My new ride! DRZ 400SM

[Cris]

Howdy Folks!

Just thought I'd pipe up about my new ride!

I have been looking for just the right machine for a while now. A 640/690/950/990 of Orange Persuasion has been on the short list for quite some time. Well I got excited after talking to a couple of different fellas who were potentially selling a 640 and 990 Adventure, but that's all it amounted to. Just talk. Things were moving in the right direction so I was getting worked up for a new rig!! And then nothing materialized, but I was ready to go!

And then, I found this Beauty just a few days ago! A BRAND NEW 2009 DRZ400SM! Yup! Brand new old-stock at a dealer! For a killer price! I couldn't believe it was there waiting for me.

Well I have been a SM fan from day one and new I would always have one some day, and that day came about last week! I also have followed MX from way back to Bob Hannah when I was just a little shaver, and still have VHS tapes I recorded on a Fisher top-loader of Bailey, Johnson, and the O' Show! ? I never thought anything could get more advanced than my 1979 YZ 250! I have been riding since I was 8 years old and have had 2 or 3 bikes of various types at any given time.

Yeah I had always wanted to plate a CRF,YZF, etc... But I was not excited about oil changes every weekend and the other maintenance required, even though I do enjoy wrenching. I also would rather have not got into a Euro SUMO since I want a 990 Adventure R at some point and I like to mix it up.

Back to the Dizzer!

I am looking forward to farkling her up and got the UPS wheels in motion the day I signed the papers on her!! En route currently are a EDGE II fender eliminator, SUMO front fender, Trail Tech head plate, SME bar sliders, Cycra Pro Bends with TT mounts, and MSR extended shifter.

On the short list for updates are proper SME axle sliders, Clarke tank, rad guards, SDG SUMO seat, Michelin Pilot Powers, ZETA billet goodies, TT case savers, MRD/SSW, FCR39, JD Jet kit, hammerhead brake, ZETA pivot levers. Whew! That'll hold me for a while...

I also need to pull some parts and go through the TT 400 FAQ fixes as well...

I have been lurking ADV, SMJ, and TT for a good long while and there's a ton of great info for certain!

I kinda look at this bike like other people have scooters that they like to shoot around on after work. 'Cept this one raises a little more hell than a ZUMA! Besides, I gotta have more than one bike!

I peeled the factory graphics the second the I got it home. Reflectors came off. Bottom part of rear fender got cut off. Enduro bag came off. I also started dialing in the sag, compression, and rebound... I am 6' 2" and 165 pounds, so luckily the factory spring is in my wheelhouse and acceptable for now...

Here she is in current form!

Thanks!!

Cris

[ZUKIfanOBX]

Congrats on your new SM. welcome to the DRZ club. Keep us updated with pics and info. Have fun!!?

[Cris]

Thanks ZUKI!

Here's the first shipment of parts!

Just opened the boxes late last night. Not installed yet.

Trail Tech X2 Dual Sport (I will also be upgrading to 55w)

Impressions: Well engineered. High quality. Great packaging.

DRC Edge II fender eliminator

Impressions: Well thought out with high quality feel. Included turn indicator brackets only accomodate 8mm stalks.

Bike Master LED turn indicators with carbon fiber finish

Impressions: Really small. Stout feel. Nice looking carbon fiber finish.

I also turned over the first 100 miles the night before last and dumped the factory oil. Looked great (I break my motors in fairly aggressively) and there was barely just a little steel dust on the drain plug magnet.

I then put on an additional 50+ miles on her last night after work.?

[ZUKIfanOBX]

Nice, the edge tailight was one of my first mods as well. only difference was i got smoke lenses on the taillight and the blinkers. next cut off the helmet lock and the rear will be clean. very nice mod imo. head light looks good too. i still havent decided which one i want in two years. keep waiting for a new style that i cant live without but havent found it yet.

[DRZ400Senior]

Very nice!! Welcome to the club!

[RiD3HaRD]

Awesome write up and awesome bike Cris! Enjoy the bike and ride the hell outta her...

[Cris]

Thanks Fellas!!

I have more stuff on the way for this thing!

I don't wanna beat a dead horse and I know all these same mods have been done a thousand times, but I don't mind posting my impressions, installs, and photos until somebody sez they have seen it all too many times.

ZUKI,

One thing I like about the X2 (besides I think it looks cool) is that when I want a little more oomph, it will disconnect in moments for when I decide to throw on an 8" for some country road bashing with very little ambient light, and when the little furry-friends-of-the-forest-floor dash out onto the tarmac, at least I'll have a fair chance of not endo-ing!?

My plan is carry two seperate headlamp applications for certain trips. Either in a backpack or fender bag. I want them to be quick-change lights. I know it sounds goofy but I like lights!!

Thanks!!

Cris

[Cris]

Well I got a bunch of stuff installed over the weekend with the help of a good buddy!

First…

The Edge II fender eliminator. As mentioned many times, a great product and a MUST for the DRZ!

I first ordered the smoked version, but the online-retailer called me and said it was back-ordered, and that they had the red-lens version ready to go.

I told him that was fine, and I actually am glad I got the red now. It looks good and the less attention I can get from the local constables, the better! J

Pull off the right side panel, seat, and rear fender. Next unplug the 3 factory connectors above the air box.

Next, cut the factory tail light and turn signal connectors about 6 inches up from where they terminate.

I use a digital solder station that heats up to 675 degrees in less than 30 seconds, and works exceptionally well, so I just look for reasons to solder stuff!!

I also used this opportunity to ‘jumper’ the clutch switch and kickstand switch.

I incorporated a pair of carbon fiber finish, Bikemaster LED turn indicators for the rear. The shop I got them from only had one pair, so I will be getting another set

for the front soon. I also kind of wanted to make sure they worked well before I bought the second set. They work well!

I am currently using the factory relay, and with the draw from the front incans, they only blink marginally fast. I will be getting a 7 pin plug-and-play relay when I switch the fronts over to LED.

My only irritation with the Edge II is that they don’t make the license plate holder wide enough for US moto plates, so I drilled 2 appropriately placed holes in the license plate to match up with the Edge II. Also, the included turn indicator brackets are drilled for 8mm stalks, so bear that in mind for your own application. It just happened to work out for me and the indicators I used.

The LED tail light and brake light are quite bright, as well as the license plate light. The turn signals are exceptionally bright! The lenses are clear, but the LEDs are orange.

Notice the side by side difference between the factory set up and the newer, more sleek layout!! Huhhhhhh!??? Nice!

I am very, very glad I got rid of the WWII era factory tail light and went with the Edge II!

More install discussion and pics to follow on the Trail Tech X2 headlamp, Cycra Pro Bend hand guards, Acerbis SUMO front fender, and more!!

It’s all finished and on the bike, I just need to get it all posted.

Thanks!

Cris

Everything comes apart quickly and intuitively on this bike.

Please avert your eyes from the GHASTLY factory exhaust! Can’t wait to get a MRD/SSW-FCR combo from SSW!!!

Everything comes apart quickly and intuitively on this bike.

Super sleek! Simple yet well executed product.

Whoa! What a difference!! Stocker is heavy too!

Stay tuned for more!

[1999xr650lman]

Nice work!! Very nice parts.

I enjoy seeing the photos as they take me back when I installed some of those same parts. Fun fun.?

[Cris]

??

Trail Tech X2 Dual Sport head lamp assembly Install

First, begin to disassemble the plastic factory headlight housing cover.

Next remove the bolts holding the actual headlight to the factory brackets. The factory (throttle) cable guide will also need to be removed.

Once everything is off, you are now ready to remove the factory brackets which hold the entire assembly to the fork tubes.

The front fender needs to come off so the Trail Tech plastic alignment pins can then be fit between the lower clamp and the front fender. This will marry the bottom of the head light and the fender. I have an Acerbis SM front fender to go back on in place of the factory fender. The Acerbis fender is much smaller and looks better IMO. It also has much better engine venting at the backside. The white color is “off” significantly from the factory Suzuki white…

Carefully wrap masking tape around the fork tube where it meets the lower clamp. Next use a sharpie and make an index mark where the tube meets the clamp on the tube. Do the same for the other side.

Suspend the bike from garage rafters (or a tree, or whatever) by the handle bars using tie downs. Watch so you don’t hose up the controls!! Be sure to get the front end high enough to drop the tubes ALMOST all the way out of the lower clamps. This will need to be done in order to shimmy the factory brackets off and out of the way. The front wheel does NOT need to come off. There is enough slack in the front brake hose for this to not be an issue. Unscrew the speedo cable from the gauge cluster. Loosen all but ONE of the lower clamp screws from each side. To make things easier, you will need a buddy to help with the sliding.

Once the last two lower clamp screws are loose, it will not take much effort to slide down the fork tubes. They will need to come down to where the top of the tubes slide down to near the top of the lower tube clamps. Now the guy not holding the dropped tubes, must shimmy the factory brackets up and off the tubes. They are seated in rubber gaskets so there is a little resistance, but not bad.

Once off, slide the tubes back up in the clamps and align with the tape and index marks you made earlier. I have never had alignment issue using this method, so if there is no other reason you need to take off the front wheel, leave it on.

This was the hardest part of the process. Not necessarily hard, but requires a little bit of concentration.

Place the Trail Tech plastic alignment pin between the lower clamp and the front fender while mounting the fender. This will marry the bottom of the head light and the fender. For the DRZ, place everything in a position that allows for the highest beam level, to lessen the amount of movement you will need to make at the adjusters. YMMV with other applications.

Now begin to compress and zip-tie the wiring harness gently into the clutch side of the fork tub/head tube opening. Remember to keep the headlight plug accessible. It’s a tight fit, but after several times of taking off the X2 to adjust the beam height, the wiring harnesses becomes more and more pliable.

The bottom of the X2 drops into the pin plate mounted between the fender and the fender mount. Before mine got mounted, I swapped out the 35W low beam H3 with a 55W H3.

The rubber straps on the X2 make for and easy on-and-off especially when coupled with the plug-and-play version of the light… I feel the rubber straps are easy to take on and off contrary to what other reviewers have stated.

Impressions:

While I love the form factor of the light itself, the lesser weight (over the heavy factory unit,) and the ease of mounting once the initial footwork is complete, the brightness of the low beam projector is lacking even with a 55W H3. I can easily see myself swapping out to an HID set up for the low beam. Especially since I have found some pretty good deals for aftermarket HID kits with small digital ballasts. The cut of the low beam projector makes a VERY distinct cut off on the road. From Trail Tech, the level of the projector is set off to 20 feet in front of the front fender, so plan on adjusting it before it is even installed for the first time.

Swapping low beam bulbs is a minor irritation because the entire back of the assembly needs to come apart by removing a handful of screws that are snugged into the plastic. Although this does make for a system secure from moisture.

The tint of the white is not even close to the Suzuki white, and has a significant purplish tint! Not even close to a deal breaker for me personally. I like the contrast from the white plastic to the black headlight surround.

I have no interest in wiring both beams to turn on with the high beam switch. The high beam would overpower the low beam enough to not even warrant the added draw to the system.

The high beam on the X2 is great, and I have yet to get flashed by other night motorists. The high beam is not adjustable for height.

Even with the lackluster performance of the low beam projector and a standard 55W H3, I would still recommend this modification over the stock application. The low beam projector is begging for an HID set-up!

Stay tuned for install of Cycra Pro Bends, DRC pegs, billet exhaust end cap, MSR shifter, Nuvi 550 mount, CRG mirrors, tank decal cover-up how-to, and more...

Thanks!!

Cris

? ?

[jrincon17]

Looks great !

[Ned Rager]

Mine started very similar to where you're headed...

[Cris]

Lookin good Ned!

You have a lot of work into that ride! ?

Thanks!

Cris

[ryder j]

bikes awesome by any chance was that the only 1 they had ive been looking for one for a few months and cant find a leftover anywhere in nj ,pa area

[Cris]

Ryder,

Just one...

[Ned Rager]

Lookin good Ned!

You have a lot of work into that ride! ?

Thanks!

Cris

Thanks, I'm diggin' the direction you're headed. I've considered that headlight setup but I would need to reorder part of my graphics and I've heard there not quite as good as the OEM in the dark. I need to make it home, work nights every other week. What you don't see on mine are the ZETA levers, rubber killers, steel braided front brake line, fork bleeders, KOSO tach and some other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting...

Keep up the good work:thumbsup: