By PETER THOEMING
24 April 2006

Complete this sentence: ‘Inside every motorcyclist is a [blank] waiting to get out’. If you’ve just climbed off the DR-Z400SM, there is only one possible answer: ‘hoon’. This bike just forces you to be naughty (y’r honour), and for once when Suzuki claims that it ‘captures the essence of free-spirited street riding pleasure’ they ain’t kidding.

I don’t know how many of you Gentle Readers out there remember when Yamaha’s DT1 was first released, but that bike brought an amazing (and I do mean amazing, after riding clunky British bikes like the 441 Victor BSA) feeling of freedom that I’ve rarely felt since. Until the supermotards began arriving, anyway. And the DR – thanks at least partly to its light weight and ever-willing engine – is perhaps the most amazing of them all.

The Suzuki gives away quite a few cubic centimetres and horses to the other popular supermotards on the market, but it never feels underpowered or overstretched.

Riding position is comfortable; it doesn’t matter that the pegs are high to maintain excellent cornering clearance when the seat is 890 mm in the air. Mind you, the seat does not feel unduly high, mainly because it’s narrow. Umm… however, it’s also not exactly what you’d call cosy… instead it is a hard rubber bar that’s a constant reminder of the Suzuki’s dirtbike ancestry. Likewise, while it has theoretical accommodation for two, pillion transport is not what it’s for. No matter, nobody is going to go two-up (or any other kind of) touring on one of these.

What you will find yourself doing is commuting – the bike is a brilliant city machine. With a very narrow front silhouette, mirrors at a height where they miss a lot of car mirrors and snappy engine response, this is just the machine for the daily stoplight GP.

I was fortunate (?) enough to encounter one of those mysterious, apparently cause-free traffic jams one morning on my way to work aboard the SM – you know the kind, all the cars are held up for ages and then suddenly, for no reason, the road is free. In this case it was free for all of 200 metres before I ran into the back of the next jam – fortunately not literally. This one was caused by a complicated manoeuvre by a building site truck, and I swear there were drivers ready to get out of their cars and rip the throat out of the lollypop man holding them up. Not me, though – I’d been slowed by all the cars, but not stopped and I just powered on and away.

Well, there have to be some advantages to riding a bike in the city!

The Suzuki’s styling is unfortunately a little on the plain side, likewise with far too much reference to the SM’s dirtbike origins. The confusing paint (or sticker) job doesn’t help either, but that’s a complaint I have with many of Suzuki’s sports bikes, too. The basic shapes of the sports bikes are generally superb; all the fancy lightning flashes and such do is hide them and reduce their impact.

Maybe that’s just me, although a quick ask-around yielded similar comments. Suzuki is of course not the only offender, but among supermotards brands like KTM and Honda (with the FMX, which sadly hasn’t made it to Australia) create a far more visually integrated package.

After writing those lines I went into the garage and took another look at the SM. The basic lines are good; with some of the dirtbike references removed this bike would make an excellent start for a very stylish streetfighter project, and at the price it would be affordable as well.

Hmm. Not a bad way to go about feeling a little younger…

AT A GLANCE
Model: Suzuki DR-Z400SM
Price: $9590 (plus on-road charges)
Warranty: Twelve months, unlimited distance
Power: 29.4 kW at 7600 rpm
Torque: 39 Nm at 6600 rpm
Engine: Liquid cooled single, 4 stroke, DOHC, 4 valves, digital ignition
Bore x stroke: 90.0 x 62.6 mm
Displacement: 398 cc
Compression ratio: 11.3:1
Transmission: 5 speed, final drive by chain
Suspension: Front, 49 mm upside-down fork, adjustable compression and rebound damping, travel 260 mm. Rear, link-type monoshock, fully adjustable, travel 276 mm
Dimensions: Seat height 890 mm, dry weight 134 kg, fuel capacity 10 litres, wheelbase 1460 mm
Tyres: Front, 120/70 17. Rear, 140/70 17
Frame: single cradle steel
Brakes: Front, 276 mm disc with twin piston floating caliper. Rear, 240 mm disc with twin piston caliper.
Top speed: 140 km/h
Acceleration:
0-100 km/h – 6.1 sec
60-100 km/h – 5.4 sec
Fuel consumption: Average on test 4.2 litres per 100 km, unleaded
Range: 238 km
Colour/s: Black.