DrZ400E on-road stability?

[firebladejr]

I picked up my DRZ400E yesterday... the bike is currently on knobbies, so needless to say it was an interesting 45min ride home.
I have a question though, I've just ordered some 17" wheels & a 320mm contour rotor for the DRZ, when I put these on with my brand new hoops (Pilot Powers) will it make on-road riding feel more stable? The reason I ask is that yesterday whilst riding home on the knobbies, anywhere above about 75km/h starts to get very wobbly. I'm really hoping that that the new rims+tires will increase the stability of the bike, otherwise I think it will take me a while to get my confidence up enough to start carving on something that feels like it's slipping around on ice..

[scozzie]

I reckon it would be more stable although I can't speak from experience. Someone on here will be able to give you the word.
As far as riding with knobbies on the bitumen is concerned, you'd get used to it and be throwing it around in no time. It's such a huge difference in feel from a road/race type bike (I'm assuming a fireblade) but once you get the feel it's OK.

[Tom]

Cutting back the front fender also makes a big difference, the stock dirt one flaps around in the wind and makes the front wobble.

[firebladejr]

thanks for the replies..
Now that you mention it, the front fender may have been adding to the wobble.

and I just came off my R6 :) totally different. I think it will take me a while to get some confidence on this thing.. at the moment it feels as stable as the R6 with two flat tyres :shock:

I'm hoping with the new 17's, the new rubber and a motard front fender it'll feel somewhat more steady..

[jakestein]

More weight on the front helps too.( Smaller wheels)

[Muzzard]

Like Ash said the other day, this should soon be called VSDRZR (Victorian Street DRZ Riders) :roll:
I used my knobbies once on the tar to go to work one day when it was flogging down thinking I would have some fun on the dirt road that was a short cut home.
I rode the whole way on the tar in the end cause I had so much fun with the controlled slides in and out of the corners in town, :twisted:
As fun as it was, I wouldn't recommend it.

Steve rode his new DRZ with us on a club ride in the stock dirt trim and kept us a good pace. Didn't appear unstable.
Slid around a lot of corners, but didnt appear unstable...

And your wheels are courtesy of?
Yes, Most definitely your DRZ will feel more stable with the 17" wheels as you are now 3 or so inches closer to the ground.
You mention your sport bike days, forget them, the motard will have you once you ride with the 17's...
The weight centre becomes so low for the head angle that shimmy only occurs really at over the 160kph mark, and that my friend is nailed for most mootangs.

[Wobbly]

You non-DRZ riders are just jealous :D

No problem with DRZ stability mate - buy one of those $50 acerbis or other front supermoto fenders and drop the yokes about 10mm and you'll be set :up:

Up at Bright I was coming back from Omeo toward Hotham and had the DRZ flat out at about 165kph with me laying on the seat (this is real calibrated speed too, not that poofy innacurate mechanical speedo shite too ;) ). No stability problems at all.

In fact the DRZ is basically dead stable everywhere. The only time I get any shimmy is when I'm yerking and yanking on things with my motogp rider riding skills :lol2: Of course I should really keep my hands on the handlebars... :oops:

[Flash]

What.....Jealous of an Ag bike.... Ha! :lol:

[Tom]

shimmy only occurs really at over the 160kph mark, and that my friend is nailed for most mootangs.

Say's who? with 15/40 gearing the XR breaks 200kph (and yes it does get a little unstable up there!!)

[banshee]

Check your suspention set up i found you just can ride it you have to set it up for your weight and riding i had massive speed wobles at hi speed and shifting you weight at diffrent speed helps in difrent situations so dont go full comp or full rebound or full neg rebound you have to adjust is and get it right and it should be fine ;)

[Muzzard]

I said most Tom,
And are you sitting in the upright position at 200? :shock:

[DEAN]

I made reverse change - put 21" front wheel to my DR-Z400sm. at 90mph it rides now as a big jellycake. never was so on 17"

so you will be stable as rock on your sticky pilotsports and 17" rims

[Sibbo]

It is also getting a feel for it. When mates (road bike) of mine have ridden my YZ motocross bike on dirt, they say it feels like it is going to slip over as it just wanders around the place so much. When I ride the same bit of dirt, I done even notice it at all. But the first time I rode on a MX track, I noticed the very same thing.

After a little time you will be used to it and will only notice it when it is properly sideways!

[Muzzard]

Welcome Dean,
Avatar location correct, then a special Welcome to you as the first from Moscow and congratulations on being awarded the title of Eastern European Correspondent :lol: ...

All the DRZ's I have seen motarded are good bikes.
I have a healthy respect for them for the obvious reasons, longevity of engine, ergonomics, reliability overall, price.

The only DRZ I have seen unstable at any speed, was Neil approaching a particular steel jump ramp at Wodonga. ;)

[Sibbo]

That is because he was getting ready for take off!! I have never seen legs out so far and off the bike!!! Has the swelling gone down in the affected area?

[Flash]

I'm still spewing that I got there late!!!

[Sibbo]

But you saw the best part.....the fire works!

[Wobbly]

I think you're pulling an awfully long bow calling that 'speed' muzz ;)

And the swelling has gone down thankyou ... which is a shame since I was looking like marky mark for a while there :shock:

[Tom]

I said most Tom,
And are you sitting in the upright position at 200? :shock:

Just having a laugh, it does do 200, but you have to sit back and lean right forward or you end up pulling back on the handle bars too much to keep stable.

Speaking of suspension set ups. . .

i've been playing with my rear sag (sounds a bit dirty!) and have it set at about 60mm rider sag with about 10mm static sag. I then had a look at my mates CBR and they're set at about 25mm, with 0mm static sag.

Since i do very little dirt riding these days, should the sag be set closer to 25mm and is it ok to have 0mm static sag? i know that static sag is essential for dirt riding on whoops, jumps, bumpy trails etc but is it necessary on the road?

[Muzzard]

Tom,
I have the rear of my WRF set up from stock settings;
Static sag @ 15mm
Static with rider @ 100mm
Compression damping stiffer 4 clicks
Rebound damping stiffer 4 clicks

Front is matched in compression/rebound adjustments..

[Wobbly]

You still want the bike to handle small irregularities well, so I'd say somewhere in between. If you wind on too much preload it may well become overly harsh, so you'd be better off going up in spring weight.

[Muzzard]

Thats one of the reasons I didnt opt for an aftermarket suspension setup with springs thrown in, as the factory ones should see the limitations imposed by my weight and the bikes need to be road friendly as well as still be able to 'do dirt' without a need for a stop and screwdriver adjustment so the bike will stay on the track... :roll:

[Tom]

hhmmmmm. . .

I think i'll keep the springs i've got and play with the settings a bit. My clickers are 5 clicks out from full stiff on all settings (whick i think is about 75% stiff). You're probably right, if i were riding around eastern creek for a day i might go up to 25mm rider sag, but on the street i'll try a few settings between 50mm & 100mm and see what works.

I'm also toying with the idea of going up in fork oil weight, anyone done this yet? i seem to be bottoming out the front suspension on very hard breaking and don't really want to change the valves or springs yet, i've heard a 21 weight is about as heavy as i should go, but i don't even know what the standard oil is (the workshop manual just says "fork oil").

Sorry if i'm hammering everyone with too many questions, but i hate doing things twice when i get it wrong.

Tom.

[Flash]

I'd put springs in straight away on a "trail" bike, MX bike you could get away with easy, even an enduro bike but not a trail bike way to soft.

[jakestein]

My WR is ok on the road and stil kicks it in the dirt!

On the track it would need maybe YZ springs up front or stiffer again.

My clickers are simular to Muzz.

Ballards have all you will need in stock ring em for a price.

[Muzzard]

I'd be going with a fork oil weight change to start with as the cheapest fix for the problem.
20 wt would be fine. ;)

Either Ballards for advice/selection or Eibach branded springs specific to your needs would be the best option to firm up the front dive, if its already at that firm a setting on the compression damping...

[Wobbly]

The only problem with going up in for oil weight is that you change the dampening characteristic across the entire range. I'm thinking that for motard you want to slow down your slow speed compression but still keep your high speed quick light in action, and that rebound should be kept relatively light as well.

You might even find that running your standard weight oil and running a bit more of it could help as well, providing less air gap for compression (as long as you don't close it up so much it causes hydraulic lock and the forks go harsh under compression)...