next supermoto suggestions

[sm matt]

i have currently been riding my Cpi supermoto 50 but am going on to do my full motorbike test and would like to move onto a bigger bike than a 125 as i have ridden them before and find im looking for something with more power, i have seen the suzuki drz 400 sm as one of my friends rides one for his second bike and says he loves every second of it, the only problem is that the price of the Drz can be a bit high.. what other supermoto's are there that you could suggest to me, im looking for something within the 250-400cc limit with the restriction to 33bhp. thanks

Matt.

[drzsta]

i know the price of the DRZ400 can be a bit high but its worth every penny!! even second hand, the drz has a reliable engine and great fun for a restricted licence holder like me so the 33hp i can live for for 2 years!

the drz with the restricition still goes up to about 85mph indicated and unrestricted goes about 95 indicated.

plus the added factor of mods available for the drz is brilliant - doing the 3x3 mod on the airbox and fitting the fcr car with reject and yosh full system really brings out the beast - you can get up to about 57 bhp with hot cams etc.
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Current Bikes - BMW S1000RR ‘17 & KTM 690 SMC-R ‘12

[G]

So the DRZs good because you can spend loads of money on it to make it less reliable . Unless you really like chucking money away, would seem to make more sense to get a better bike in the first place .
A while ago I got a DR600 supermoto for £600, needed maybe £400 worth of work to finish off. Makes it far from 'worth every penny' for the expensive DRZ, to me.
I'd suggest looking at the Husky SM610 and KTM LC4 offerings for that. They weigh about the same, but have bigger engines that are about as reliable, but make a lot more power stock, also have better suspension.

If you're happy stuck to a fairly slow bike (they're not so happy on motorways, etc), then the DRZ could make sense. I've got a 3000 mile DRZ engine with a knackered big end (stock engine) - so not all are reliable!

Most people that buy DRZs do seem to want more power, if you really are going to keep it restricted, then it may be less of an issue.

[drzsta]

very true G, but my DRZ is restricted and that is the purpose of the DRZ - because of my age at 17 i dont need a powerful bike, i just need something that can hold 70 on the carridgeway and get me to work everyday.

with the travel of 45 miles a day to and from work which is all highway, the drz still fights on (even after it gets it ass revved off continuously)

Its such a great learner bike with most of its power down low and very user friendly.

as the OP is going to be on a restricted licence for 2 years like i am at the moment - power isn't the issue.

since like i am he will probably want to move on to something more sporty after the two years are up - though i am just speculating on that part
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Current Bikes - BMW S1000RR ‘17 & KTM 690 SMC-R ‘12

[G]

I mentioned the power bit because you were suggesting this was a good quality of it.
The DRZ doesn't really have 'most of it's power low down' compared to the bigger capacity singles - it's a bit revvy if anything, though does still have a flatish delivery.
This is also less of an issue if we're comparing two restricted bikes.
The DRZ does have an interesting 'close ratio' affect low down, with a wide gap to fifth, which can make for some interesting riding.

I wonder if the reason my big-end went on mine was often using it at sustained high speed, but suspect it was probably just bad luck (this isn't that uncommon and occurrence.)

[drzsta]

i dont know why your comparing it to bigger bikes, dont bother bringing them into this discussuion, for a restricted bike comparing power and delivery is pointless,

my own personal opinion is that the drz ticks all the boxes for me. it gets me to work and in and round town when i need it.
power really isn't an issue for me on the road as i accept that i have to be restricted therefore a bigger bike would be pointless for now.
If i want power ill jump on my yz450f.
____________________
Current Bikes - BMW S1000RR ‘17 & KTM 690 SMC-R ‘12

[G]

I was comparing it to the bigger bikes a) because you were talking about 57hp DRZ and b) because people generally will derestrict their bikes at some point. You get a decent difference when derestricting the bigger bikes.
You also brought up the power delivery ... where the bigger bikes will generally have a wider range of more power low down, just thanks to the extra ceecees.
The european bikes also have better suspension and brakes, which is useful regardless of the power.

[MattHirst]