Originally Posted by Mickey D

Those are some serious miles on a DRZ. Stock Seat? Any trips planned?

I had an E model (bought new in '01) for 3 years. Never did any sort of long road rides but rode it hard off road. Fun bike.

What does Suzuki recommend for your S model in terms of oil change intervals? I'm guessing at least 3K miles for a street bike, no?

I would think that if you keep speeds down you could easily go 3K between changes. If you ever manage to get out of the USA you'll find going slower is not only safer but much more comfortable. Smaller roads, more traffic. If you get on dirt then speeds drop even further.

I like your stator and electrical mods. Great ideas. Might I suggest a new battery every year or so? TT is a great resource. I learned alot when I had my E model, which never missed a beat in 3 years of desert and Baja riding. I only put about 10,000 miles on it total ... but ALL off road.

If you do a long ride carrying oil would be even more of a pain, and getting good quality synthetic could be tough as well in Mexico or further South. I'd suggest slowing your blistering pace a bit. But with a modern, liquid cooled motor, I'm thinking its a lot tougher than you realize, can easily handle a longer oil change interval. I use Mobil One "High Mileage" 10-40 car oil from Wal-Mart ($21 for a 5 quart jug). This oil does NOT have "Friction Modifiers".

Used it in my DR650 and Triumph Tiger now for 40,000 miles. No slipping clutches on either bike. No oil use on DR. (Triumph has oil use issues, unrelated to oil type) Also used this same oil my WR250F and Vstrom DL1000.

I change every 3500 to 4000 miles on the DR650 and Tiger. 5000 miles on Vstrom, and every 40 hours on the WR250F.