Suzuki DR350 VS Honda XR400

[HDL]

Looking to update my woods trail bike.
I have a 93 DR250SE and it has been and excellent bike, but I want a
newer bike and more power.
I have been looking at XR400 Hondas and DR350 Suzukis, I have ridden a
stock DR and it seemed very restricted. Have ridden 2 XRs with
aftermarket exhaust and they were very nice. The only thing is that
the DR has electric start on most of them and the prices seem a lot
better.
Any opinions?
Thanks

[s***@nc.rr.com]

Post by HDL
Looking to update my woods trail bike.
I have a 93 DR250SE and it has been and excellent bike, but I want a
newer bike and more power.
I have been looking at XR400 Hondas and DR350 Suzukis, I have ridden a
stock DR and it seemed very restricted. Have ridden 2 XRs with
aftermarket exhaust and they were very nice. The only thing is that
the DR has electric start on most of them and the prices seem a lot
better.
Any opinions?

If you're restricting your choices to those two, I'd go with the XR.
The DR is more of a street bike than the XR and while there are
certainly better woods bikes out there, the XR is pretty bulletproof.

It does have a *claimed* dry weight of 257 pounds which puts it fairly
high on the pound-o-meter and I've yet to figure out how to ride one
with no fluids in it.

By comparison, the Honda CRF250R (motocross version) has a claimed dry
weight of 204 pounds and will certainly outrun the XR just about
anywhere.

The DRZ400S (closest I could find specs for to the DR350 - even though
they're very different bikes) has a claimed dry weight of 291 pounds.

[Volker Bartheld (SPAM only)]

Hi!

Post by s***@nc.rr.com

Post by HDL
Looking to update my woods trail bike.
I have a 93 DR250SE and it has been and excellent bike, but I want a
newer bike and more power.
I have been looking at XR400 Hondas and DR350 Suzukis, I have ridden a

If you're restricting your choices to those two, I'd go with the XR.

Second that. The XR has better handling, better quality and a more
forgiving engine, IMHO. I also like the oil cooler and acceptable
ergonomics. Sure the XR400 is no MX beast (the suspension is a tad on
the soft side) but it keeps its promises.

For woods and enduro-style riding, it would be my preference over the
DR350.


Volker
__
Mail replies to/an V B A R T H E L D at G M X dot D E

[HDL]

Thanks for the opinions. I have limited $ to spend and these seem
reasonably priced. The DR-Z 400 seems to have cam chain problems that
I do not want.
I have had MX bikes in the past and tried to use them in the woods and
didn't like them. I will probably end up with the XR400, but I am open
for suggestions.
Thanks again.

[bob prohaska]

Post by HDL
reasonably priced. The DR-Z 400 seems to have cam chain problems that
I do not want.

You might want to check the "cam chain issue". I heard the same
story (on the net) and got a bit worried (I have a drz400s). After
a bit of searching the links all seemed circular with no firsthand
experience and lots of pointers to somebody selling manual tensioners.

bob prohaska

[T23A19]

Post by HDL
The DR-Z 400 seems to have cam chain problems that
I do not want.

The older model DRZ's have a known automatic cam-chain tensioner problem. Most
install a manual cam-chain tensioner, problem solved. It's a great trail bike.
Check out this website for more info www.thumpertalk.com

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