As of right now, I own both bikes. My DRZ400 is a plated E. The two bikes weigh the same, right at 300 lbs. Sometimes the DRZ feels heavier in some situations because it is so much taller, sometimes it feels lighter because of the extra power. My dad is going to buy my KLX, so he has been riding it. He is 6' - 220 lbs. The KLX pulls him around just fine. I bought my DRZ from a friend who is 6' 1" - 280 lbs. Now he rode the KLX and it pulled him around just fine, but he sure looked big on it. On the DRZ, he could go anywhere and do things on it that I couldn't do on my KLX, especially like climbing up the side of the river bank. The KLX just didn't have enough motor.

For me (5' 10" - 160 lbs), in tight technical trails, the KLX is way easier to maneuver than the DRZ. I recently cut down the seat about an inch at the front of the seat on the DRZ and that helped a lot, but I am still not near as close to the ground as I am on the KLX. When the the trail opens up, the DRZ goes way faster, easier and it doesn't beat me up as much as the KLX does.

However that said, I think you could make either bike work for what you want. There are a lot of parts available for both bikes to tailer them for how you ride. To me there are two big differences between the bikes. The first is the power of the two bikes. The DRZ-E makes close to 40 hp and the KLX makes around 20 hp. As the others here have said, you can make more power with the KLX, but it will never make as much as the DRZ. The second is the suspension. Stock to stock, the DRZ has way better suspension. At my weight and the way I ride, there is no comparison between the two. This may or may not be a factor for your weight or the type riding you are going to do. My dad is completely comfortable on the KLX, of course he grew up riding late 60's-early 70's enduros, so this is the best suspension (or dirt bike) he has ever rode.

Having a 5- or 6-speed tranny doesn't really matter, both bikes are happy doing 65 mph even when geared for the dirt. And for the record, the DRZ seat starts to hurt my posterior after about 20 min of riding on the road. It never bothers me in the dirt. The KLX seat never has been an issue.

Which ever way you go, you will probably end up spending money on it to make it work for you.

 

Just a reminder the drz400e has a pumper carb on it(except for 2007)and the drz400s does not. Riding an "e" back to backwith a "s" you will notice a big difference in power. Stock gearing may also be different on the two.

 

Since most people cannot plate an "e" and since his requirments are to ride street legal, you should compare the DRZ S to the KLX, when you do that, the KLX is lighter, has WAY better suspension, more ground clearance and overall a better DIRT bike than a DRZ-S. The DRZ-S is a better street bike. Pick your poison, but if you basically want a street legal dirt bike, the KLX is the only one out there.

Power is soft, but that isn't always a bad thing in the tight stuff. With less than $100 you can improve the power and throttle response and improve the gearing, add in a couple of more bucks and you get even more power and lose some weight.

 

Don't the E and S model have the same suspensions?

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products...s/Default.aspx

 

Geeze Finger Mullet, you should just take a snowboard down that hill...... That there is some SERIOUS sand riding......

 

I can't imagine any bike not getting stuck in that with out enough momentum.

 

That would make sense, since the 'E'model's only focus isoff-road. I you're a do-it-yourself kinda guy, I think you could throw about 200.00 worth of springs at aKLX and, after dialing it in,the suspension would easily surpass that of a DRZ. I just think there is a lot more potential in the KLX suspension.

 

Took my klx out for the first spin this year as we have had a long hard winter. Still snow and ice on the back streets. Took it pretty easy but Man it was great to get back in the saddle. Currently I have just done the basic mods and exhaust with Uni filter and dual snorkel and overall I am very Happywith the way it pulls. Now; 30 years ago I was an AMA pro motocrosser and would have dumped this bike in a heart beat due to lack of serious power band. But that type of riding is not what this bikeis all about. It is just plainDual Sport kind of fun! And E start,well that's a first for me. Oh, and by the way Deej, I had run the carb dry about 21/2 months ago and it fired within 4 or 5 cranks.

 

That's awesome man, glad to hear about your ride and getting back into it. Also glad to hear about the bike starting right up. Hey did you see the special on the Speed Channel about Jim Pomeroy? I wasn't really into racing back then, as I was either a little kid or just a distracted teenager. I didn't realize what he went through to get where he was. I was also surprised to find out he was from Yakima Washington, and that he was teaching a class up until he was killed in a car accident. He will be missed by all.[&:]

 

Hey, you guys have given me some great information.

After reading the posts about the DRZ400E model, I quickly logged onto the Suzuki site. The first thing I noticed is that the DRZ-E has a 12.2:1 compression ratio, while the DRZ-S has an 11.3:1 (similar to the KLX-S's 11.0:1)ratio. This might have a bigger impact on response than a pumper vs. non-pumper carb. Any thoughts?

The overall dimensions of the DRZ-S and KLX-S are very similar. Ground clearance is close, the KLX-S has a 2" shorter seat height, which concerns me a bit since I have a 34" inseam. However I do like the weight advantage the KLX-S has. Also the overall wheelbase indicates that the 2" shorter KLX-S is more offroad focused, andquicker handling. While the longer DRZ-S would be slower handling in the dirt, but better on the street.


Both seem very capable and I respect the quailty of both. I'm leaning more towards the KLX since I have a big street bike, and have some very difficult, tight trail, offroad challenges in my area.

Thanks for all the input.