch rear and the dr z has an 18 inch. Both of those sizes there’s plenty of tire options out there. A little more with the 18 on the dr z so those are some of the basic specs of the bikes. Some of the things like the fuel capacity you don’t really matter to me. I know both of them don’t hold enough fuel for some of the rides.
I’m always gonna put on an oversized fuel tank. Either bike some of the other things I’m gonna do I’m gonna put on a skid plate handguards luggage rack. Both bikes don’t have the best lighting so I’ve got some different lighting options on both those bikes. It’s not that these bikes are bad it’s just any dual sportbike. I’ve ever had the Lighting’s never sufficient so I always throw on some other auxiliary lighting. As far as riding both of these bikes I’m gonna give you my opinion on how they compare. Performance-wise and I’m gonna start with the engine obviously there’s a big difference in cc sighs. You got a 650 over here and a 400 here with the drz both of them are pretty comparable. They both do well on the street and off-road the drz with it’s less CCS. It’s also quite a bit lighter weight and it revs quite a bit higher to kind of make up some of the difference.
The 650 obviously is gonna have a little bit more grunt down low. It’s not gonna rev as high but when you get them both out on the street. They do really well the 650 is going to pull hills and maybe headwinds. A little bit better but both of them do a really good job and I haven’t had any mechanical issues with either of these bikes. Now when it comes to jetting both of these bikes need a little bit of work to get the most out of those engines. Both bikes need to breathe a little bit better so I’ve opened the air box on both of these bikes and I’ve put in JD jetting kits. Not only do they run way better but they get better fuel mileage. As well especially on the drz 400 the first time I took it out totally stocked you get on the highway at those higher speeds.
Higher rpms that thing was just sucking the gas. Once I open the airbox jet it correctly it works really well. They both know I can get between 40 and 50 miles per gallon depending on the riding. Let’s talk about the transmission they both have a five-speed I never really messed with the gearing too much. I think they do a good job on-road and off-road a lot of guys will get him down because they are a little bit tall in first gear. I don’t like to lose my highway speed so I’ve just kind of left them alone. The 650 is probably geared a little bit taller on first gear so when you get into technical stuff. You know there’s been times I wish it was geared a little bit lower but the torque of the motor has always kind of saved me. In those situations as far as clutch pull and clutch feel both of them feel really good. The drz 400 definitely has an easier clutch Bowl but both of them are fine. It’s not a big deal, either way, moving on to the suspension.
I think this is where the bikes differ the most the DRC 400 has fully adjustable compression and rebound on the forks and the shock. The dr650 has zero adjustments and the bad thing with the dr650 while the suspension does work pretty good. It’s under sprung so it comes very soft and if you put stiffer springs in it. Like I did it’s going to make the bike rebound a lot quicker and you don’t have any adjustments to slow it down. When you get into the off-road riding part of things. The DRC definitely has better suspension because it’s adjustable its sprung a little bit better. Both bikes if you’re gonna be packing a lot of luggage depending on your weight. You may have to put springs in the bike regardless but the drz is definitely a little bit easier to adjust. It does have those adjustments so ultimately if you’re going to be in the dirt.
A lot riding more aggressive through the bumps and rocks and everything. The suspension on the drz is definitely the better of the two bikes. So suspension takes us into handling now I’m going to talk about handling on the street. First, both of them do really well I really like the Safari tank and fairing I have on the 650 it really blocked the wind. Took it off my body quite a bit between that and I think the heavier weight. The 650 it just seemed a little more stable at the high speeds so when it comes to the street I think the handling of the 650 is a little bit better. I never had an issue of handling on the street when it comes to off-road. The nicer suspension on the drz 400 definitely makes a difference while the 650 does a pretty good job. If you start getting aggressive moving a little bit quicker on the bike.
