DUAL-SPORT RIDING IMPRESSION: 2025 SUZUKI DR-Z4S

[MotoFactory]

Japanese dual-sport bikes are like Twinkies—they never seem to get stale. The Suzuki DR-Z400S had been sitting on the shelf at room temperature for 24 years, and riders were still gobbling them up. Suzuki probably would have been delighted to leave it unchanged until the sun swells into a red giant and consumes the earth, but the EPA had other plans. The timeless DR-Z had to be brought up to date. In this case, it was a good thing, because now we have a successor that is better in every way. Thank you, bureaucracy.

BUT DIDN’T YOU LIKE THE ORIGINAL?

Don’t get us wrong, we were big fans of the DR-Z400. When it came out in 2000, it was the best dual-sport bike on the market. But, the bar wasn’t very high back then. At that time, dual-sport bikes were dual-sport bikes and dirt bikes were dirt bikes. They didn’t have much in common. It wasn’t until the mid and late 2000s that Husqvarna, KTM and Beta introduced the notion of taking a serious, full-time dirt bike and making as few changes as possible to get a license plate. Thus, within a few short years, the 400 changed roles and was redirected at a more street-oriented buyer.  

Throughout that entire period, the DR-Z still had a CV carburetor. That was the one factor that had to change. Suzuki uses fleet averaging for emissions. The DR-Z and its carburetor were dragging the whole line down, as was the DR650S, which is even older. So, why not update the 650 first? Because the 400 was a far more modern machine and was worth further investment. The enthusiasts within the company wanted to do more than just graft on an EFI system; they had a wish list for updates that was 25 years long. So, everything got changed at once. That’s not an approach we usually see. Instead of redesigning a new bike from scratch, the engineers redesigned all its individual parts from scratch. The head is new, the slipper clutch is new, the starter is new, and it has twin spark plugs, but overall, you can see that it all fits together the same way. It is still very much a DR-Z with a dry-sump motor and a five-speed gearbox.

On the other hand, if you look, you can certainly find some parts that are nothing like the original. The exhaust system now has a catalyst located in the head pipe. And, under the new bodywork is a frame that’s completely different. The old one had a central backbone, whereas the new one has a periphery design. More important, the suspension is new. The conventional fork was replaced with a KYB inverted fork. 

Suzuki is the first manufacturer to offer truly effective traction control on a dual-sport bike. Gravel mode is excellent on dirt roads.

ELECTRIFY ME

We are now a quarter of the way through the 21st century, so you expect the electronics package to be much more sophisticated than anything from 2000. You can select from three power delivery options (A,B and C), four traction control options (off, 1, 2 and “G” for “gravel”), and three anti-lock braking options (full, front wheel only or completely off). When you turn off the key, the bike will remember your power-delivery preferences for next time but not your anti-lock setting. It defaults back to full anti-lock, but it doesn’t take long to reestablish the setting you want.

For the throttle, Suzuki uses a hybrid setup that’s a combination of a throttle cable and a ride-by-wire system. The bike has a conventional twist grip with cables going down to the throttle body, but a servo actually opens and closes the throttle butterfly with input from the engine’s CPU. That’s how it adjusts for the different ride modes. The electronic twist grip used on many street bikes would be vulnerable to damage in an off-road environment. The gas tank shrunk just a little compared to the original; it’s now 2.3 gallons, down from 2.6. And, it is made of steel but hidden under a plastic shell.

When it was all done, the bike gained roughly 15 pounds, so you’re dealing with around 333 pounds with fuel. 

The DR-Z4S sells for $8999 and comes in any color you want—as long as it’s yellow or gray.

THE CALL OF THE CASCADES

For Suzuki, the arrival of a new dirt-oriented model is big news. This is, after all, a company that wears kick-starters like a badge of honor. The world press descended on Portland, Oregon, for a massive introduction in the Tillamook State Forest. Suzuki was proud of the new bike. 

When you ride the bike, you know right away where it came from. Despite the new technology, despite the redesigned parts and despite the infusion of electronics, this is a direct descendant of the DR-Z400S, and its heritage shows. The riding position feels more modern, the bike is slimmer and the seat/tank junction is less abrupt. But, the handling and power delivery are classic DR-Z. That’s pretty good. Remember, Mike Kiedrowski won a lot of races on the original DR-Z. His bike was built by Yoshimura, of course, and had around double the horsepower of the stocker. The production street-legal DR-Z was always fairly mild. It still is. Suzuki says it makes 37.5 horsepower at 8000 rpm, which sounds about right, and that’s how we remember the original. There’s a big difference in how far that power carries, though. This one keeps on revving on top, and the torque starts much earlier down low. The biggest single handicap for the previous version was that CV carburetor. It had a floating slide that would bounce up and down in the rough stuff, making the bike hiccup and stutter. This one has none of that. It’s clean from bottom to top, and down low it has none of the herky-jerky throttle response that’s typical of bikes that were retrofitted with fuel injection. The DR-Z4S rolls on smoothly down low and doesn’t stall. That last point is important because first gear is very tall. Suzuki didn’t do anyone any favors by keeping the five-speed gearbox. First is high and fifth is low. 

VIDEO REVIEW: ALL-NEW 2025 SUZUKI DR-Z4S DUAL-SPORT TEST RIDE

In Oregon the trail was absolutely beautiful. There were cool little creeks and every shade of green that you can think of. It was a little dry and rocky, though. It made for a good opportunity to test the Suzuki Ride Mode selector. Between modes A, B and C, A is said to be the most aggressive—although, “aggressive” might not be the right term. It has a very mild power delivery, and even with poor traction, modes B and C slow things down initially. They simply alter the rate at which the throttle opens at the very beginning. As you near full throttle, the ratio of twist-grip rotation to butterfly movement increases in order to catch up, so full throttle is similar in all three modes. Modes B and C might be appropriate for a true beginner or someone who is new to the dirt. Suzuki’s Traction Control System, on the other hand, offers something very useful that no other dual-sport bike has—Gravel mode. That’s one of the three levels. Modes one and two are mainly for the street or for riding in the rain, but mode G is surprisingly useful. When you try to drift the rear wheel on a loose, rocky road, it lets you kick out the rear end just a little. And when it starts to go too far, the power is gently rolled back. This isn’t one of those drastic throttle chops that we have seen on so many adventure bikes. 

As far as overall handling goes, the DR-Z4S is a little handcuffed by the tires. The IRC Trail Winner tires are very street-oriented. When you couple that with a bike that weighs over 300 pounds, there’s only so much you can do. Having said that, the DR-Z-4S could still manage a pretty impressive clip in the tight stuff. The DR-Z has fairly light steering and never does anything that you don’t see coming. But, with limited traction, momentum is essential, or you will just sit and spin. Suspension, at least, is super comfortable and plush. The new fork doesn’t really offer any technology that didn’t exist when the original DR-Z was developed, but is an inverted design and therefore offers more transverse rigidity. That’s important on a bike that weighs this much. It probably would have been beneficial in 2000 as well, but at the time there was a mistrust of inverted forks in the off-road community. Both the fork and the frame have increased rigidity, and that allows the bike to have more stability without losing any of the cushy ride that is demanded of dual-sport bikes.

There’s a catalyst within the stock head pipe. Yes, it gets very hot. You can see a lot of the DR-Z400S in the new motor, even though virtually every part is different.

A LEGACY WITH LEGS

So the DR-Z4S lands exactly where it should be. It’s easy to ride, super smooth and very comfortable. No one expects the bike to take on a National Enduro. That’s for the hard-core dual-sports that cost thousands more. On the other hand, it’s far more capable than the budget dual-sports that come from China and Southeast Asia. The DR-Z4S is still made in Japan, and we still believe that means it’s built to a standard that is worth paying a little more for. This is a bike that truly is made for rides that are 50-percent dirt and 50-percent street. At the end of the day you need to look at the rides you do and decide if you really need more of one or the other. For the vast majority, the DR-Z4S is going to be perfect.

The post DUAL-SPORT RIDING IMPRESSION: 2025 SUZUKI DR-Z4S appeared first on Dirt Bike Magazine.

Просмотреть полный текст статьи