A couple of years ago we bought a DRZ400S with the intention of taking to the fields. Sadly about three days after buying it the foot and mouth crisis broke and we were left using it for commuting to work. Anyway, I got sick of puttering around on the DRZ, its not the most exciting road bike, so I thought I'd get rid of it - but then I felt that I hadn't been fair to it and that I should at least give it a crack off-road. Any right minded person would have joined the TRF and taken in a few green lanes...sadly I don't posses that level of common sense.

Flicking through Trials and Motocross News I saw an event called "slow Pete", an enduro event for Novices, run by the Cotswold Enduro club at Hope under Dinmore - about 20 miles away from where I live. I gave them, a call and said "is this the sort of event for a complete novice on a trail bike..." they said yes, so I paid my £28 and signed up, all I needed now was to get the bike ready....

To cut a long story short I ended up fitting Michelin CompIII enduro tires myself (from RaceSpec in Ledbury). Having realised way to late that I really shouldn't be doing this I also decided that having fallen off the DRZ in a car park, I'd better lower the bike and fit some protection. As you can see from the picture the compIII's are very different to the trailwings...

We picked up a good tip which was to use a normal garden spade to do this. Having broken the bead, you can then get your tire irons out and start getting the tire off.

	Having removed the old tires we set about fitting the new ones. When fitting offroad tires it is recommended that you fit rim-locks, these simply clamp the tire against the rim and stop the tire creeping when running low air pressures. Luckily the DRZ rims are already drilled for rim-locks (although there is only one hole on the rear rim - two holes are ideal).
	So, we dropped in the rim locks and set about fitting the new rubber. The first thing we noticed was that the compIII's weighed about a third of the trailwings and were much more flexible, this actually made them fairly easy to fit. We put a bit of soap on the new tires to help them slip on.

Within an hour we'd fitted them both (if you ignore the 20 minutes it took us to fit and remove the rear having put the tire on facing the wrong direction).

	This can be done on the DRZ by using a longer pair of tie rods (see picture) we picked up a pair of Talon tie rods for about £40 from RaceSpec again. To be honest, once the rear wheel has been removed, fitting the new tie rods was a doddle. Simply unbolt the old one and fit the new ones.
	Whilst we had the tie rods off we also greased the bearings, noting that there didn't seem to be any grease on them when they left the factory...The end result of the lowering link is a much lower seat height in the centre of the bike (about an inch) and an even bigger reduction towards the back of the bike.
	To compensate a little we raised the pre-load of the rear shock, with some difficulty as it is difficult to get at. And we also dropped the forks. People we'd spoken to suggested dropping them about 15mm, but this is impossible without increasing the pre-load as the pre-load adjusters hit the bars at a bout 8mm on stock adjustment, so 8mm it was. This still left the bike looking a little chopperesque, but we decided to give it a go anyway, it made a real difference when sitting on the bike. I could get both feet down easily (I'm under six foot).
	The last task was to fit some hand protectors. We had a look around and decided that spending £50 on alloy bark busters wasn't going to be necessary (we wouldn't be going fast enough, and this is a novice event...) so we got some polisport wraparound guards. These fitted with a little faffing about, but couldn't be made to cover the entire master cylinder - we also got the wrong fitting kit, but luckily we could adapt the standard bar-end mounts (the event was the next day, so we couldn't change them).

So that was it, fit the wheels and we were ready to go. A brief blast down the road and the poor road characteristics of the compIII's was confirmed - but we only needed to get to the event on them, the enduro was all off road...

	12:30 race start - people still coming up to me and looking a bit curious as to who the fat bloke on the road bike is. Most of the competitors are very friendly and offer a few words of advice whilst trying to maintain a straight face. The experts go off first and then I'm away, fighting for last spot into the first turn. Everyone I spoke to said "you'll be OK, if you take it at your own pace" - so I did - slowly.
	After a quick blast through a field the course turns back on itself along a stream - great fun and I managed not too fall off. The compIII's are superb, getting loads of grip on the slippery climb out of the stream (made more slippery by being the last man out). I'm really enjoying myself.
	At the top of the climb there's a tight left turn and I'm beginning to realise why everyone has been talking about the gearing. It's way to high to tackle tight stuff, at the top of the climb I topple over having stalled the motor. No damage so keep going, the electric start is great, but picking the bike up isn't that easy as it's trying to roll back down the hill and isn't that light.
	Most riders are on either pukka enduro bikes or motocrossers. KTM's seem to be the hot ticket for many of the competitors, but there is plenty of variety and bikes range from kids bikes to big bore XR's. A few older bikes around but most guys seem to be taking it seriously and have the kit to prove it.

This pattern repeats itself until I get the hang of slipping the clutch constantly on the climbs. Suffer the indignity of falling off twice in front of a Marshall, who kindly tells me that the rider in front is a 15 year old girl...but I have to thank him for helping me pick up the bike, cheers. We have time for a chat as the bike won't start. Religiously following the Suzuki instructions not to touch the throttle when starting doesn't work - it's not until I open it half a turn that the motor fires again. A couple more falls and we are in to the woods.

Now I know how the course gets to be five miles, its tight and twisty through the trees - again the gearing really isn't helping. As I progress through the trees the course gets gradually tighter and then I realise how slow I must be going as the leading riders start to pass me, Christ I'm not even half way round. Eventually get to a bit of a descent and stop at the top. Its only the laughing of all the kids watching that persuades me I'd better get down to the bottom before they wet themselves. The Suzuki is great going down hill, the lowering link makes it easy to get your weight back. More wood, more trees, fall off a couple of times trying to let faster (i.e. everybody) riders get past. There's a strong smell of burning coming from the clutch. Finally I get out of the trees and make it back to the pits.

I am exhausted. I stop for a fag and a drink and contemplate why I did this. I'm reluctant to go for another lap as the clutch is smelling strongly and slipping a bit and I have to ride the thing home. I'm tired and figure I'll make more mistakes. Having had another fag (should indicate my fitness level) I decide to at least ride the stream again and see how it goes. Having got through the stream I spot the editor chuckling at the side of the stream. He doesn't look impressed so I decide that maybe I should call it a day, he reckons he could run quicker round the course and I had to agree with him. I have had a great time (surprisingly) and decide to quit while I'm ahead...OK so one and a bit laps is pretty pathetic, but if you're on the heaviest bike, with the worst gearing , with the least training and preparation then I guess you can't expect too much. It's a bit like entering the London Marathon and doing no training.

What was I thinking of? Enduro riding is a serious sport which requires preparation, training and skill, I take my hat off to the guys out there riding and I will be back once the clutch plates cool down and I've changed the gearing (and shed a few pounds).

About the DRZ 400 S

The Suzuki DRZ has been around for a couple of years and a few are finding their way onto the second hand market at around £2500. The bike comes in several flavours, the trail version we have (the S) and two enduro versions (with and without electric start). The enduro versions have slightly more power and a plastic tank plus proper off road gearing, tires etc. A new DRZ can be had for between £3500 and £4000.

Useful links

Cotswold Enduro club

Thumpertalk.com a lively forum with an area for DRZ owners

RaceSpec.co.uk suppliers of our tires and other bits and pieces

Ok, so the total costs are pretty high but everything but the Entry fee and numbers will last for more than a single race, so on the whole we felt it was good value for the amount of time you get to compete.