DR-Z 400S Lightweight Adventure Tourer

I, like many dual sport riders, suffer from an incurable case of MBD (multiple bike disorder). During a particularly bad spell during the winter of 2009 I decided I needed a more dirt-worthy bike for the Around the Bend ride in Big Bend so I purchased a 2001 DR-Z400S.

I like the DR-Z but it needs a few mods, IMO, to make it a lightweight adventure touring bike. I've been steadily working on it, getting it ready for an upcoming Mexico ride.

Basically I think the DRZ needs the following to turn it into an adventure bike:
- luggage
- GPS
- windscreen
- a more comfortable seat
- increased fuel capacity
- gearing change

If you've ever wondered if a DRZ can be a reasonable adventure bike, here's what I did to the one I had.

       In complete adventure mode

LUGGAGE

The Ranger model Dirtbagz work well. They have a decent amount of capacity and the mounting brackets keep them from bouncing around while I'm out riding.

The Dirtbagz come with a metal, L-shaped, mounting bracket that the bags are secured to. The brackets bolt up to existing holes/bolts on the bike, so no drilling was required to install them. Longer bolts were supplied as part of the kit.

The dirtbagz are good but I needed a bit more storage capacity for multi-day trips. I bought a luggage rack from an ebay vendor and a travel trunk from JCWhitney. I've used this particular model of trunk before and have found it to be a good choice.  It has worked well on the DRZ.  There is sufficient room between me and the front of the trunk that when standing up while riding I can still shift my weight back as needed.

I felt like I needed additional luggage space for extended trips (3 or more days) or cold weather riding (for additional cold weather clothing), so I added a set of tank panniers.  I found a set of ATV bags at Tractor Supply Co. that fit the IMS gas tank almost perfectly.

To help secure them, I bungee corded them to the radiator guard.

The Wolfman Enduro tank bag fits nicely on the gas tank. It is smaller than I prefer, but a larger tank bag intrudes a bit too much down onto the seat. The Enduro is just large enough to carry the stuff I like to carry in a tank bag.

I carry my spare front and rear tubes in this fender bag mounted on my front fender. It works well as long as you keep the straps tight. If they are too loose, the darn thing will fall off.  For adventure touring carrying a spare front and rear tube is a must.

GPS

The Zumo GPS mount was easily attached and wired in.  I wired it directly into the battery.  Just have to remember to turn it off when I shut off the bike.

INCREASED FUEL CAPACITY

An aftermarket 4 gallon IMS gas tank took care of the fuel range issue.  I get about 50 miles to the gallon so this tank gives me about a 200 mile range.

WIND PROTECTION

A stock windscreen from an older model KLR bolted right up, like it was custom made for the DRZ. It isn't perfect but it does knock the wind down quite a bit. I'm thinking of adding a laminar lip to see if it improves things more.

A MORE COMFORTABLE SEAT

An Airhawk seat cushion - shown here from above - mounted on top of the stock seat allows me to ride all day in relative comfort, as long as I take a break every 1-2 hours (which I would do anyway). When this one breaks/wears out, I'm going to replace it with a Freedom Air pad. Motorcycle Consumer News did a comparison of the new Freedom Air pad to the Airhawk and their test found the Freedom Air to be significantly more comfortable than the Airhawk.

DUAL SPORT TIRES

I installed TKC80 tires front and rear. I've used the TKC80 on my other bikes (KLR and Wee-Strom) and have found them to be a very good choice for the riding I do.  They provide good traction on the pavement. In the dirt they work well as long as I don't get off into mud (they don't like mud - they clog up fast).  I expect to get 6000 - 8000 miles from the front TKC and about 3000 miles from the rear one (that's been my experience with these tires on my other bikes).

GEARING

I didn't take a picture of it but I'm running a smaller rear sprocket (41 tooth versus the stock 44 tooth) to make the DRZ more street worthy. It helps.

SUMMARY
So, with all these changes how does the DRZ work as a lightweight adventure tourer?

Not bad. The real weakness of the DRZ for my type of riding is the narrow ratio 5 speed transmission. This bike would really benefit from a wide-ratio 6 speed transmission like the Husky TE610 (hey, Suzuki, are you listening?). The 41 tooth rear sprocket helps with highway speeds, but I don't really like riding the bike faster than about 65 mph. The engine sounds too busy and the vibes are higher than I prefer. But, if I stay below 65 mph, things aren't bad.

I really like how light the DRZ is (310 lbs) compared to the KLR (415 lbs pre-08 or 428 lbs '08 and newer) or my Wee Strom (472 lbs).

In summary, I really like the DRZ in the dirt and it's okay on the street if I keep things slower than 65 mph.