Post a pic.

 

well looks like either way whatever i say isnt gonna be what you want to here.but the bend is supposed to be there,so you must be a bad rider :hmmm:

 

Ummm Im away from my bike right now so I cant exactly remember where that sticker is. You talking about the square down tube above the oil drain right behind the front fender?

If so, I vaguely recall mine having a curved in bit there.

But I agree, he probably is a sucky rider regardless. :lol:

Great advice. The kind you can only get here at SMJ!

 

But I agree, he probably is a sucky rider regardless. :lol:

Hey I can improve my riding skill, I don't have a damn clue how to straighten a frame :lol:

Only to be safe, I went out and took a picture anyways of the "bend" in the frame. Is this right?

 

Yours looks a little more dramatic, probably because of the camera angle and that rust spot that would suggest a paint chipping hit. But from memory, I want to say mine is like that too for some reason.

 

I think it is the camera angle. The bend is very uniform across the tube, which suggests to me that it's supposed to be there if everyone else says there's is like that.

So, next question (so I don't start a whole new thread), how can I reset the suspension back to stock? I think the guy that owned it before me screwed around with the firmness and rebound rates, and I'd like to see what it's like set back to normal.

To expand a bit: The bike isn't ridden currently, any time I ride it it's fine going straight, but the moment I turn a corner it just feels "off". I know it's vague, but I don't really know how to describe it. I'd chock it up entirely to my inability to ride, or just not agreeing with the bike, BUT I owned a 2005 DRZ-400SM before this one, and NEVER had an issue even remotely close to this. I had confidence in the old bike, this one just feels "off". So I'm trying to find anything I can to fix it.

 

I have a little dent by the sticker

Dan

 

Ok, so I went and took the bike out for a ride. I'm determined to figure out what the hell is making it feel so weird. The best I could get it to do - and describe it - is that when you go around a corner at the right speed and angle (it doesn't always do it) the front wheel feels like it jumps out from under you. I'm not loosing traction, I'm not even turning very hard, but the handlebars suddenly kind of "jump" one way or the other. I can put a really firm grip on the bars to counteract it, but then I nearly wreck the bike because I can't adjust to the road conditions :S

Any thoughts on what that would be?

 

First thing I'd do is to check that your tires air pressure is adequate. Then I'd lift the bike off the wheels with a jack or something and then check the steering stem and front wheel bearings for looseness or notchy feeling. You'd also want to give the swingarm pivot and rear wheel bearings a twist as well. You'll need to either rule those out, or identify the problem and fix it if needed. Then try to get a manual to get the factory suspension settings and start playing around with those. I don't have a DRZ anymore so I don't know what settings you have to play around with. That should get you started on identifying the problem anyway.

 

I'll check those things out tomorrow. Thank you for the advice!

 

That bend is totally normal. I would be really impressed if someone could ding that area. Yeah check everything mopar said and make sure all bolts are tightened. Let us know what you find.

 

I thought of a couple of other things that could effect the handling like you are describing.

While you have the bike up in the air, be sure to sheck that your steering stem nut isn't cranked down too tight. If it is your steering will feel very stiff. It should flop left and right smoothly and freely without much resistance at all.

Another thing to check would be to see if the forks are sticking up through the top triple tree excessively. Has the bike been lowered at all? Some people try to cheap out on lowering these bikes by pulling the forks up in the trees and then taking a bunch of preload out of the rear shock spring. If the PO did that, it would give you some pretty bad handling characteristics.

Glad to help out. :thumbup:

 

From my clymer manual...
Rebound adj. located on the top of the forks, turn adjuster all the way (clockwise) in and then back out (counter clockwise) 17 clicks.

Compresion located on the bottom of fork leg turn the adjuster all the way (clockwise) in and then back (counter clockwise) off 13 clicks.

That is stock settings for front.

Rear stock settings..
Rebound is located on the bottom of the shock, turn adjuster all the way in (clockwise) and then 14 clicks out (counter clockwise)

low speed compression located on the top of the shock, turn adjuster (fig. A) all the way in (clockwise) then turn out (counter clockwise) 10 clicks.

High speed compression located on the top of the shock (fig. B) turn all the way hard (clockwise) then back out (counter clockwise) 1 and 1/18 turns.

Hope this helps man :thumbup:

 

First of all, a big thank you to everyone for your help and advice! And thank you F'duponMotard for taking the effort of posting that page from your manual, that's a big help!

I'm up at the shop now working on the bike. The steering stem nut doesn't feel to tight, but at the same time not to loose, in other words it's just right :lol:

I'll work on resetting the suspension to stock to check that theory. Also, I took a picture of the forks, is this where they're supposed to be sitting? It looks like the PO tried to lower the bike a little, but not much. If so, I'll still reset it to be safe...

EDIT: After looking at some pictures, I realize the forks are in the correct stock position. So now I'm at even more of a loss :S I reset the suspension, but everything seems in good order. Maybe I AM that bad a rider :rofl:

 

Always check the simple stuff first; What tire are you running, how much air is in it right now, and is it showing any strange wear or cupping?

 

Have you checked the front and rear spokes lately?

Dan

 

I was thinking the same thing, possibly loose spokes. Get the front off the ground and see if the wheel has any give in it.

 

After resetting the suspension and tweaking the handlebars a little I pulled the front wheel off and took it to a local bike place. They balanced the wheel and checked the spokes, tightened a few up and made sure the wheel was true but said nothing was really out of spec.

So after fixing all of this, I decided to go for a bit of a ride... AND IT RODE F-ING AWESOME

I'm not sure what part exactly fixed it (or if the problem was a few things all over) but it appears to be fixed *fingers crossed*

Thanks for the help and advice everyone, I really appreciate it. I was ready to sell the damn thing for scrap just to stop the headache.

 

Well hot damn! :lol:
Enjoy the ride man :thumbup:

 

Now get out there and ride that thang! :bike:

I just noticed your location and had to chuck a bit. If you just had these problems back in 2010 I coulda helped you out in person. I was living in Lakewood for a little over a year when I was going to gunsmith school. Oh well, you got it fixed is what matters.:thumbup: