• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

I am retarded... (05 Suz DR-Z400SM)

Forums New posts
Bear on a bicycle said:
It's only money... I'd love to get a set for my 'S'. It'd be nice to swap back N forth.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you have wheels for dirt, so swapping in for a street set would be good. I wouldn't mind a set of dirt wheels for my SM, but $600 is a little out of my price range at the moment. Ah well.
 
After much struggling, muscling, and general frustration, I finally got my new Continental tires on. They were surprisingly difficult to put on, and getting the valve stem on the tube through the hole in the wheel... jeeze, such a pain!

When I did finish getting them on it was too dark out to take pictures, so here are pictures I took after washing the bike and before putting tires on.

One-eyed duck:
IMG_1388.jpg


Macro:
IMG_1390.jpg


Lying on the ground (I am, not the bike!):
IMG_1372.jpg


Bikes look best from the right side when not in motion:
IMG_1373.jpg


See?
IMG_1386.jpg


Closeup of my radiator guards (bling!):
IMG_1402.jpg


Here you can see how chewed up the leading edge of my old rear tire is:
IMG_1397.jpg


I need to go on more sport rides. Commuting leaves chicken strips :(
IMG_1395.jpg


I'm going on a ride on LCR tomorrow and should hopefully get some action shots of me on the DR-Z.
 
The bike looks awesome!
Any chance you're coming out to TWS on the 7th?
 
Squeaky said:
The bike looks awesome!
Any chance you're coming out to TWS on the 7th?
Click to expand...

Nope. TWS is too large of a track for my bike. I'll be at GrandSport Speedway on April 21 and 22 though!
 
Nice pics :thumb:

only one problem, your fueling my desire for a Motard :argh:
 
Sweet looking bike Brian. I thought a lighter bike might get better than 3K on 208's but I guess not. Is your Dad doing a track day with you and are you coming to the FZ rally in June ?
 
jetblue said:
Sweet looking bike Brian. I thought a lighter bike might get better than 3K on 208's but I guess not. Is your Dad doing a track day with you and are you coming to the FZ rally in June ?
Click to expand...

The 208s are not the D208ZRs, but the D208SMs, a different compound tire. I have heard of people getting over 6k on the standard D208ZRs.

My father SHOULD be coming to the track day with me in April. I'll be riding on the 21st, he'll be riding on the 22nd.

If everything works out (school, etc) then I should be coming along with him to the FZ rally. If I do, I am probably going to do nothing but the Dragon up and back for the whole weekend! :)
 
New tires, new tail light!

Look how nicely that tail end is cleaned up:
IMG_1496.jpg


My father and I made some custom brackets to hold the turn signals in their original position:
IMG_1499.jpg


The front tires turn to slicks for the outside inch of the tire. Traction is amazing:
IMG_1502.jpg


Rear tire has grooves all the way through:
IMG_1504.jpg
 
Bear on a bicycle said:
Looks great! So, how do you like your SM anyway??
Click to expand...


I love it. Wonderful bike for what I'm doing. Commuting around downtown and campus area here in Austin, occasional sport ride, a track day once or twice a year. It's hard to beat 45mpg of stupid fun! :)
 
you know what would look good on that bike don't ya? A Yosh pipe:sun:

Bike is looking good... I am ordering some pilot powers for mine now... those conti's look nice though
 
ppar said:
you know what would look good on that bike don't ya? A Yosh pipe:sun:
Click to expand...

Yeah, but man I am broke now! I have some bars on order (I think, checking into it) because I think my stock ones are tweaked slightly. I am getting some ProTaper SEs for $20 or so, brand new. :) The big purchase was the new mesh jacket (Vanson Vent Max3) as my current one doesn't fit me as well as I'd like. That, and even with the slip on I'd still need to drop some more money on a jet kit. Maybe in the near future, though. :rider:
 
AlphaFire X5 said:
Yeah, but man I am broke now! I have some bars on order (I think, checking into it) because I think my stock ones are tweaked slightly. I am getting some ProTaper SEs for $20 or so, brand new. :) The big purchase was the new mesh jacket (Vanson Vent Max3) as my current one doesn't fit me as well as I'd like. That, and even with the slip on I'd still need to drop some more money on a jet kit. Maybe in the near future, though. :rider:
Click to expand...

where'd you find the pro tapers?
 
I got some bling for the DR-Z. Exhaust heat shield, front sprocket cover, and rear disc brake guard, as well as a set of engine guards (which I can't use).

CFspocket.jpg

CFpipeCover.jpg


I also got my suspension dialed in by the guys at AF1 Racing; great bunch of guys there and really friendly and affordable!

I can't flatfoot anymore, but I am on the balls of my feet even with a full tank of gas. As measured, I had roughly 85mm of sag in the rear, and after maxing out the shock for all practical purposes they got it to mid- to high-40s. The front didn't need to be adjusted much, as it had 48mm of sag right off the bat. Just a few clicks on the rebound and compression dampers to even the front and back out, and the front was good to go. The rear shock was too softly sprung even for MY weight and should probably be resprung if I ever get around to it.

I didn't want to do it myself because I don't know a **** thing about adjusting suspension, and since this is the first time I've had fully adjustable suspension I'll just trust someone to do it for me. It would have taken me a few hours had I done it on my own, but they knocked it out in about 30 minutes.


Haven't had a chance to ride it much yet, but it has a bit more even turn in that I've noticed already, even with my squared off rear tire (from commuting). I practiced locking the rear tire up while bringing it around to the side (just getting used to the tail coming out) and it felt very controlled and comfortable. I'll have to try backing it in pretty soon here.
 
Carbon Fiber :trust: Drool!

Seems like with your weight the suspension would have worked out better for you than it did for me and my 200+ Butt.

Next time you're' on SMJ search for "Backing it in" and you'll see how to use the clutch and not the rear brake. Just gotta find the touch with the clutch. You need to bang it down a few gears and ease it out slowly. Just like a Woman. LOL.

Bikes looking good.:clap:

Oh yeah, the front end isn't fully adjustable so if you like the way it feels after the adjustment you might want to upgrade it. It would be worth it if you can feel the difference that well.
 
So if the bike is under-sprung for you, I can only deduce the spring is there to merely hold the scooter up with a tank of gas.

Nice CF additions btw....
 
chiricahua said:
Carbon Fiber :trust: Drool!
Click to expand...

Yeah, not a bad deal for $10!

chiricahua said:
Next time you're' on SMJ search for "Backing it in" and you'll see how to use the clutch and not the rear brake. Just gotta find the touch with the clutch. You need to bang it down a few gears and ease it out slowly. Just like a Woman. LOL.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've read the articles on backing it in, just have to work up the nerve to try it. I wasn't comfortable with the tail coming out on me, and that's mainly what I was just getting used to. I didn't have a lot of room to work, so just kicking the tail out with a locked rear was fine for me at the time.

chiricahua said:
Oh yeah, the front end isn't fully adjustable so if you like the way it feels after the adjustment you might want to upgrade it. It would be worth it if you can feel the difference that well.
Click to expand...

Eh, it's only missing preload adjustment, and since it wasn't horribly off on sag I don't think it really matters for me. I'm not going to put much money into this bike, except maybe a pipe/3x3/rejet. I want to keep this as my commuter bike, and save my money for a bigger weekend/long trip bike, such as the '06 Speed Triple in white. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top