DR200 reliability?

[Mike38]

Hello Suzuki fans. I have a question on the DR200. Let me start by saying I'm a big fan of air cooled single cylinder Honda's. Love their reliability. But Honda, for one reason or another, doesn't seem to think there is a market for small dual sport bikes. But Suzuki does. This spring I planed on buying a new CRF230F and installing a Baja Designs dual sport kit to make it street legal, but then I stopped at a Suzuki dealer. There, sitting just outside the front door was a 2006 DR200. So I climbed on it. Needless to say, I think I could learn to like this bike. By the time I add everything to a Honda to make it street legal, it will cost just as much for a Suzuki already set up. Does anyone have anything to say (good or bad) about the DR200? I will be using it for short commutes to work during the week, and maybe a little trail riding on week ends. So give me the scoop, yea, or nay.

[Punky Brewster]

Duuuuuddddeee.... I LOVE mine!

I ride it more in town right now, than on the dirt, but that will change shortly (we're headed to AZ with them next week!)... I didn't want a dual sport, I wanted strictly dirt, as I already own a street bike.. But man, was I super glad I bought this bike! Fan-tas-tic!!! I ride it everywhere, it's so comfortable, fun, and totally street legal.. It's a 2007 DR200 (suzuki, yup), and I have made no mods to it as of yet, but will probably do some slight adjustments to it after a year or so, when my experience catches up... I ride a Triumph Thruxton (900) on the street, and this little 200 is no slouch! It has plenty of torque for hwy and around town (I of course, only weigh about 100lbs though...) and lots of fun in the dirt, what little I have traversed so far... I'll let you know more after we get back from Tucson in a couple weeks, how it went!

It really is an ideal bike, and I am totally satisfied with it! Wayyyyy tougher than the XR100 (Honda) I was on before... ?

[ccman60]

I have bought 2 this year for our family and they have been great. Good bike to learn on , trouble free, and 70mpg to boot. You wont go wrong with a dr200.

[bikepilot1]

Great, well proven bikes. IIRC they were released in '96 and based on the DR125 which is probably older than me.

Another option might be a DR250 or DR350. You'd have to go used, but they are also quite nice and have smoother motors, 6spd trans and a more "full size" feeling to them (longer travel suspension, disk brakes etc). Just a thougt, have fun.

BTW I rode my DR250 home to VA from NY and averaged 76mpg. My mom has a DR200 and loves it - she gets 100+ mpg, but our riding styles differ just a tad:)

[Mike38]

Some positive opinions, that's good. How about gearing? Does the DR200 cruise at 60mph fairly good? Or, is it wise to go up one tooth on the countershaft sprocket to lower the rpm's?

What's the seat height on the 250 and 350? I'm on the short side, (5'6") and am comfortable with a seat height of 32 inches.

[SuzukiDirtBike]

What more could you want to hear? Even if the gearing isn't exactly what you'd like, it's an easy sprocket-swap. If I'm not mistaken, you can get lowering links which will make it your size now and can be swapped out to increase the possiblity of resale one day.

You will still have a darn good bike, that's already street legal right out of the box. You don't need the red tape involved with "making" a bike street legal. I think this is a no-brainer.

If I was a smaller dude, the DR200 would be my drug of choice, but until I can perfect my shrinking ray I'll have to stick with its big brother, the DR650.

After reading all the good stuff I'm seeing here though, I wonder if I can find a Christmas stocking big enough to fit a DR200 in it for my wife!

[ccman60]

Went on a 90 mile ride yesterday, me on a DRZ 400s and her on her DR200s. Proably a 70% / 30% dirt to pavement ride along the Missouri River bottoms. Bikes rode great, she's 5'4" and the bike does her well. We traded for a while, I'm 5'11" 250lbs and had a good time riding the 200. If you ride the bike within its means, I think you will be happy.

[bikepilot1]

The manual for my 250 quotes the seat height to be 35" - the 350 will be exactly the same as they are identicle except for engine internals.

I have not taken my mom's 200 to 60mph so I can't say for sure, but I do know its geared super low from the factory. You can use 5th gear at 30mph. I suspect that you'll need to gear it a bit taller to be comfortable at 60mph.

The 250 is comfortable at 60mph though with stock gearing (6spd trans) and will go ~75mph stock. With an extra tooth on the front (which happens to be stock gearing for the 350) it is very comfortable at 65mph and I haven't checked to see how fast it will max out at yet.

The 200 is quite a bit shorter than the 250, I'm quite sure you wouldn't need to lower the 200. You might find the 250/350 a bit tall but that's not a given. My wife is 5'6" and has no issues with my 250 provided she's not riding really technical stuff. My sister is an inch shorter, but very experenced and has no issues riding any of my off road bikes anywhere (even the 38" mx bikes).

You can get lowering links to lower a 250/350 by 2" from koubla I belive.

I would say that if your an experenced rider the 250 or 350 would probably be a better option due to the better suspension, brakes and 6spd trans. The extra power won't bother you either I'm sure and I don't think you'll find the height offensive. If your somewhat new to bikes then the 200 may be a bit easeir to learn on (or perhaps a lowered 250/350).

Probably the best bet would be to find someone locally with a 250 or 350 and beg a test ride from them.

Either way, they are all great bikes and I'm sure you'd be happy with either.

have fun

[ccman60]

One other thing, we have put 1400 miles on 1 of the dr200's that we bought in August, most the riding has been dirt, and I'm sure there are people with a ton more miles than this, but every miles has been trouble free. After reading on the internet about these bikes and how reliable they are, thats why we bought 2.

[twyler]

I would guess that at 5-6" you would not like the 250/350. I am 5-10" and my dr250 fits me just right. The 200 will likely be a better fit. And Jesse now has mods for the dr200- jetting mod and exhaust mod to beef up the power. http://www.kientech.com

wyler

94DR250se

[Trail_Ryder]

As long as you keep an eye on the engine oil, the Suzuki DR 200 should be very reliable.

The DR200 does have it's flaws (my wife had one):

- It's narrow tires don't work well off-road, especially in the sand.

- I don't think anyone makes a skid plate for this bike.

- It is VERY underpowered.

I'm not saying to stay away from Suzuki, but do yourself a favor and at least check out the Yamaha XT225 (slightly bigger tires, a standard skid-plate, and more power).

Good luck in picking the right bike for youself.

[Fire362]

My wife and I are going back and forth regarding either picking a DR200 or the XT225. She weighs about 125 and is a new rider. She likes the "yellow" for the color.? Me, I like the 225, but anyone else have opinoins?

Thx