Dear Suzuki,
I think it’s time to put a navigation tower on the DR-Z4s.
The Winds are Shifting
There are a lot of things converging in the motorcycle market right now that make me think Suzuki has a pretty obvious opportunity sitting right in front of it. KTM has finally decided to put a rally tower on the 690 platform, something individual owners have been doing to their 690 Enduro Rs for years. Despite how much effort various companies have put into low-displacement twins, there’s still demand for “rally” or adventure style singles. People are buying aftermarket nav towers and installing them on their dual-sport bikes because they want to maintain aggressive off-road capability and low weight while adding some street comfort. Unfortunately, despite adding the word “Adventure” to a lot of these small-displacement twins, manufacturers continue to use street bikes as the framework, with most “lightweight” ADV bikes still tipping scales over 400 pounds.
Enter Suzuki; here’s their opportunity to build a lightweight ADV on the bones of the DR-Z4s platform. The DR-Z already gives them most of what they need. Install a windshield and adventure half-fairing, add another gallon or so of fuel capacity, make sure the subframe can handle reasonable luggage. With some massaging of the gearbox ratios, you’ve got the foundation for a legitimate lightweight adventure motorcycle.
Who is the customer?
I continue to see more and more women enter the adventure space. Seat height continues to be a hurdle, but weight is arguably more significant for many riders. If they don’t have someone else to ride with, they’re picking up heavy bikes solo, if at all. I’ve seen riders buying windshields for WR250Rs and CRF300Ls for exactly this reason. Honda already has the CRF300L Rally, and the 450RL. Suzuki doesn’t currently have a competitor sitting between those two bikes. This is an opportunity.
Age is another factor. When I first started hosting rallies nearly ten years ago, a lot of older riders were showing up on big bikes like the 1200 GS. Every year, I see the bikes getting smaller and smaller. There are a lot of people who still want to adventure ride, but they want maximum off-road performance and the least amount of weight possible. The DR-Z4S weighs somewhere around 320 pounds, so even after adding a rally fairing, more fuel and the equipment necessary for adventure riding, Suzuki could still have a very manageable motorcycle that is comparable on the scales to the 690 Rally.
I can already hear people complaining about the five-speed transmission. But I don’t think that’s necessarily a deal breaker. If there isn’t room in the existing engine casing to add a sixth gear, but Suzuki doesn’t necessarily need to add one. They could change the gear ratios so that fifth gear behaves more like a sixth gear on the highway while maintaining a useful spread through the other four gears for off-road riding. The goal isn’t necessarily six gears; it’s having a high-speed gear that lets you get on the interstate without rattling the fillings out of your jaws while still having a good spread of gears to use off-road.
The Time is Now
Suzuki has traditionally been the reasonable, affordable choice. They may have been more aggressive on the performance edge in the past, but for the many years now Suzuki has been the budget-conscious decision with Japanese reliability. Budgets are getting tighter, and there is no doubt that I am the target use-case customer for the KTM 690 Rally. But I’m not the customer with the budget for that motorcycle. Suzuki could offer something much closer to my price range. Give me the legacy, trustworthiness and reliability of the DR-Z400 with the modern upgrades of the DR-Z4S, then give it some pavement chops so my adventure never ends.
That’s the pitch.
Suzuki, build us a 4-Strom.
