The primary advantage of a dry sump engine is it keeps the oil from sloshing around and causing drag on moving components. Its pumped to where it needs to be and the run off is collected and returned to the storage tank. The large down tube in the frame just happens to be a perfect location to store the oil. It also increases available oil capacity and aids in cooling.
@@DorkintheRoad My Honda XR650L is set up the same way with a dry sump, oil in the frame and the dip stick on top of the frame between the gas tank and handle bars. Was odd in the beginning for sure.
The Dry sump reduces frictional HP lose from eliminating the crankshaft from running through a pool , and with a remote reservoir you can achieve a more positive feed into the oil pump thus receiving consistency in pumping and pressure throughout the engines critical components . Oil in the frame is nothing new or weird . It has been used by many manufacturers in many multiple models.
Basically this, but my dad has one and doesn't ever ride it. I've been trying to get it off him for six years just to rectify this and let it stretch its legs every so often.
Great vid Dork, agree on all points as a DRZ owner, you hit it out of the park! Dual sports source their seats from cement factories for sure, lol - I bought the seat concepts seat too, love it. Gearing needs to change as you said (DR650 gearing would work great, I am ok with 5 gears if the 5th gear ratio is right) & you nailed it about the thin cases - why in the heck do we have to buy case savers (?!) on a new bike, hello Suzuki (I bought some). At least with the carb & no computer on board, it will survive an EMP attack, lol, and we will be riding when others with FI will be stranded. :)
Oil in the frame: This method is common on all dry sump engines. If the oil circulates into the frame it is like adding an external oil cooler without adding a radiator type system. The Honda XR650L also uses the frame to hold oil.
@@DorkintheRoad I thought it's because it uses a dry sump, a totally different technology, and I think a much better one for a bike like this. The DR650 uses a wet sump, which is fine because the motor is bigger and can slosh through all that oil.
I just bought a 2000 drz 400 with less than 10k miles for $2500 off a close friend! It’s currently at the shop for a carb rebuild and some other small things! Im super exited to get it back in a couple weeks. I rode it around a bit and im in love! My other bikes a touring bike so it’s a completely new thing for me. Seems like such a fun, nimble, and relatively inexpensive bike.
They are all pretty minor gripes. The DRZ was designed to be a dirt bike first so road riding will be a compromise but 15/44 gearing is a good compromise. Oil changes get quicker after a few services. after 14000km, I am yet to change the o rings or crush washers and I change my oil every 3000km. Here in Australia our DRZ400E has the ignition key still operates the steering lock. I nicely tuned carb still beats the the feel of fuel injection. The best mods are setting up your suspension, MT21 tyres, seat concepts seat and keeping the weight down to a minimum.
+1 for the “feel” of a carb. The number one complaint of stock modern fuel injected, single cylinder bikes are flameouts and jerky fine throttle/ light load performance.
Oh yeah, I had one of those I bought new in '94. Great bike! That 350 would really pull hard too, and that high 6th gear was so nice on the highway! Too bad they quit making that bike.
The oil in the frame is a great addition, my Beta Alp 4.0 also had it (DR350 engine), it gives much longer servicing intervals, once used to it, it is quite simple to change :-) I see a few folk have already mentioned this, but it is a great design, KTM have done it in some of their bikes too.
Great video! I have a 2020 SM, I agree with all those points and the carb has not been a problem whatsoever for me. I’d add the gauges to the list, overly complicated but yet no tach or even a fuel warning light.
I'm coming up on 20,000 miles on my 2018 and just switched to a 42 tooth rear sprocket. I wish I had done that when I did my seat mod. Smoothed it out quite a bit as well. Another honorable mention would be the stock pegs, but a little welding and fabricating also fixes those. Great video DITR!
@@Tommy-iv4cd I meant petcock or valve. Good point on the needle Tommy, I did a JD jet kit (which included a new needle) and 3x3 mod very early on so that may also be the reason why I don't smell fuel in my oil.
Oil in the frame aids in cooling (more significant on the dr350 which is air cooled) and also eliminates a lower oil sump to gain extra ground clearance.
Its a dry sump so you can wheelie for ten miles go straight up or down and it will not run dry of oil. Next thing for me is not that it has 5 gears had lots of bikes with 5 gears its ratios first gear should be lower and fifth gear should be way higher the other gears spaced more apart. Close ratio in a motor with that much torque is a waste.
Dry sump engines like the DRZ has allow for much greater ground clearance. It also allows for a much quicker revving engine, and more efficient use of the oil; keeping the oil in a pan below the engine (wet sump), is far less efficient, meaning the bike would likely need a larger oil capacity. Dirt bikes have had these since the 1970's from some brands; Yamaha's XT500 was one of the first Japanese four stroke machines with this feature.
I’m only 170lbs I can braaap up to 80 easy my speedometer has said 85 but idk how much I trust it. It’s a commuter bike for me and I go through 4000 ft elevation changes daily living down here in Redding it stays a lot warmer until I get up to elevation. My 04 carb has no issues. I have done most the common mods you mentioned.
G’day Dork. Enjoying your vids. Good to get genuine & honest reviews. I thought you had a CRF250L?? I recently got a 2018 CRF250L which I have made the 13/42T sprocket mod. I am wonder whether I would have done better to get DRZ400? Thoughts 💭???
Such a hard question to answer without knowing your riding history. If it's your first bike then a CRF is a better choice. If you're an experienced rider looking to push it a bit more, then the DRZ has a lot more to give.
@@DorkintheRoad that helps. I started riding @ 10 years old. Then had ~20 years absence from riding now getting back into as my kids want to try dirt bike riding. Think I will be looking to switch up to the DRZ in the near future if as you say it offers more opportunity. Cheers Jim.
The carb is one of the things I love about mine. I do have an issue with the throttle being on off when coming off of idle. When in first gear trying to go 5-10 m.p.h. you are either on the gas or off. I may try adjusting the cables and see if I can work it out. I have re-jetted it and done the air box mod.
I have 2 DRZs (S model and E model). My biggest bitch is the leaking needle valve (must turn petcock off at end of ride certainly after riding season is over) or gasoline will leak past the carb and fill the engine case. I’ve rebuilt carbs and petcocks at least 6 times in the 16 years I’ve owned both my DRZs. E model (slide carb) isn’t nearly as bad as the 36 mm on the E model.
@@DorkintheRoad How ya'll getting only 100 miles per tank? I have a stock DRZ sm - The only thing I've changed is 15/39 gearing - and it gets an honest 70 miles per gallon. That's like 175 miles per tank...
Hate is a very powerful word in any context. There is nothing I hate about mine. It would be better if it had another gear yes, but it was not designed for high speed and long monotone rides. All the oil stuff would bother me IF i had to deal with it often, but the bike is so reliable this doesnt happen. The bike also feels heavy at times but considering all the other benefits, this is def one of the best bikes for the money.
I have no problem with a dry sump engine (oil stored in frame or separate tank), because several bikes I've owned, and still own, are like that. My old XR250R was dry sump, and my Sportster is dry sump. It can be an annoyance though. The DRZ400 that I had, I hated it and sold it in less than a year. Biggest issue was the close ratio 5-speed gearbox. Great for a 250cc dirt bike, terrible for a 400cc dual sport (my opinion). Next biggest issue was the seat. The engine itself was decent, and the carb was just fine, the CV carb worked well even at high altitudes.
I have DRZ 400SM year 2007 and my ignition key is perfectly matched with my steering lock. That is weird that you have a newer model, but you gotta use a separate key for a steering lock. Also, some other dual-sport models have an oil tank in the frame, it was the same on my Honda XR250, so it is not that uncommon :)
Oil in frame is not a odd design it’s an old and tested design. Most early 4 stroke enduros (eg legendary XT500) used this design. It allows the sump to be small increasing ground clearance without sacrificing oil capacity.
i really hated the stock mirrors.. Im a bit 'stocky' (pun intended), so i couldn't see around my shoulders... for riding on the road, i dont need any additional sight challenges, so swapping to the double take ADV mirrors has been awesome... again, this is prob just personal preference, they might work fine for 'smaller' folk :)
2021 model uses one key for ignition and lock. Also has black tank with no stickers so straight on with black plastics for me. my hate is the low handle bars . 2 inch risers first mod for me.
Resetting the trip meter is annoying. I don’t mind the oil in frame, my previous bike also had the oil in the same place but it was injection oil. Otherwise I’ve really enjoyed my DRZ for 25k miles now. Zero issues. Mine is geared for the highway(39 tooth) because there is no single track around here, just gravel roads.
Spare wheel costs! Wheels for a RMZ/RM are 1/4 the price used compared to the Derz. Stock springs are far too soft for proper trail riding at anyone over 155lb. RaceTech has great options tho. Ignition switch if you swap out to real handlebars that make sense. wtf to put it w/o making a custom adv dash. zipties lol Rectifier: they burn up around 10K miles due to being relay based vs mosfet and take the stator w/it. Kickstand switch failures on trail. Clutch switch failures on trail . Stock frot cog cover traps all sorts of garbage. Halogen headlight = useless and beam width is terrible for mtn road use at night. (fog lights recommended) Two Words: DeathWings Few things cheap/free to fix. Others, few $$ but worth it.
KTM 690 oil changes are even weirder! Two oil filters, one on each side of the motor, and of course they're different sizes and o-rings! Two oil drain plugs (same size crush washers at least) with an oil screen behind each drain plug that gets cleaned and reused. Oil is $18/qt. Oh, and you get to do a valve clearance check too! Thankfully, it's once every 6200 miles.
Added bonus gripe, the mirrors, ok for street I guess, but will never stay in place through tight trees, and then pain to get back into place, wrench required, once back on the road... maybe this is why you already replaced yours... Having owned a drz for 16 years I love and hate that they haven't fixed some of these from the factory in these years ..
It’s just a dry sump oil system. Many Yamahas and Performnace vehicles in general are designed that way so the engine never starves for oil when laid down or hard acceleration and give constant oil supply to the engine. And that wait 3 min process for checking oil level is with everything with engine oil and a dip stick. Go read every owners manual of your vehicles
THERE ARE 3 OIL DRAIN PLUGS ON THE DRZ. No oil chainging tutorial mentions the drain plug uner the oil filter. drain that so youre not recirculating the oil in that little hole. Its also good for just draining a little if you over filled the bike
Great videos bro. My drz400sm oil smells like gas. I'm going to put a manual petcock on hopefully that'll take care of it. What do u think? FYI it's a new old stock 2018 with 3,000 miles.
if your oil smells like gas .. you need some motor work done you have gas leaking past the rings.. valves.. etc.. also can have bad crank seals.I would guess the bike has high miles or sat along time.. but regardless it needs some work oil should never have gas in it.
Gas in your oil (DRZs) is the needle valve in the carb has dried out and the gas is leaking past it draining straight through the carb and into your case. You’ll have to change the needle valve and do an oil/ filter change and should be ok.
The reason for no sixth gear is that the DRZ400 is an old design...it was designed when 5 gears were common. Also, if 5 gears is enough, why have a gear 6. My XR650 has 5 gears...the torque of the engine is "enough" for 5 speeds. Most newer bikes like the CRF450L have six speeds because of newer design specifications. Whether you have 4, 5, or 6 gears, they are all fun.
The DR650 is a very well-designed and simple dual sport. I've owned two DR650's in the past 20 years, and they are great bikes. Good strong engine, good handling, smooth riding suspension, and a very nice, wide ratio 5-speed. If you ever ride the 400, you'll quickly understand why people hate the gearing, it's ridiculously low and close ratio. The engine is screaming at 60mph, while the DR650 is just getting into 5th gear at that point. Love the 650!!
Fuel tank or fuel economy. Other than that I love mine. I’m just terrified to take it to the mountains in Vegas only because I don’t know if I need to rejet the carb or I should be fine
KTM 640adv also has oil in it's frame. Very under rated bike. Klr dimensions but better suspension and almost twice the hp. And the fuel tank acts as crash bars. Did you get rid of the neutral safety yet?😋
Also the the twist bolts to get into the air filter have a way of working loose and falling off in the trail but that might be an issue for me cuase of the riding i do in thick woods thru mountain trails in upstate NY may be coming loose and falling out idk but they are a pain to find around here to replace
Hi i've been watching your channel for a while, I want to start riding, i'm 65, 5'10" 205 pounds I'm looking at TW200 and Suzuki DRZ400, which one do you think it would be better for me? planing on off road only, I never rode a Motorcycle? your point of view will be highly appreciated, thank you.
If we're talking actual trails and not forest roads, then DRZ400 or DR650 for me probably. Forest roads, logging roads, etc... my Africa Twin for sure.
There's an easy fix for wanting a 6th gear.... ride a Ural for a few days... only 4 gears... At 35 mph, you're out of gears. When you go back to your Suzuki, you'll really appreciate having 5.
Can't say it's a hate issue but these bikes are too dang tall for my short legs . 6' tall but have a short inseam and longer torso . The Honda's are even taller aaahhhhh . Would love a 450 with a 33.5" seat height not 37" . For the vibration issues you can put some rubber or similar material between the bars and bar clamps and foam type handle bar grips .
no, oil in the frame t's not a weird design - it's the most reliable design, similar to xt660z tenere. Oil change is easy, want complicated one get a KTM LOL
How game changing is sixth gear, fifth is already around. 087, not a bunch in the bank really and who cares it is what it is. If my antie had balls she'd be my uncle...
I would take that intro out, I always have to skip it and I miss a bunch of the other important stuff than I scroll back, than I see it again and if I'm. In a bad mood I close youtube and go talk to my dog
It's all good bro, we all have those moments. Just remeber no matter what's going on, we always get to choose how we feel. Definitely spend time with your dog, my dog always helps to cheer me up. Have a good day bro, I wish you well.
The video is literally titled "5 Things I Hate..." You clicked on that and were surprised there were complaints? It's like ordering a banana split and then being like "what the hell are these bananas doing in here?!??"
