the drz400sm. It had full exhaust, jet kit, and -1 in the front. I didn't get to ride it on the roads but got to fool around in a parking lot. My first and biggest concern was I'd hate the seating position and that it'd be too high cause I'm not very tall. It actually isn't bad. The thing felt like a mountain bike underneath me by how light it was. It was awesome The drz at least was real smooth shifting, sounded good, stopped extremely well and much better then I thought it would, acceleration was good and the motor is definetely torquey, and I could toss it around so easily into turns. I still think I'd want a lil bigger motor so would look for something else other then the drz but wow... Riding that throws my mind into a spin as to what I want next. A supermoto for around town would be sweet (he said the drz was getting 55mpg around town) as well as for backroads. Hmmmmm.... Well thought I'd just share my review. Supermoto's ftw

 

Nice. I got a chance to ride a friends converted WR450 up and down the road a couple of times a few months ago. Afterwards I went down to my local Husqvarna dealer and put a deposit down on an 07 that is due to arrive next week.

You are so right. Supermoto FTW for sure.

 

the best SMC bikes are 450 motocross'ers like the YZ450, CR450, RM450, SX450...

More power than than the SMC's that you already buy, but they need to have a conversion kit installed (around 1000CAD, so not sure what that is in USD)

They have better motors, better suspension and better brakes right from the factory, and when you convert about the only think you need to do, is retune suspension, bigger front brake (not really nessairy but most kits include it) and 17" wheels.

 

well my only concern about that is reliability. From what I've read the drz is rock solid. A CRF 450 conversion would be sweet if I could find a good deal but I honestly don't know **** about reilability on them. I've started searching around on supermotojunkie now about these types of things

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Newfie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the best SMC bikes are 450 motocross'ers like the YZ450, CR450, RM450, SX450...

More power than than the SMC's that you already buy, but they need to have a conversion kit installed (around 1000CAD, so not sure what that is in USD)

They have better motors, better suspension and better brakes right from the factory, and when you convert about the only think you need to do, is retune suspension, bigger front brake (not really nessairy but most kits include it) and 17" wheels.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is far from the truth my friend.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EngineNoO9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well my only concern about that is reliability. From what I've read the drz is rock solid. A CRF 450 conversion would be sweet if I could find a good deal but I honestly don't know **** about reilability on them. I've started searching around on supermotojunkie now about these types of things</TD></TR></TABLE>

A CRF converted and used as a street bike isn't your best option. The more you read on SMJ the more you will read why.

 

basically everything I've read says drz, xr650, and a couple others are great street machines. Lots of people are listing the husky has a great dual duty bike but this has me confused cause I thought they weren't that great with reliability and I've read the stuff about killboy struggling to keep both of his running. 1 of them shot the crank through the block too

 

Ek, if your going to tell me im wrong, atleast be kind enough to supply evidence why that is? I work at a Yamaha / Polaris / Victory / KTM dealer ship, and have first hand experience with this. Comparing DRZ 400SMC to RM450 SMC is like comparing a naked bike to a supersport. The supersport is better.

its childish to argue a point with "Your wrong" and not be smart enough to post reasons or evidence.

 

drz 400


rmz 450


your comparing, steel frame, over weight bike with less power, less torque to a bike with an better frame, more power and more torque, and a MUCH larger aftermaket. 99% of the parts from the RMZ are exactly the same as its dirtbike counterpart. The amount of engine mods for that bike alone are way more than the DRZ. (im just speaking about stuff from parts canada / parts unlimited right now, but tthere is many more suppliers)

there is also much better suspension on the RM too.

 

I think he's talking about for the street. Performance wise converted MX'ers are going to kick the crap out of something like a DRZ. But the converted MX'ers engine service intervals are probably too aggressive to make them great daily riders. Of course you're not riding it as hard on the street as you would in MX or Enduro riding so you can probably go longer between rebuilds.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Newfie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">drz 400
your comparing, steel frame, over weight bike with less power, less torque to a bike with an better frame, more power and more torque, and a MUCH larger aftermaket. 99% of the parts from the RMZ are exactly the same as its dirtbike counterpart. The amount of engine mods for that bike alone are way more than the DRZ. (im just speaking about stuff from parts canada / parts unlimited right now, but tthere is many more suppliers)

there is also much better suspension on the RM too.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I never said anyhting about the DRZ. You think your right, you go do the research. You think that Suzuki is the only one making a factory supermoto bike?

Childish? Not smart enough? Come on man grow up.

You think you know everything because you work at a dealer? We all have our storied about dealing with people behind the counter at a local dealership.

 

Another convert? See you on the dark side.

 

how often do you need to do maintenance on your KTM marm? Everything I've read says I'll grow out of the drz super fast....

 

when did i say suzuki was the only company making SMC's?

KTM makes them too, and there 450 is much better bike interms of track perforamce than the 640 or 650 (depending on year your talking about)

your an uneducated idiot. Please gtfo.

Once again, you still never posted prof. that your opinion is correct.

I bet your internet dick is bigger than mine too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Newfie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when did i say suzuki was the only company making SMC's?

KTM makes them too, and there 450 is much better bike interms of track perforamce than the 640 or 650 (depending on year your talking about)

your an uneducated idiot. Please gtfo.

Once again, you still never posted prof. that your opinion is correct.

I bet your internet dick is bigger than mine too.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Haha your too funny. Why are you getting so upset over this man? Relax. I wasn't trying to call you out. I wasn't saying that you are full of ****. You don't need to resort to aggravation because some one doesn't agree with you.

BTW "SMC" is a model of a KTM motorcycle. It is not slang for a supermoto bike. I figured you of all people would know this?

You stated something as fact that simply is not 100% true, get over it and move on.

Meanwhile my obviously unsuperior bike is in transit, I'll share pics when I get my hands on it. Don't worry Newfie it's not a Suzuki or KTM. Contrary to your belief there are actually more than two companies that make a factory supermoto bike.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EngineNoO9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how often do you need to do maintenance on your KTM marm? Everything I've read says I'll grow out of the drz super fast....</TD></TR></TABLE>
Maintenance? WTF is that? Pour gas in and gooooo!!

I try to follow the proposed maintenance schedule (provided by KTM) - valve clearance checks, oil changes, etc, every x-amount of hours on the bike/engine. If you look at SMJ, a lot of people are selling their DRZ400SM's after a short amount of time on it. But, not everyone sells their 400SM's after buying and riding one. It's probable you will outgrow it, especially considering its weight and power, but I'm willing to bet you'll still have a shitload of fun on it.

Akin to Superhawks, I'd say.

 

sorry, ill gladly admit when im wrong. I work at a KTM dealership like i said in a pervious post, the term SMC is just something we always use to refer to supermoto bikes.

now to finish the arguement, just show me a factory supermoto bike thats better than a MX'er (RMZ450 for example, or even a converted YZ450)

your obviously an idiot. If you rode a bike to its full ability, you'd know the difference in performance between a DRZ and a RMZ... not to mention the maintance for both are almost equal

expletive im an idiot arnt i?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Newfie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sorry, ill gladly admit when im wrong. I work at a KTM dealership like i said in a pervious post, the term SMC is just something we always use to refer to supermoto bikes.

now to finish the arguement, just show me a factory supermoto bike thats better than a MX'er (RMZ450 for example, or even a converted YZ450)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Uh that's easy, a KTM450SMR, Husky SMR450, or Aprilia SXV 4.5 are all going to be better than a converted MX'er for the same money. To get an MX'er like the aforementioned RMZ to the same spec you'd have to buy wheels, brakes, and revalve the suspension at the least.

If you wanna talk about street legal motards then the Husky is the only one that qualifies. But even then it's going to beat a RMZ with $500 of mods (since that is the retail price difference between the two) around a supermoto course.

 

What makes a supermoto more fun for the street? I have never riden one but I can't see it being more fun on the street then a sportbike. Maybe I just have to ride one to understand ?

 

I did some searching a while back because I thought a CRF 450 would make an awesome supermoto... but maintenance intervals on the engine just make it too impractical for frequent street use. Honda's recommended interval for the engine is 25 hours (tear down, new piston/ring) but some guys were going 100 hrs with only street use - still too frequent if thats your only street bike for me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SlowB16si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What makes a supermoto more fun for the street? I have never riden one but I can't see it being more fun on the street then a sportbike. Maybe I just have to ride one to understand ? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Light weight and very nimble. With equal riders a supermoto bike will easily hold it's own in the twisties.

EDIT: That and the ability to take it off road with a much higher level of comfort and control. Most likely a lot cheaper to replace damaged parts after a crash. lol



Modified by EKhatch at 5:26 AM 12/19/2006

 

the jap bikes differ from the husaberg, husky, ktm, and aprilia by not needing as much maintenance (well gee it's only the drz we're talking about) and build quality. Everything I've read says the others while awesome they tend to vibrate a lil more, maybe not as comfy, more maintenance, and a lil too high strung. Lots of this was referring to the aprilia. Husky, husaberg, and ktm are all bikes that I'd love to own. I might stick to a drz though due to it's cheap price, (modded for $4200 used) and great reliability

 

The weight is much less than a sportbike, as has been said. The street versions of motards, however with their lights and e-start + battery, mostly negate the weight advantage.

As for "high-strung," that would definitely be the case if you purchased a 450 or less and rode it on the highway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EngineNoO9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the jap bikes differ from the husaberg, husky, ktm, and aprilia by not needing as much maintenance (well gee it's only the drz we're talking about) and build quality. Everything I've read says the others while awesome they tend to vibrate a lil more, maybe not as comfy, more maintenance, and a lil too high strung. Lots of this was referring to the aprilia. Husky, husaberg, and ktm are all bikes that I'd love to own. I might stick to a drz though due to it's cheap price, (modded for $4200 used) and great reliability</TD></TR></TABLE>

True if you are only talking about the DRZ or possibly the Husky SM610S or the higher displacement Husabergs. Otherwise maintenance is roughly the same or possibly less on the Husky SMR 450-510 in comparison to the CR's and WR's for example.

Reliability issues for the Husky's are pretty much a thing of the past.

 

I know you say that but I saw killboy get 2 and his blew the crank through the block and made a nice viewing hole.... we'll see. husky, ktm, and husaberg are all more expensive then I'd really like to spend. I could get myself onto a drz cheap and not hurt the bank at the time (right now yeah, 2 months - I shouldn't)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EngineNoO9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know you say that but I saw killboy get 2 and his blew the crank through the block and made a nice viewing hole.... we'll see. husky, ktm, and husaberg are all more expensive then I'd really like to spend. I could get myself onto a drz cheap and not hurt the bank at the time (right now yeah, 2 months - I shouldn't)</TD></TR></TABLE>

What does killboy have?

I guess I should calrify that 2005 and newer Husky's are very reliable if you do everything by the book.