Ok,

My new DRZ 's' model is going on a serious weight loss program. I'm hoping to lose nearly 25lbs, which together with the airbox mod and a dynojet kit should see reasonable performance in extended soft sand sections. Also when I drop it (not if...) I might be able to pick it up!!

I've found loads of info on the usual forums and thats been great, but one thing I am keen to do is replace the rear end of my 's' model for an 'e' model version. i.e. remove the subframe and replace the plastics.

It's interesting to note that when poeple talk about the 'e' model having no rear subframe....its a lie! I know, cos I've got one!

Problem is that the bike is in Spain, and I need to figure out exactly which parts I need to swap over.

Can I get away with the small plastic rear mudguard insert from an 'e' model together with an 'e' model subframe? Or do I have to replace a large chunk of other 's' plastics too?

Also, if I replace the 's' model subframe with an 'e' model, can I assume that the 'e' model subframe has an exhaust mount bracket on it so that I dont have to worry about replacement exhaust hangers?

Finally, do you think it be OK to ditch the Unabiker Rad guards as I have an IMS tank that does an excellent job of looking after the rads...?

Just a 'few' questions that sprung to mind in the last 5 mins!

T-Minus 6 months and counting to the desert.....AGAIN!!

Cheers!

Dave

Are you sure you want to remove S subframe? Weight saving is probably not that big if you put E subframe. Also, rear loop of S subframe helps when you need to pull your bike out of some ditch or want to raise rear wheel slightly to move rear end sideways, and of course some more support for your cargo.

Most weight savings can be probably done by replacing full exhaust with a titanium or alu one.

This post may be helpful:

DRZ400E Rear Subframe Beef - ThumperTalk

If you end up doing the swap, weight both subframes and let us know the weight of these.

Lots of stuff you can pull off before you pull swap out the rear subframe and tank. Passenger foot pegs, rear tail light assembly and swapping to a diffrent exhaust system to name a few. actually the exhaust is HEAVY! As for the rad guards I suggest you keep them on. I had many a crash with no rad damage, then one day a slight tip over killed one of my radiators. The tail light assembly can be replaced and cut some weight.

Bang for buck on power is 3x3 mod, exhaust system, and cams. These together will really wake your bike up. To increase compression swap the S head gaskit for the E. You will need to use premium gas after that however.

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John

Hi Dave
As you know, I've got an E and a S. They are both in the garage at the moment. If you want to swing by my house in the next 10 days or so, you can have a look/compare the 2 bikes. After that time I'm away for the summer. I'll be at Ripley, but will only have the E in the van (and it will be full with lots of stuff, so un-unloadable) and am heading for Romania straight after the meet.
cheers
Chris

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CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

You won't be able to get rid of that much of weight without loosing some functionality, eg carrying luggage. My S weighs about 150kg fully equipped for the desert including 10 litres of fuel. Equally equipped the E of a friend of mine weighs about 5kg less.

And for a trip into the desert (I concluded that from you mentioning extended soft sand sections) I would suggest to put the emphasis on reliabillity and arriving safely (or at all). In the desert it's not about how much a spare part is or from which dealer you get it. It's about reaching your destination with the means you have on your hands. Put on reasonable protection for the machine: case savers, some kind of radiator protection. Repair kits for tubes and some spare tubes including the tools to really do it, spare levers (front brake, clutch, shifter), a clutch cable.

The gains by tuning the S are negligible. I never had a problem to keep the pace with a friend of mine who rides an E. And as you know, that means 49 against 39 ponies, about 25%. The speeds you ride in the desert are much lower then you anticipate. Forget what you saw watching the Paris-Dakar. In Tunisia (short dunes) I used a transmission ratio of 14/47, for the long distances in Libya I switched to 15/47.

The rear subframe of the S and the E are quite different. The one on the E is considerably shorter and can not take any weight behind the seat. Over here the S is homologated for a pillion, the E is not. Would you believe drawings from the repair manuals of the manufacturer?

A drawing of the complete frame of the E:
Ronayers.com Fiche Desktop Motorcycle Suzuki 2003 DR-Z400E FRAME

A drawing of the complete frame of the S:
Ronayers.com Fiche Desktop Motorcycle Suzuki 2003 DR-Z400S FRAME
(Flash Plug-In is necessary to see the drawings)

The plastics of an E can be made fit on an S, but they won't fit well around the area where the rear frame of the E ends. You will have to cut a way for the larger sub frame. I'm cheap so I got me a used set of plastics from an E and fitted them to my S. I don't have my bike to look at it.

The rear mudguard on mine is from a KTM EXC. Fitting it means to cut off a good portion of the upper part. A nice touch is that the angle of the part that holds the rear light has the same angle as the original part so the rear light sits level.

Don't know about the mounting of the exhaust on the E, but maby the drawings above can help.

IMS tank and Unabikers don't go together on one bike. You will have to ditch them if you go for an IMS. There is not enough room for the Unabikers underneath the IMS (I tried). If you want to keep them, go for an Clarke tank.

No, in my experience it doesn't. First I had am IMS tank, then I had a dented radiator. After that I got a Clarke tank and Unabikers. No problems since then. It is possible however to build an additional support for the IMS tank that fixes the two sides to the main frame in front of the cylinder like my friends did. But the IMS tank should not brace itself against the radiators.

Think about it: a broken cooler in the desert you can't fix means someone else transports your bike, your gear and yourself or you leave it where it is. And don't bother to come back to pick it up again instead you're willing to make someone stay with it until you come with the spareparts and the means to repair it or a transport back into civilisation. Food and water for how many days can you spare for that person?

Now my S has about 16.500km on the clock, a third of it comes from riding in Tunisia and Libya.

Pictures from Tunisia are here: Tunesien 2006/2007, Album 1

Pictures from Tunisia and Libya are here: Tunesien und Libyen 2007/2008, Album 1

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Seen whilst travelling - Fernwehstammtisch Karlsruhe - Relief action Togo Togoville e.V.

49bhp for E and 39 for S models!!! is it really that much?. How much difference does it make to the torque and at what revs thanks

+1 on the stock muffler being heavy as hell.

The E subframe is aluminum and lighter, but not good for long distance and mounting of hard luggage. It can break in those instances. For how long are you going, do you need to mount hard luggage?

Hot cams, increasing compression - not for long distance imho, but ok to soup it up for short trips. If you want to built a reliable long distance bike, I would keep the performance mods to minimum.

You can swap the carburetors, the E carb will give you more power.

Thumpertalk.com has lot of the answers.

I suggest you manufacture the rear axle out of wood, like I did. Also, do away with the rear brake. To slow down, just swerve left or right and the wheel will rub on the swing arm:

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CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

Mate, shame on you for not specifying hardwood only for that axle! You must know by now that inexperienced bike customisers might not know that something like soft pine would be entirerly unsuitable for this application! Now if it was a C50 Honda or similar, you could get away with seasoned Baltic pine, but on a DRZ400, hardwood is the onlt way to go...



Cheers, bloke

Nigel in NZ

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