is a benefit of the new perimeter type frame( maybe nothing to do with that), but the DR-Z4S didn’ t feel tall and I found I could flat-foot with some knee bend. More importantly the spring and damping felt well-matched to the job. It’ s, of course, a softer setup than for a competition enduro, but that suits the much slower pace, and is important when feeling your way around roots or rocks. I’ m pretty certain I’ m overweight for the spring rates selected as standard, but the DR-Z stood up well to my heft. The balance front-torear felt good too. A really well-tuned set-up.
BOLT-ONS I’ ve a hope that in time some of the accessories will become deal sweeteners( as they often do) for the DR-Z could do with some protection. It needs a decent sump plate, which is available from Suzuki. They also offer a set of light handguards but most owners will go aftermarket for better protection. I liked the dinky luggage rack that Suzuki has as an accessory – just the right size for a tool bag. Serious riders would probably like radiator guards too. But is that not consistent with all trail machines? It is. And while we’ re at it … tyres. For the summer these stockers
will get by probably just fine. But Michelin Trackers or similar from Mitas, Dunlop etc will be an early upgrade.
EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY I suspect this happens a lot. Pre-launch hype gets us over-excited, our imaginations create visions of machines no engineers can deliver. Somehow we’ ve got to thinking the new DR- Z4S would be this magical hover-bike come trail hound. Perhaps rose-tinted goggles have helped place the old DR-Z400 as something of a forgotten gem. But even in its day the old DR-Z wasn’ t that special. Its edge over the Honda XR400 was mostly on account it had electric start. It was heavy then, too. But, like the DR350 before it, it was a very dependable very capable lump. Not mega-exciting, and enduro bikes would run rings around a DR-Z, but they would do most things and bless them, those DRs and DR-Zs decades later are still with us, thumpitythumping happily along the trails. So, the DR-Z4S is the 2025 version of that. It does the same things and probably also will for decades to come, too. We could say it’ s one gear short and a grand or two overpriced – and that
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