You did well with the engine disassembly and learned a lot. As soon as I saw the damage at 07:39 I knew it needed proper repair, or even replacement. When I heard that you sanded it smooth, I was almost certain that was going to cause problems. Typically when journals are scoured like that you can’t simply make it smooth because it’s already lost material. You might get a nice looking finish, but the clearances will all be too great because of the removed material. To repair it, ideally you’d clean it up, do fresh alloy welding, and then machine it back down with a mill to the correct tolerances. As most of us can’t do that, it really needed a replacement cylinder head at that point, or taking it to a machinist (not worth doing with a DRZ when cylinder heads are so cheap...it’s not like a Ducati superbike). BUT...you learned a lot about your engine, and you’ll be able to fix it properly next time.
Thanks mate! Absolutely! My car mechanic friend who helped me get the valves out, give me the same look/message as you. In fact But the innocent inexperienced newbie in me was being wishful. I was told the head needed to be replaced, but i thought of myself of the underdog who persevered with his sandpaper and would eventually triumph. Strangely at that point the cheapest (used) head I could find was $1200, and the cheapest Engine (changeover) was $1700; so when I could throw in some more money and buy an entire motorcycle it just didn't make sense to try save this head. So that's what I did.
At times we don't all need to fall in the same pitfall to learn the lesson :) I've learned a lot from the DRZ and CZcams community, so in a way it's some I give back too :) Thanks again for the support!
Thanks for the story! The more I've worked on stuff the more I've realized that the difference between "can do" and "won't" a lot of times is intimidation. It has become easier and easier for me to do jobs as I've gotten more and more familiar with stuff. Most mechanical tasks are not super complicated, but they can seem intimidating, because there are a lot of unknowns. Some people with zero experience have zero fear, and they delve into projects with nary a care. Others have lots of experience, but are still intimidated. It's all a game! Concerning the cam journal I honestly wasn't sure what your outcome would be. That is a precision surface that is fed with oil under pressure, the oil film floats the cam. If the clearances become too large and/or the surface is not uniform the oil film can't subsist, and then you have the metal-to-metal contact. It would've been an interesting experiment to see if a thicker weight engine oil might've given you more running time. People may disagree, but there are always the amazing cases that defy what the experts say is or isn't possible. Again, that's not a "friction" issue so much as a plain-bearing-loss-of-oil-pressure issue, which then turns into a friction issue. Look up mototuneusa.com, Pat McGivern talks about all the controversies surrounding proper engine break-in and how areas in engines with plain bearings (such as your cam journals) don't break-in on a new motorcycle (they're either properly sized and operate as they should, or they're not and seize, hence the "easy break-in" is a fallacy).
Absolutely mate! That's why I love mechanical things, as you take things apart you learn about it. All those mysterious internal bits start to make sense! You know what, I think you're right! Sanding off too much probably meant there wasn't enough oil pressure to keep it 'afloat'. But at that point, the head was already messed up. So I guess it was worth a try. Thanks for the link, and also thanks for taking the time to share all that! I genuinely appreciate it, and love hearing these things! I learn just as much through fellow-riders comments as through YT itself!
@@OnTwoWheels Another thing I'm sure you'd agree with, too, is that I've learned a lot more through experimentation and failures than by being told the proper way to do things and adhering to that. I'm not dismissive of good theory and learning from a book, but I am dismissive of people when they're dismissive, lol! I know lots of people would've told you not to sand that journal, that it would never have "worked." I'm glad you did, and I'm amazed it was fine until you got to higher speeds. In an emergency, that fix could've saved you.
Hell of an ordeal mate, Glad to see it worked out in the end. My drz was making the same sound a while ago, and me being the paranoid guy I am, stopped riding and took it into my mechanic straight away. Same problem, cam chain tensioner had reached the end of its adjustment and the chain was loose. New cam chain, been running great ever since.
Man hearing your story really helped me feel a bit better about my recent fk up hey 😅 I just cooked my engine from running it with no oil and am shatttered that I didn’t just check it sooner. Hope ya digging the new bike!
We all learn somehow :D I do absolutely love my new bike... as you would have seen in the other videos i've been giving it a good ride whenever i get the chance
Thanks for making this video and sharing all the details. I found it really interesting that you sold 90% of your DRZ in 10 days parting it out 😂. Thats awesome, I love my DRZ. I would do the same and just buy another one and part out the old one. Or keep what ever one was in better condition.
Absolutely mate. I think that's the good thing about having a bike that hasn't changed in design for over 20 years. And yeah, it's always good to keep the bits that could 'fail'. I the stator, CDI and starter motor are the key parts that are small but valuable, so they can sit in the back of a shelf till you need it :)
ive been there before. I got a 1991 Lexus es250 I'm rebuilding for the THIRD TIME because I refused to learn my lesson and be proactive. I got a Honda rebel with a blown crankshaft oil seal because I overfilled the oil and was like "it's a JDM shell burn the extra oil off" haha I totally feel your pain dude
I have a Drz400sm and I’m doing a stroker and big bore. I’m about to pull the motor out. The one thing about the Drz is it’s almost not worth it to spend the money on all the parts since a whole used bike cost less then the price of all the new parts I bought. The only reason I decided not to get rid of the bike is purely sentimental otherwise that pig would have been put out to pasture
Yeah, it was a expensive lesson, but at the end of the ordeal, i came out with a better DRZ and my wallet broke even by selling off the other bike as parts. So happy ending indeed :D
I use a ratchet strap to get the carb back in. Taking it out is just a matter of disconnecting throttle cables etc, twosting sideways and pulling it out. I added a clip in one of my vids but will make another one showing the process. As far as metal parts- replace them. The cost of a new part (and seals) is way cheaper than trying to fix it without machining, and is the cost of owning a bike. With the service manual, you can strip the engine completely and rebuild it. Just follow their instructions. I recently resolved a hard start issue by replacing the cam lift shims. The timing chain didn't match the manual as well so I was reluctant to correct it. I eventually went by the manual specs, put the bike back and holy cow the thing ru s so much better. Trust the manual. CZcams is good to understand the procedures, but you need to follow the specs.
This was exactly what happened to me except while on road , spent around £1700 all in to get it road worthy wish i saw your vid around 6 months ago ahah
thank you,I recently bought a 04 drz400 and it started making that ticking noise so I am not driving it till its looked at,hopefully not too expensive to fix 🙏
Very true. And considering how much underlying issues I had, I would have been paying through the nose to get that bike on the road through a mechanic.
@@OnTwoWheels yeah loved it, shame that the Suzuki $100 voucher that I won that night expired not long after that event. Didn't realise the expiry date was so soon.
@@magyar77 Ohh! that's too bad indeed! Even if any of the winners didn't need any parts i thought everyone would buy a bunch of oil filters plugs and other service-related stuff... $100 would have bought lifetime supply of sparkplugs for a DRZ. I wasn't that lucky to win a voucher though; just the beany, neck-warmer and lanyard for me :D
Mine’s done 10700km and the ticking has started, pulled out the chain tensioner and it is at full travel! So at 10700km of gentle commuting my supposedly bulletproof DRZ needs a new cam chain? Seriously? That’s pathetic! This’ll be my last Suzuki. Surely this can’t be the general experience? Even 50000km on the type of commuting riding I’m doing would be unacceptable? My car has 150k timing belt changes and is past 500000km. How did these things get a reputation as durable? I had Honda XR’s in the 1990’s do over 100000km without a repair to the engine.
I managed to blow up the engine on my DRZ400 last year during lockdown. It just suddenly went on the Princes Fwy one day. It had been stored for a few months but never have any issues until that time. It faded out a few times in the minute before the piston bent itself like a banana. Now I've got to work out what to do with it. Fix or replace is the big question. Learn from the mistakes that's all you can do. Look forward to seeing you around Melbourne some time 😉.
Absolutely.. we can only learn from our (or each other's) mistakes... Splitting an engine to sort out a bottom end feels like a big challenge.. then again, taking the head off felt like that the first time too. You might be able to sort it out, an in the process rebuild the engine too. But at the same time, getting another engine might be a easier solution. How did the piston (rod) bend though? I would think that for a rod to bend there must have been something that prevents the piston from going all the way up? (like when the engines waterlocked)
@@OnTwoWheels I'm told it was oil starvation but I'm stuffed if I know where the oil went. The engine can be rebuilt but given it came back to me in pieces I honestly have no idea how to resemble so might end up selling of unused parts 🙁. Going to look at refurbishment of the carb from older bike and transfer into the newer as it has the smaller carb from the SM model.
@@cruisin650 could be oil burning. In fact mine was burning about a litre every 2000km i think. Yeah, if that's the case selling it for parts might be cheaper. There's quite a few expensive parts in there. And collectively you might even recover close to the cost of a new engine by doing so.
@@dilesh007 yeah I ended up buying a while new bike so I just need to take off parts from old one that I want to hold onto and love the rest on. The engine come back from the shop in pieces so not sure how to market that online 😂. The old gal was a little smokey toward the end so maybe I should've paid more attention to that but consider this a lesson learnt.
I'm working on it! I got it road-worthy and registered, and got one ride on it before corona hit. So now it's going through the Rally upgrade! I'll planning on doing a video of that bike too :)
Yes that's a Ballards rack. Probably the most convenient way to transport your bike! yes, maybe I'll do a quick video on that one day :) Thanks for the idea!
Sometimes it can be difficult to know if the DRZ motor sounds good. There are heaps of youtube videos of DRZ owners wanting to know if "Does this motor sound OK to you?" A stock DRZ motor sounds like a bucket of bolts have been thrown in and If you run a skid plate, it sounds much worse. On top of that I wear ear plugs as the DRZ is a loud single thumper, so may not hear anything unusual. The good thing is that parts are cheap and a good opportunity to add a big bore kit and ACT gearbox.
Thanks for the honest truth about your bike. Wonder what is your plans for the old motor. New head and sell or keep it and build a monster? Hope you have money and time cause I like to watch others spend the dollar. Time for my '05 to get a once over. Has over 11k and no maintenance except one oil change and spark plug sense bought in '16. Pressing my luck as is. Thanks again
I was initially looking to fix this up, but when I found another (better) DRZ with a few missing parts, I took parts off my old bike to get that running. It just seemed more logical. And the left over bits, I sold off and covered my expenses. It IS nice to see others spend their money, I do agree!
Glad you liked it. The bike had done about 24,000km by then; but I have heard of some DRZs running 2-3 times that before needing a new chain; so I don't think there's one magic number. The best is to take out the spring on the tensioner, then remove the tensioner and then press the rod to see how much more it can push. Then, reset it and put it back in :)
This is basically where I'm at, except My bike dropped a valve that is now stuck through the top of the piston, like a thumbtack. My camshaft journals look just like yours, and it was the same noise leading up to it. A fresh 300 mile engine is on it's way. I guess I better clean the carb up in the meantime.
ouch! That's a bit more serious than mine! My bottom end was OK, but I was burning a bit of oil, so i wouldn't say it was a 100%. Sometimes getting an entire engine (or entire bike) ends p being easier and cheaper.
@@OnTwoWheels for sure man, once I get these engines swapped I'm gonna pull that piston out and prominently display it somewhere. I would have preferred to keep the original engine and just fix it up but it would have cost more than a fresh engine.
But if you want to experience the rebuild,once you get the engine out, you can always rebuild it leisurely! And keep as a spare or sell it off and cover your cost. That being said the rest of your engine sold as parts can be worth just as much. Lots of valuable parts in there ;)
How close did you get in paying off the replacement bike by parting out your old one? I found that new genuine DRZ parts can be quite expensive so I’m guessing there might be a lot of interest in second hand parts?
Since it was my first time, I priced everything noticeably cheaper, just to get them off my hands. So end of the whole ordeal, I ended up making a small profit (plus the free engine I got and a few key spares that I decided not to sell as they can be useful for me later (stator, CDI, starter motor) Most vehicles are worth more as parts than as a whole, but it's about how long it takes everything to sell. So it helps, when you have a bike that's as popular as a DRZ.
The automatic cam chain tensioner that comes standard with this bike is a known weak point, I would reccomend getting a manually adjusted version, since they don't cost much, and will save you a ton of grief. Another weak point, as I have discovered(but also a weak point in other bikes like this), is that you have to be careful when changing out the chain sprocket on the drive shaft, as the drive shaft is "floating". On the inside of the case, the there is a slide bushing on the shaft that could get deformed if you use too much torque on the nut holding sprocket in place. This bushing can cease on the drive shaft, and ruin the transmission(happened to me at a busy red light). Use a torgue wrench, 110 Nm. Some say you even should put red loctite on the axle spines(not the thread) to take up the slack between the axle and sprocket to make sure that the nut will not accidendentaly tighten itself, by the slight movement of the sprocket. Personally I think have right tightening torque should be enough though.
Actually the 'weak' auto tentioner was on bikes built upto 2003. The ones after have a ratchet mechanism so doesn't 'fail' with the spring. As for the CC nut, oh yeah, i've got a story on that too.. will share soon!
happens to us all pal,the only thing i would say is,change to a manual cct asap the suzuki ones fail altogether or turn weak,the drz is a super strong motor when given plenty of oil changes...one of the previous comments said they sound like a bag of nails ..nonsense...they only start to chatter/moan when the cct fails, cheers from bonnie scotland, ps the next time i'm visiting my friends in melbourne (altona) i'll keep an eye (and ear our) for your drz..cheers
I'm still on the fence about the ACCT vs MCCT. I see people switch to MCCTs and the 'chatter' simply disappear as they tighten it, but the ACCT on the DRZ is one of the few things that's actually evolved over the 20 years. The past ACCT were essentially a rod at the end of a spring, so the spring was constantly taking a pushback from the chain; but the newer ones have a ratchet along the rod. So as soon as it jumps a tooth the ratchet locks in and prevents the chain pushing the spring. When I removed my old ACCT, I actually did a very rudimentary comparison between the springs, but the old was as firm as the new. But since I had bought it, I put the new one in. And mate, the next time you're in Melbourne, do give a shout out, we might even be able to organize a ride together!
I used both,. My guess is that it was just those metal filings which got into the oil jackets and ruined the cam journals. I HAD noticed a slight cut when changing the valves, but if it was on it's way out, I thought I'd try my luck anyway. Wasn't so lucky end of the day.
@@OnTwoWheels the cams are not supposed to "just move freely in the hole"... This is an gliding oil bearing, there are very very tight tolerances for this whole principle to work. If the space is too big or uneven the oil pressure is not build up properly on the needed area or worse you are wasting precious oil pressure and let the other places run dry. These bearings have tolerances of one 10th or even 100th of a mm and you just destroy it with your fingers and sandpaper. No offense but I new you screwed up the moment you said you used sandpaper :( poor engine. (Sorry I'm German and English is not my mother tongue)
There's a few things you need to consider. 1. Wheel spacers needed. 2. Speedo drive will need to change 3. Front brake disc size is different so you need an adaptor for the caliper to fit over the disc. The good thing is E-wheels are easy to get a hold of, so the key is to keep a keen eye out and be quick. Fastest finger wins!
Sorry for the late reply mate.. there's the general checks you'd do on most motorcycles. I can't think of anything special you need to look out for DRZs specifically. Hope you're enjoying it!
As someone pointed out, when it was sanded down, it increased the tolerance. This meant there wasn't enough oil pressure to keep the cam suspended. When i saw the scorching I knew it was a gonner, but hey, if it needs replacing anyway, n harm trying one last hail Mary on it.
Mine had done 24,000. Honestly it would have run a lot longer if I had gotten around to replace the cam-chain earlier. I blame only myself for my DRZ's early demise
It was the sanding; before the sanding, the cam wasn't rotating as freely as the other. The sanding helped; but it wasn't a 100% fix. So it was 'managing' at idle and slow speeds, but during the test ride at freeway speeds/RPMs it couldn't make it. And the situation aggravated itself and went past the point of no-return.
@@diydirtbike4625 Yes there was an oil supply. My theory is that the metal filings that were mixed with the oil got into the cam journals. This scratched and deformed the surfaces on the cam shaft & journals. Because of this, the cam wasn't turning as freely as the other. by sanding the cams and journals I expected to remove the deformities allowing the cam to rotate freely. I also didn't want to over-sand it as that would then cause a play between head and cam. I sanded it down to a level where it rotated decently, but it wasn't optimal. So after reassembly, it rotated fine and didn't have any issues; but at high speeds the friction probably caused the metals to expand, and then add more friction, and then heat up more, and go in a vicious cycle. This went on until the components on the head got so hot it overheated and couldn't lock in compression anymore... That's my theory.
My mate an I have drz400e an he's shocking with looking after it if he's low on oil I've seen him use cooking oil an that thing don't miss a beat an mine I use for hard enduro but I service it ever 7th ride to make it unbreakable I dunno hiw you manage to blow one up
All it takes is one little chain link to file off metal bits and mix it with the oil.. frankly, the components themselves i feel ware very little with time
@@OnTwoWheels i never entertained a supermoto til recently but i do see the joy of being able to ride on and off road at will and the dr z400sm is what im planing to buy
uh oh I heard a rattle in my new (to me) drz yesterday and then it died on the highway at 70mph. It's at the shop now. Watching this makes me very nervous.
Why am I not surprised you destroyed your engine. 7.5 minutes of you flapping your gums before you guessed at the cause of then problem. This is on you for lack of maintenance.
You did well with the engine disassembly and learned a lot. As soon as I saw the damage at 07:39 I knew it needed proper repair, or even replacement. When I heard that you sanded it smooth, I was almost certain that was going to cause problems. Typically when journals are scoured like that you can’t simply make it smooth because it’s already lost material. You might get a nice looking finish, but the clearances will all be too great because of the removed material. To repair it, ideally you’d clean it up, do fresh alloy welding, and then machine it back down with a mill to the correct tolerances. As most of us can’t do that, it really needed a replacement cylinder head at that point, or taking it to a machinist (not worth doing with a DRZ when cylinder heads are so cheap...it’s not like a Ducati superbike). BUT...you learned a lot about your engine, and you’ll be able to fix it properly next time.
Thanks mate! Absolutely! My car mechanic friend who helped me get the valves out, give me the same look/message as you. In fact But the innocent inexperienced newbie in me was being wishful. I was told the head needed to be replaced, but i thought of myself of the underdog who persevered with his sandpaper and would eventually triumph.
Strangely at that point the cheapest (used) head I could find was $1200, and the cheapest Engine (changeover) was $1700; so when I could throw in some more money and buy an entire motorcycle it just didn't make sense to try save this head. So that's what I did.
Greetings from Canada, by a proud owner of a 2021 DRZ400SM...great story. Bravo.
Glad you enjoyed it! It's always nice to hear from the DRZ community all over!
You took on a challenge that most would be scared to so well done. I wouldn't have the balls 😂
Lessons learned. Thanks for your honesty. Subbed.
At times we don't all need to fall in the same pitfall to learn the lesson :) I've learned a lot from the DRZ and CZcams community, so in a way it's some I give back too :)
Thanks again for the support!
Thanks for the story! The more I've worked on stuff the more I've realized that the difference between "can do" and "won't" a lot of times is intimidation. It has become easier and easier for me to do jobs as I've gotten more and more familiar with stuff. Most mechanical tasks are not super complicated, but they can seem intimidating, because there are a lot of unknowns. Some people with zero experience have zero fear, and they delve into projects with nary a care. Others have lots of experience, but are still intimidated. It's all a game!
Concerning the cam journal I honestly wasn't sure what your outcome would be. That is a precision surface that is fed with oil under pressure, the oil film floats the cam. If the clearances become too large and/or the surface is not uniform the oil film can't subsist, and then you have the metal-to-metal contact. It would've been an interesting experiment to see if a thicker weight engine oil might've given you more running time. People may disagree, but there are always the amazing cases that defy what the experts say is or isn't possible.
Again, that's not a "friction" issue so much as a plain-bearing-loss-of-oil-pressure issue, which then turns into a friction issue. Look up mototuneusa.com, Pat McGivern talks about all the controversies surrounding proper engine break-in and how areas in engines with plain bearings (such as your cam journals) don't break-in on a new motorcycle (they're either properly sized and operate as they should, or they're not and seize, hence the "easy break-in" is a fallacy).
Absolutely mate!
That's why I love mechanical things, as you take things apart you learn about it. All those mysterious internal bits start to make sense!
You know what, I think you're right! Sanding off too much probably meant there wasn't enough oil pressure to keep it 'afloat'. But at that point, the head was already messed up. So I guess it was worth a try.
Thanks for the link, and also thanks for taking the time to share all that! I genuinely appreciate it, and love hearing these things! I learn just as much through fellow-riders comments as through YT itself!
@@OnTwoWheels Another thing I'm sure you'd agree with, too, is that I've learned a lot more through experimentation and failures than by being told the proper way to do things and adhering to that. I'm not dismissive of good theory and learning from a book, but I am dismissive of people when they're dismissive, lol! I know lots of people would've told you not to sand that journal, that it would never have "worked." I'm glad you did, and I'm amazed it was fine until you got to higher speeds. In an emergency, that fix could've saved you.
Hell of an ordeal mate, Glad to see it worked out in the end. My drz was making the same sound a while ago, and me being the paranoid guy I am, stopped riding and took it into my mechanic straight away. Same problem, cam chain tensioner had reached the end of its adjustment and the chain was loose. New cam chain, been running great ever since.
You clearly did what I SHOULD have done. Preventive maintenance and checks really is key!!
Thanks for sharing. Very helpful.
Glad you think so! IF others learn from my mistake, that's some good coming out of it :)
Thanks for the information
Man hearing your story really helped me feel a bit better about my recent fk up hey 😅 I just cooked my engine from running it with no oil and am shatttered that I didn’t just check it sooner. Hope ya digging the new bike!
We all learn somehow :D I do absolutely love my new bike... as you would have seen in the other videos i've been giving it a good ride whenever i get the chance
Great feedback , great movies ! ! ! Thanks
Glad you like it!
Great story, thanks. Learning from mistakes is the only way :-)
Appreciate the support mate. And absolutely, a lesson learnt through a mistake is never forgotten :D
Thanks for making this video and sharing all the details. I found it really interesting that you sold 90% of your DRZ in 10 days parting it out 😂. Thats awesome, I love my DRZ. I would do the same and just buy another one and part out the old one. Or keep what ever one was in better condition.
Absolutely mate. I think that's the good thing about having a bike that hasn't changed in design for over 20 years. And yeah, it's always good to keep the bits that could 'fail'. I the stator, CDI and starter motor are the key parts that are small but valuable, so they can sit in the back of a shelf till you need it :)
ive been there before. I got a 1991 Lexus es250 I'm rebuilding for the THIRD TIME because I refused to learn my lesson and be proactive. I got a Honda rebel with a blown crankshaft oil seal because I overfilled the oil and was like "it's a JDM shell burn the extra oil off" haha I totally feel your pain dude
I have a Drz400sm and I’m doing a stroker and big bore. I’m about to pull the motor out. The one thing about the Drz is it’s almost not worth it to spend the money on all the parts since a whole used bike cost less then the price of all the new parts I bought. The only reason I decided not to get rid of the bike is purely sentimental otherwise that pig would have been put out to pasture
Good stuff mate
Thanks for the support mate! Appreciate it!!
Man, tough break, but at least the story has a happy ending!
Yeah, it was a expensive lesson, but at the end of the ordeal, i came out with a better DRZ and my wallet broke even by selling off the other bike as parts. So happy ending indeed :D
I use a ratchet strap to get the carb back in. Taking it out is just a matter of disconnecting throttle cables etc, twosting sideways and pulling it out. I added a clip in one of my vids but will make another one showing the process. As far as metal parts- replace them. The cost of a new part (and seals) is way cheaper than trying to fix it without machining, and is the cost of owning a bike. With the service manual, you can strip the engine completely and rebuild it. Just follow their instructions. I recently resolved a hard start issue by replacing the cam lift shims. The timing chain didn't match the manual as well so I was reluctant to correct it. I eventually went by the manual specs, put the bike back and holy cow the thing ru s so much better. Trust the manual. CZcams is good to understand the procedures, but you need to follow the specs.
This was exactly what happened to me except while on road , spent around £1700 all in to get it road worthy wish i saw your vid around 6 months ago ahah
That's a lot of money, but I bet for that money you got it done right!
I think you can do ANYTHING, I like you're logical thinking.
Thanks mate. Yep. with all the resources out there, you can learn anything :)
thank you,I recently bought a 04 drz400 and it started making that ticking noise so I am not driving it till its looked at,hopefully not too expensive to fix 🙏
Hey mate, sorry for the 2 month late response... did you sort out your bike, what was the ticking.. hopefully it was a simple chain tensioner!
Took a chance and paid for it. Most of the rest of us would have done the same. I think what got you was sanding those cam bearings. Live and learn.
great video mate. i would have told the bike shop to go get rooted. At least you learned how to fix it yourself and thats a good thing
Very true. And considering how much underlying issues I had, I would have been paying through the nose to get that bike on the road through a mechanic.
The Suzi Licola ride was awesome, I rode with the Strommers.
It's a small world! Suzuki AU did a great job with the planning and the logistics of that trip, didn't they!
@@OnTwoWheels yeah loved it, shame that the Suzuki $100 voucher that I won that night expired not long after that event. Didn't realise the expiry date was so soon.
@@magyar77 Ohh! that's too bad indeed! Even if any of the winners didn't need any parts i thought everyone would buy a bunch of oil filters plugs and other service-related stuff... $100 would have bought lifetime supply of sparkplugs for a DRZ. I wasn't that lucky to win a voucher though; just the beany, neck-warmer and lanyard for me :D
Hi there! How many KM's were on this engine? Love the vid!
Mine’s done 10700km and the ticking has started, pulled out the chain tensioner and it is at full travel! So at 10700km of gentle commuting my supposedly bulletproof DRZ needs a new cam chain? Seriously? That’s pathetic! This’ll be my last Suzuki. Surely this can’t be the general experience? Even 50000km on the type of commuting riding I’m doing would be unacceptable? My car has 150k timing belt changes and is past 500000km. How did these things get a reputation as durable? I had Honda XR’s in the 1990’s do over 100000km without a repair to the engine.
I managed to blow up the engine on my DRZ400 last year during lockdown. It just suddenly went on the Princes Fwy one day. It had been stored for a few months but never have any issues until that time. It faded out a few times in the minute before the piston bent itself like a banana. Now I've got to work out what to do with it. Fix or replace is the big question. Learn from the mistakes that's all you can do. Look forward to seeing you around Melbourne some time 😉.
Absolutely.. we can only learn from our (or each other's) mistakes... Splitting an engine to sort out a bottom end feels like a big challenge.. then again, taking the head off felt like that the first time too. You might be able to sort it out, an in the process rebuild the engine too. But at the same time, getting another engine might be a easier solution.
How did the piston (rod) bend though? I would think that for a rod to bend there must have been something that prevents the piston from going all the way up? (like when the engines waterlocked)
@@OnTwoWheels I'm told it was oil starvation but I'm stuffed if I know where the oil went. The engine can be rebuilt but given it came back to me in pieces I honestly have no idea how to resemble so might end up selling of unused parts 🙁. Going to look at refurbishment of the carb from older bike and transfer into the newer as it has the smaller carb from the SM model.
@@cruisin650 could be oil burning. In fact mine was burning about a litre every 2000km i think.
Yeah, if that's the case selling it for parts might be cheaper. There's quite a few expensive parts in there. And collectively you might even recover close to the cost of a new engine by doing so.
@@dilesh007 yeah I ended up buying a while new bike so I just need to take off parts from old one that I want to hold onto and love the rest on. The engine come back from the shop in pieces so not sure how to market that online 😂. The old gal was a little smokey toward the end so maybe I should've paid more attention to that but consider this a lesson learnt.
Great story, I want to hear how you got the other one going?!
I'm working on it! I got it road-worthy and registered, and got one ride on it before corona hit. So now it's going through the Rally upgrade! I'll planning on doing a video of that bike too :)
I saw quickly in your background a trailer hitch ... is it the one you use for your DRZ . Please tell us more about it. Thanks
Yes that's a Ballards rack. Probably the most convenient way to transport your bike! yes, maybe I'll do a quick video on that one day :) Thanks for the idea!
Sometimes it can be difficult to know if the DRZ motor sounds good. There are heaps of youtube videos of DRZ owners wanting to know if "Does this motor sound OK to you?" A stock DRZ motor sounds like a bucket of bolts have been thrown in and If you run a skid plate, it sounds much worse. On top of that I wear ear plugs as the DRZ is a loud single thumper, so may not hear anything unusual. The good thing is that parts are cheap and a good opportunity to add a big bore kit and ACT gearbox.
You hit the nail right on the head there! Especially the bit about the bashplate!!
In fact the other bike I bought had a big-bore kit!
Thanks for the honest truth about your bike. Wonder what is your plans for the old motor. New head and sell or keep it and build a monster?
Hope you have money and time cause I like to watch others spend the dollar. Time for my '05 to get a once over. Has over 11k and no maintenance except one oil change and spark plug sense bought in '16. Pressing my luck as is. Thanks again
I was initially looking to fix this up, but when I found another (better) DRZ with a few missing parts, I took parts off my old bike to get that running. It just seemed more logical. And the left over bits, I sold off and covered my expenses. It IS nice to see others spend their money, I do agree!
Great story mate. How many ks were on the bike when the cam chain let go? I may have missed it.
Glad you liked it. The bike had done about 24,000km by then; but I have heard of some DRZs running 2-3 times that before needing a new chain; so I don't think there's one magic number. The best is to take out the spring on the tensioner, then remove the tensioner and then press the rod to see how much more it can push. Then, reset it and put it back in :)
How many km or miles did you have on it
How many miles or KM where on it?
This is basically where I'm at, except My bike dropped a valve that is now stuck through the top of the piston, like a thumbtack. My camshaft journals look just like yours, and it was the same noise leading up to it.
A fresh 300 mile engine is on it's way. I guess I better clean the carb up in the meantime.
ouch! That's a bit more serious than mine! My bottom end was OK, but I was burning a bit of oil, so i wouldn't say it was a 100%. Sometimes getting an entire engine (or entire bike) ends p being easier and cheaper.
@@OnTwoWheels for sure man, once I get these engines swapped I'm gonna pull that piston out and prominently display it somewhere.
I would have preferred to keep the original engine and just fix it up but it would have cost more than a fresh engine.
But if you want to experience the rebuild,once you get the engine out, you can always rebuild it leisurely! And keep as a spare or sell it off and cover your cost.
That being said the rest of your engine sold as parts can be worth just as much. Lots of valuable parts in there ;)
Hi , a very honest review of your situation , how many miles had the bike covered before it stop running . GREAT WORK AND LOTS LEARNT ,along the way .
Hey just done mine at 72000
I had done 21,000km on it at this point. And yes, certainly has been a learning process!
ouch, life is hard. my time is coming, i guess. i think my 2005 has 25 thousand miles. runs great though
How close did you get in paying off the replacement bike by parting out your old one? I found that new genuine DRZ parts can be quite expensive so I’m guessing there might be a lot of interest in second hand parts?
Since it was my first time, I priced everything noticeably cheaper, just to get them off my hands. So end of the whole ordeal, I ended up making a small profit (plus the free engine I got and a few key spares that I decided not to sell as they can be useful for me later (stator, CDI, starter motor)
Most vehicles are worth more as parts than as a whole, but it's about how long it takes everything to sell. So it helps, when you have a bike that's as popular as a DRZ.
The automatic cam chain tensioner that comes standard with this bike is a known weak point, I would reccomend getting a manually adjusted version, since they don't cost much, and will save you a ton of grief. Another weak point, as I have discovered(but also a weak point in other bikes like this), is that you have to be careful when changing out the chain sprocket on the drive shaft, as the drive shaft is "floating". On the inside of the case, the there is a slide bushing on the shaft that could get deformed if you use too much torque on the nut holding sprocket in place. This bushing can cease on the drive shaft, and ruin the transmission(happened to me at a busy red light). Use a torgue wrench, 110 Nm. Some say you even should put red loctite on the axle spines(not the thread) to take up the slack between the axle and sprocket to make sure that the nut will not accidendentaly tighten itself, by the slight movement of the sprocket. Personally I think have right tightening torque should be enough though.
Actually the 'weak' auto tentioner was on bikes built upto 2003. The ones after have a ratchet mechanism so doesn't 'fail' with the spring.
As for the CC nut, oh yeah, i've got a story on that too.. will share soon!
happens to us all pal,the only thing i would say is,change to a manual cct asap the suzuki ones fail altogether or turn weak,the drz is a super strong motor when given plenty of oil changes...one of the previous comments said they sound like a bag of nails ..nonsense...they only start to chatter/moan when the cct fails, cheers from bonnie scotland, ps the next time i'm visiting my friends in melbourne (altona) i'll keep an eye (and ear our) for your drz..cheers
I'm still on the fence about the ACCT vs MCCT. I see people switch to MCCTs and the 'chatter' simply disappear as they tighten it, but the ACCT on the DRZ is one of the few things that's actually evolved over the 20 years. The past ACCT were essentially a rod at the end of a spring, so the spring was constantly taking a pushback from the chain; but the newer ones have a ratchet along the rod. So as soon as it jumps a tooth the ratchet locks in and prevents the chain pushing the spring. When I removed my old ACCT, I actually did a very rudimentary comparison between the springs, but the old was as firm as the new. But since I had bought it, I put the new one in.
And mate, the next time you're in Melbourne, do give a shout out, we might even be able to organize a ride together!
Bugger. I'd guess you didn't use assembly lube or a torque wrench when doing up the cam caps? Any idea what happened?
I used both,.
My guess is that it was just those metal filings which got into the oil jackets and ruined the cam journals. I HAD noticed a slight cut when changing the valves, but if it was on it's way out, I thought I'd try my luck anyway. Wasn't so lucky end of the day.
You did more damage by sanding down that cam journal than if you left it scratched.
You reckon? Cos the cam was barely turning without any sanding.
@@OnTwoWheels the cams are not supposed to "just move freely in the hole"... This is an gliding oil bearing, there are very very tight tolerances for this whole principle to work. If the space is too big or uneven the oil pressure is not build up properly on the needed area or worse you are wasting precious oil pressure and let the other places run dry. These bearings have tolerances of one 10th or even 100th of a mm and you just destroy it with your fingers and sandpaper. No offense but I new you screwed up the moment you said you used sandpaper :( poor engine. (Sorry I'm German and English is not my mother tongue)
I would like to find some 400e wheels and tires for my 400sm.
There's a few things you need to consider.
1. Wheel spacers needed.
2. Speedo drive will need to change
3. Front brake disc size is different so you need an adaptor for the caliper to fit over the disc.
The good thing is E-wheels are easy to get a hold of, so the key is to keep a keen eye out and be quick. Fastest finger wins!
Hey bro I’m getting a 14’ Drz400sm with 54,000kms from a dealership in Melbourne what do you think I’m sure they would have checked the bike
Sorry for the late reply mate.. there's the general checks you'd do on most motorcycles. I can't think of anything special you need to look out for DRZs specifically. Hope you're enjoying it!
I recently bought a 2006 drz400sm with 29000km. Does this model also have the weak chain tensioner?
Bikes in 2004 and above have the new ratchet design tensioner
@@dilesh007 ah and is it possible to manually adjust those?
Very very silly mate 😂😂
I know right :D
Wouldn't take a broken down wheel barrow to you guys
Any reason why the cam would have just destroyed the head after you went through all that work?
As someone pointed out, when it was sanded down, it increased the tolerance. This meant there wasn't enough oil pressure to keep the cam suspended. When i saw the scorching I knew it was a gonner, but hey, if it needs replacing anyway, n harm trying one last hail Mary on it.
Can I ask how many kms were on your drz cos people get like 40 or 50k out of them ,there pretty bullet proof i heard.?????
Mine had done 24,000. Honestly it would have run a lot longer if I had gotten around to replace the cam-chain earlier. I blame only myself for my DRZ's early demise
So what was the problem on your test ride? Did you forget to put oil in the bike 😨
Or was it the sanding on the grooves on head?
It was the sanding; before the sanding, the cam wasn't rotating as freely as the other. The sanding helped; but it wasn't a 100% fix. So it was 'managing' at idle and slow speeds, but during the test ride at freeway speeds/RPMs it couldn't make it. And the situation aggravated itself and went past the point of no-return.
Was there an oil supply
Issue? Can you explain this sanding issue further please if
Possible? Thanks mate
@@diydirtbike4625 Yes there was an oil supply. My theory is that the metal filings that were mixed with the oil got into the cam journals. This scratched and deformed the surfaces on the cam shaft & journals. Because of this, the cam wasn't turning as freely as the other. by sanding the cams and journals I expected to remove the deformities allowing the cam to rotate freely. I also didn't want to over-sand it as that would then cause a play between head and cam. I sanded it down to a level where it rotated decently, but it wasn't optimal.
So after reassembly, it rotated fine and didn't have any issues; but at high speeds the friction probably caused the metals to expand, and then add more friction, and then heat up more, and go in a vicious cycle. This went on until the components on the head got so hot it overheated and couldn't lock in compression anymore... That's my theory.
Dealers are biggest scammers
How many miles did it go out at??
It was on 24,000 at that point
imagine all that because of a cam chain tensioner, smh. listen to your engine people.
Didn't you have a Big Bore kit?......THAT is the problem right there, you're starting to play with fire at that point.
NO, this had a stock engine. The bike I repelaced this with has the big-bore kit.
how many miles did you have on the bike??
21,000 km (of which a about 80% are highway commuter mileage)
@@OnTwoWheels wow. did u check the valve clearances? im surprised the bike broke down at only 13k miles
@@diegoaespitia yeah mate clearance was good. The issue was the channel that the cam sits in was worn out, which meant it wasn't properly lubricated.
My mate an I have drz400e an he's shocking with looking after it if he's low on oil I've seen him use cooking oil an that thing don't miss a beat an mine I use for hard enduro but I service it ever 7th ride to make it unbreakable I dunno hiw you manage to blow one up
All it takes is one little chain link to file off metal bits and mix it with the oil.. frankly, the components themselves i feel ware very little with time
Putting off simple maintenance jobs until it goes pear shaped and costs heaps more to fix then the original work, story of my life 🤣🤦🏼♂️
Couldn't agree more!!!
I really want a drz 400 sm
The SM fanbase is quite something too! Where are you based? I see that the SM following is a lot more in the US than in Australia.
@@OnTwoWheels im in usa . Never had a supermoto .
@@gustanchezshambrez6171 neither have I. But they DO look fun, don't they :D
@@OnTwoWheels i never entertained a supermoto til recently but i do see the joy of being able to ride on and off road at will and the dr z400sm is what im planing to buy
Too bad for the sound fails...
Yeah, it's a lesson to not ignore 'sounds' for too long :)
Nice guy bad audio
You srilankan man
Yes I am!
uh oh I heard a rattle in my new (to me) drz yesterday and then it died on the highway at 70mph. It's at the shop now. Watching this makes me very nervous.
How did it go mate? Hope it wasn't too bad!
You could've just said all of that in 1 minute.
Haha! True, I probably could have, but then it wouldn't have been a story :)
Why am I not surprised you destroyed your engine. 7.5 minutes of you flapping your gums before you guessed at the cause of then problem. This is on you for lack of maintenance.
I must agree, what you don't learn in books, you learn from mistakes at times...
Bill just comments negative comments on everyone's stuff don't take It personal. He's such a low life he gets satisfaction talking crap on youtube