Date: May 6, 2002
Place: Puyallup Washington
Siting: Two Suzuki Z400s reconnoitering with an extremely happy LT160

We picked our Z400s last night -- the first two taken home from Aurora Suzuki's allotment of nine. We've driven on the trailer, off the trailer and once around the cul-de-sac.

So far: the steering and clutch actuation is lighter than my 400EX was; the reverse is very slick, as it automatically disengages when you shift back to 1st; a real toolkit (just like the 160); the fuel delivery is vacuum-controlled, instead of gravity-feed, so no petcock to turn off when you shut it down; it is gorgeous.

In three hours we'll be heading out for our first break-in ride.

BTW, many comments have been made on several of the boards about how Suzuki copied the Honda frame. I stopped at another dealer that had both 400s on the floor, side-by-side, and the simple fact is that frames are completely different -- just as most thinking people knew they would be. Also, while the Honda swingarm is a very nice cast piece, the Z400 swingarm appears to be massively strong.

More later.

 

Man, when are we gonna get them out East? They showed up Last Thur, right? I can't wait much longer!!

 

Where is Milroy, Binfordw?

 

In Indiana, A little east of Indianapolis.

 

Okay, the first two break-in hours are history now. The manual said break-in should be a ten-hour period, with no lugging, no constant speeds and no more than half throttle -- yeah, right. As a compromise, I set the thumb-stop screw to 3/4 throttle, am not running to redline, and have targeted break-in @ five hours. Keep in mind, also, that I'm comparing it primarily to the 400EX I had.

The engine is very revvy and smooth. The throttle response from what must be 2500-3000 rpm is amazing. The shifter is fabulous -- short, light, positive. Handling-wise, turn-in is excellent and throttle-steering is available almost any time. Not much jumping on the trails we rode, but the landings felt extremely soft. The seat was quite comfortable, but longer rides will be necessary to fully explore that.

One of the reviews we all found mentioned the Honda felt more "planted." I agree with that. However, I suspect that's a summation of a machine with more basic understeer. The Suzuki, with it's quicker turn-in and available throttle-steer might be likened to a mid-engined car; the Honda would be more like a front-engined car. Front-engined cars are generally more forgiving, but if driven right, the mid-engined car is faster. Also, the difference may be partly the result of different alignment specs.

Overall, I am mightily impressed. I would never have guessed that the improvement over the 400EX would be so noticeable. This is a great machine.