Getting to Know the DRZ 400: Have Suspension, Will Travel

On Sunday morning while the rest of the family will still sleeping, I rolled the DRZ out of the garage and set off on a local ride. Long Island is still in the grips of messy winter weather. There is a lot of accumulated snow piled up everywhere, sandy roads and with temperatures cresting above freezing during the day – a lot of melting then freezing happening.

I decided to find out what it feels like to ride the DRZ on a road that nearly knocked one of my ovaries loose the last time I took the Speed Triple down it. The road is a mess of ripples, pot holes, lumps, bumps and gravel. At least that was the way that I remember it being. Today I felt none of that treacherous jarring. I just sailed along enjoying the quiet morning by myself. I know that it was nowhere near a workout for the bike’s suspension even it’s its stock form, but it was an eye opening experience for me to travel that road at speed, painlessly.

I came home from my road ride with a huge grin on my face. It was really fun!