I'm Planning a trip from Vancouver to Chile in March 2003. Any known problems with the 2002 DRZ 400-E? Advise on upgrades? Who's making high quality tail racks and luggage? Aftermarket light kits? Any info is greatly apprciated. Jode.

I have a 2001 DRZ400e and it has been serving me well. My longest ride to date has been from Toronto to Cape Bretton, and a tour arround PEI and back. You WILL need a bigger tank. I have dual-sported the bike with a Baja designs kit, and I highly recomend them. Thier components are top notch, and the wiring is better than the factory wires.I have the 16 liter Acerbis tank, and I highly recomend it. I have mounted two 4.5 inch computer type fans on the left side radiator, wired to a switch to cool things down in stop and go traffic. I have a set of grip heaters installed for cold mornings, and I also use a heated vest. For a rack, I have made my own, but you can buy one from Baja designs, just remember that the "E" model does not have any subframe extending past the seat. I have tied my rach into the subframe. You can have a set off aluminum panneirs and mounts from

http://moto-sportpanniers.com

but they are not cheap. I have a JC Whitney tail trunk:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/productnoit...=123208&BQ=mot

Excellent quality (Comparable to GIVI), and cheap. It's a great place to lock up things (Like a Camera and tools) while you are away from the bike. I highly recomend this. I have a set of Givi voyager soft saddlebags, well built, and holds a lot of stuff, but you need to make up some sort of frame to keep bags away from the exhaust. I also use a Drysac strappped on top of the tail trunk to hole my sleeping bag, pillow, and pad. Up front I use a set of atv tank panneirs to hold food, and water, and a small snowmobile type tank bag to hold maps, gloves, and small items. For tires, a set of Bridgestone Trailwings like the ones that come stock on an "S" model work well. They are cheap, last long, and work good in rain, dry, and dirt roads (Not much good off-road though). On the road I use 15 - 44 gearing, you can cruse all day at 120km per hour, and pass at 145 if you need to. Whith this setup, and normal driving you can expect arround 250km (on an Acerbis tank) before hitting reserve.

If you havn't purchased the bike, I would sugjest getting the "S" model in stead. The fans, gearing, and full subframe are already there. The "S" model will also run on 87 octain fuel. The "E" model is supposed to be a Premium fuel only, but I have run on 87 when I had no choice without problems (Making sure not to lug the engine), but I now carry a can of octain boost just in case.

If you would like to see some pictures of my modifications, or would like some more information, feel free to email me.

email address removed by Grant - see http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/faq.shtml#notify for why.

[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 28 October 2002).]

check www.denniskirk.com for guards/mods. TONS of perf parts for that bike. But not many for my dr650.

Just a note.

promotobillet.com has beautiful racks, etc. for suzuki dual sports.

dont you get uncomfortable early on a drz? i get around 50 miles and its numb butt time

I can do 400+ on the stock seat for one day... no more than 200 if I need to ride again the next.

throw an Air Hawk seat pad and I'm good to ride all day for weeks on end. still need breaks, the seat isn't wide enough to be truly all day comfortable with the airhawk

No need for racks. A Giantloop and a 10l Kriega bag are all you need. The bike is very light, so adding more weight on the rear of the bike make the bike very hard to steer. Plus you sap the power out of it, making it very sluggish.

I've got just about all I'll take to Africa on the back of it to see how it felt, and it sucked. I won't take this bike, but I'd like to keep my other bike to this total weight. Need to share the load over the bike more. Maybe some clothes or other soft bulky items above the headlight. Tankbag or tank side bags with some other stuff. The roll bag behind the giantloop has my sleeping bag and mat in it. May need to get a less bulky bag for it. This one is a bit to big. It weighed 20kg with about 4l of water in it. The rear kriega has rain gear in it, and the tube bag a tube and the stock tool kit.

I had the seat re-shaped and widened. Very comfortable now, but not as comfortable as my Dakar. The tank is great and can't say I noticed any difference. Although picking it up was a bit harder, but no difference on the go. That's the 28l version. It weighs 180kg like this. Wouldn't want any more than that.

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