My Build
This page includes an extensive build list of my personal DRZ. This includes all mods, as well as reasoning for why certain mods were done.
General:
-Core moto lines front and rear
-Warp 9 elite sm wheels with 50/50 wraps and oem s dirt wheels
-All plastic brake guides dyed black
-OEM plastics with custom SKDA graphics
-Thrill seekers gripper seat cover
-15/40 gearing for street and 15/45 for dirt
-50 stunt axle sliders in blue
-Zeta gas cap and oil fill/dip stick
Front end:
-2009 rmz250 forks with 2002 rm125 lugs, resprung with Factory Connection 0.52 springs with Motion Pro bleeders and Race Tech Gold Valves
-Custom front axle to run rm/rmz forks with sm triple as well as a billet spacer and billet speedo delete
-zeta billet upper triple mated to a oem sm polished lower, running Renthal Twin Wall 997 bend with ODI grips, Acebris Factory X hand guards w/ Powermadd mirrors and a Works Connection stem nut w/ Zeta cap
-Braking WK055L brake rotor mated with an Accossato 38/34 4 pot billet caliper with a Spider Off-Road axial to radial caliper bracket and titanium hardware
-CfMoto 450ss front master w/ aftermarket lever and ti bolts
-Works Connection elite clutch perch w/ ti bolts
-JNS Engineering head light with TST blinkers and blinker relay
-Custom 3d printed dash for a trail tech vapor allowing a good location for the key and stock indicator lights
Rear end:
– S model rear shock with a race tech 6.3 spring
-Works Connection rear caliper guard with a rmz450 rear rotor guard, also running a Braking 240 rear rotor
-Trail Tech speed sensor mounted to the rear caliper for speed while in wheelies
-Zeta heel guard and lower chain guide
-DRC smoked tail with a 12 O’clock Labs board upgrade
-Zeta brake clevis and billet rear brake tip
-SVX450 rear master w/ purple Works Connection resi cap
-Bronze MXBonz axle blocks
Frame:
-S kickstand to compensate for extra hight
-Enduro Engineering skid plate w/ linkage guard
-IMS pro series pegs
-Billet passenger peg delete
-Acebris factory x frame guards
Motor/supporting power mods:
-Cylinder Works and Vertex 434 big bore
-Sudco fcr39mx with R&D air fuel adjuster, Tokyo Mods billet vacuum plate + stronger accelerator pump spring and Boysen quick shot 3
-FMF SNAP installed into intake boot
-Light clean up porting done on the intake
-3×3 air box mod with a twin air filter
-Yoshimura ST-R cams
-Dpwram Designs Oil filter and starter gear cover
-Billet Yoshimura style timing plugs
-B&B stator cover guard
-Kick starter kit installed
-Loctite mod
-Blue coolant hoses and vent lines w/ Engine Ice and NiceCNC water pump cover
-Custom etched billet clutch cover
-Zeta revolver shifter
-Billet front motor mounts
-Thumpertalk manual cam chain adjuster
-Topar front sprocket cover
-MRD with a Yoshimura 54mm slip fit welded onto the mid pipe with a 2017-2020 kx250f FMF 4.1 can
More about Suspension
The suspension on my DRZ is heavily modified. My reasoning for this was the desire to have the bike sit taller to have a larger appearance to mimic the style of a 450. Also, the stock DRZ400SM models have a big brake adapter built into the lower fork lugs, limiting your options for aftermarket brakes.
The front end on this bike is like no other. The SM forks and triples are unique to the SM model, some inspiration was taken from the 2004 rm125/250 models, but a lot was changed. The forks have 2 less inches of travel compared to the MX forks they were based off of, as well as having fork lugs that are inset towards the wheel. The triple tree is also wider, allowing for extra clearance for the SM wheels, this, paired with the inset fork lugs keeps the axle standard between the S, SM, and even the rm models of the era. Due to all these factors, there was a lot of work that had to be put in when I decided to keep the SM triples but run the RM/RMZ style forks. The front end is roughly 15mm wider than your standard rm models, so to make up for this, I had a custom axle machined with a custom brake side spacer to allow for proper fitment and to make sure the front end wasn’t weak. The reason for all of this was to run a specific Zeta upper triple that I had found, as well as wanting to keep the bike clean and have good quality of life when it came to things like mounting the dash and other components.
The forks are something of their own, with the internals, uppers, and tubes being from a 2009 RMZ250, and the fork lugs being from a 2002 rm125. This bike has been through 4 sets of rm/rmz forks since its initial build, as I’ve constantly been looking for the best forks to run while keeping the triple trees and axle. The RMZ forks have a few benefits over the original SM forks, this being things like a center bushing in the fork, helping to reduce deflection, a 14mm dampening rod, and the gen 2 Showa 47mm cartridges. These forks have race tech gold valves installed to help stiffen up the forks and have the valving be proper for the weight of the bike, as well as having the stiffest springs available to make the bike feel solid. I had taken the risk myself with swapping fork lugs, as there’s very little information out there on thread pitch and compatibility, though it had worked out perfectly, with the lugs swapping directly over with no issues.
As for the rear shock, it was as simple as swapping from the SM shock to the S shock. There is a slight difference in shock length between the SM and the S shock, which translates to about 2 more inches of travel in the rear end, thus keeping the geometry similar to stock, as both the front and rear end have around 2 more inches of travel over stock. The rear also received a stiffer spring for my weight and riding style, though still has stock valving.
Motor Mods
Though this bike isn’t the most powerful, it has most of the mods that you can do other than a stroker and an ACT wide ratio transmission. It’s also been gradually upgraded as I feel the need for more power, so whenever I start getting a little tired of the power, it makes it interesting again.
The motor itself has a big bore kit, cams, and a light port job. The big bore kit I went with was a cylinder works and vertex combo, the most highly recommended kit. The porting job was done by me with recommendations from the DRZ guru himself, known as Waywardson on thumpertalk, or as Eddie. It’s a simple clean up port, as the DRZ already flows amazing, and any extensive porting will cause more issues than benefits. The cams this bike now has are the Yoshimura ST-R cams, which are Yoshimura race cams that were developed in the early 2000s when the DRZ was a race machine. These cams are hard to source anywhere, mine were imported from Japan.
For the intake side, I’ve followed the most tried and true method of running a FCR39MX. The one that is currently on my bike is a near new Sudco carb that has been outfitted with a JD jet kit, a Boyseen Quick Shot 3, an R&D remote fuel screw, and a Toyko Mods accelerator pump spring. All of these mods to the carb allow for fine tuning, as if anyone knows the FCR, they know just how much they need to be tuned in to get the most out of them. An interesting thing that I’ve gotten ahold of and installed was a FMF SNAP, which is a simple cross shaped piece of metal that goes in your intake boot to help direct the air to the carb, increase velocity, and reduce turbulence, does it really make a difference, probably not, but it’s a cool touch.
The exhaust side of this bike is unique only to two DRZ’s, one being mine, and the other being a friend of mine. My exhaust is mainly an MRD SSW, the best pipe ever made for the DRZ outside of the nearly unobtainable titanium Yoshimura pipes. My bike has a MRD header and mid pipe, though instead of the usual MRD can, I have a FMF F4.1. This was achieved by cutting off the MRD can, taking a Yoshimura slip fit section, welding it onto the end of the mid pipe, and then mocking up and creating a mount for the FMF. The goal with this mod was mainly for the looks, having something that should have existed but never did. Not only does this pipe make great power due to the design of the MRD, but it also sounds great with the FMF can.
