2009 Suzuki DR-Z400SM Preview

Introduction

The transformation that practically sends the same bike from the trails to the track is based on the adding of 17-inch supermoto wheels with grippy tires, performance front brake and RM250 suspensions: fully adjustable Showa 47mm inverted fork together with an aluminum-tapered swingarm and rear shock. Also, specially for the retuned engine on the DR-Z400SM, Suzuki has created a supermoto silencer while the new CDI mapping now works together with the taller gearing. The sportier look is enhanced by the more aggressive front fender.

Having undergone apparently minor, but crucially important operations, the Suzuki DR-Z400SM follows a short, but, until now, successful career as it is the only Japanese-made dual-sport model displacing 398cc. The engine’s liquid-cooled, four-stroke, single-cylinder, DOHC, four-valve configuration is perfectly suitable for the specific type of riding.

History

2005 Suzuki DR-Z400SM

First introduced in 2005, the Yellow painted Suzuki DR-Z400SM was, as I just mentioned, derived from the “S” sibling so it featured the same engine, gearbox and frame, but introduced a whole new kind of excitement to the amateurs of street, track and soft of-road riding. The numbers behind it were 34.65 Hp at 7,750rpm and 25.91 lb-ft at 6,000rpm so there was plenty to rely on in whatever riding situation.

In 2006, they added Black as a shiny new color available and white-colored turn signal lenses for improved appearance, but, apart from that, the SM was pretty much the same.

The 2007 model year would have not featured any color chances, not to mention mechanical ones as the bike was still relatively new on the scene. Still, they added Renthal tapered aluminum handlebars in order to reduce the vibrations coming from that single-cylinder engine and add a more aggressive look to a fairly sporty model. Also, this is where the new front and rear axle sliders were added.

For 2008, the only notable change came from the design department. The new White color scheme replaced the now old Suzuki Yellow that was more of a motorcross bike characteristic.

Exterior

Though a typical supermoto bike, the 2009 Suzuki DR-Z400SM brings its own special share of design features on the “highly competitive” market which, by the way, doesn’t manage to provide a decent opponent for it due to the cylinder capacity, but that’s a whole other story.

The bike’s off-road roots still count a lot as they prove SM’s muscle in no matter what environment you choose to ride it. The square headlight is in for road-legality, but together with the high-mounted fenders, mudguards, number and side plates are all testimony of this bike’s abilities to go off-road. The wide, spoked 17-inch wheels with road tires attribute street performance to it, but the balance tends to incline more on the off-road side at least in what concerns the design.

2009 doesn’t bring new color schemes, just new decals to mark the pass. These are very discrete when covering the side plates of the Black SM and more lively in the case of the White coloring.

 1  2 3

Next page