2025-on Suzuki DR-Z4S review: Return of the large-capacity trail thumper

KYB supply a 46mm fork and pro-link monoshock. The swingarm is aluminium, the brakes are from Nissin. It’s middle of the road kit, but very good.

The spring and damping rates fit the brief well. Enduro bikes tend to require you to meet a certain load and speed threshold to get them moving and delivering grip/feel, but the DR-Z4S’s softer feel helps you get your head in the game much easier.

But once you’re on the pace, it doesn’t struggle with insufficient support. It’s nimble, but stable, and exceptionally well balanced with a low-ish centre of gravity that doesn’t cause the bike to topple after a certain point.

It doesn’t get too upset if your strength is waning and you need to sit back in the seat for a bit either – it gets a little fidgety but it'll still turn and traverse rough spots without beating you up.

IRC dual-sport tyres are fitted as standard: specifying tyres for a bike like this is a thankless task. Every customer will desire a different mix of dirt/tarmac ability, and the terrain even with a single market will differ by region. DR-Z4Ss will likely see the forests of Wales, the desert in Utah and city streets the world over.

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As they are, the IRCs coped admirably with a mix of rocky, gravelly and loamy spots on the launch in Oregon, USA, as well as staying hooked up on both wet and dry tarmac between dirt sections.

Nadgery single track is easy to navigate, as well as nose along fire roads at speed. Following the guide rider with intimate knowledge of the trail (with speed to match), I made a few incorrect line choices, but the Suzuki allows you to rectify your mistakes.

The brakes are superb – there’s enough power if you squeeze harder, but there’s a progressive build from a soft initial touch that allows precise matching of braking effort with the traction available.

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One steep, loose descent had my eyes widen while certain other muscles contracted… but the ability to moderate the rear brake allowed me to control my speed without issue, able to steer between trees and get down in one piece, smiling instead of grimacing.

It sucks up gentle jumps and humps you’ll encounter in the forest, and the soft initial stroke makes bouncing the front end to pop over such obstacles easy. Ease – that word again, but that’s a core part of the DR-Z4S’s appeal. It’ll be a great companion for gentle green-laning, but it’ll handle more serious riding too.

An unchanged output and gear-count (just the five) sounds underwhelming on paper, but the reality is different. Remember, this isn’t built for competition with hard-hitting power, it’s built to accommodate a wide variety of riding ability in the dirt. Friendly power and torque spread widely over the rev range is the name of the game: the DR-Z4S has that.

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The previous DRZ400S had a 36mm carburettor (or 41mm on the warmed-up DRZ400E), while the DR-Z4S breathes through a 42mm throttle body. A carb that big would produce power, but would be sensitive to large throttle openings and vulnerable to bogging and stalling. Electronic management of fuel input sidesteps that.

The twistgrip still pushes and pulls a pair of cables, but they’re simply acting on a sensor, which informs the ECU of your demand for power, which then makes an informed decision on the right amount of air/fuel to feed in to deliver that while maintaining smooth (and clean) running.

It also allows three throttle response settings (or ‘modes’) – all will make peak power at the same point, but B and C feed torque in more gradually. I started my test with the bike set to A-mode, and on the road or faster trail, it’s keen response doesn’t feel snatchy.

It does, in fact, deliver more throttle body opening than you ask for lower down, making it feel perkier and crisper. For slower, stand-up off-road riding, it’s too edgy for part-throttle work where your every involuntary input on the twistgrip creates an unwanted surge or shut-down. B-mode solves that, with its softer, more carburettor-like feel. C-mode is like a trials bike throttle, and feels too slow-witted on a bike with a softly-delivered 38bhp.

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It's all you need for recreational trail riding in most circumstances: Suzuki’s engineers say they chose to rework the basic framework of the old motor (resulting in new parts requiring new tooling) because it was already the right tool for the job: it just wasn’t clean enough, and didn’t have the niceties of ride-by-wire either.

And I’m inclined to agree, given that most of the time you’re not even putting the peak power and torque-down anyway. The crucial thing for riders not looking to win an enduro is the usability, which the DR-Z400S always had, and the DR-Z4S improves upon a touch with the ride modes.

There’s a new clutch making life easier too – a slip/assist unit that uses two ramp mechanisms. One increases pressure on the clutch plates with rpm, meaning it can hold power without the need for heavy springs, resulting in a light, one-finger clutch action. The other partially disengages the plates on the overrun, helping prevent excessive back torque from locking the rear wheel.

Suzuki addressed the lack of a sixth gear on this new model with two lines of reasoning: the first being that they don’t believe the typical user will need the extra speed range of a sixth gear. The second is that they didn’t want to add weight, bulk and cost to the engine. Both plausible, but it’s an outlier with a five-speed, and it does start to feel a bit strained over 65mph.

That said, the internal gear ratios are so low, it could probably stand a taller final drive ratio, which would not only bring top gear rpm down, but it would also extend the useful range of first to ‘first and a half’, which would make tight singletrack riding as we experienced potentially easier, without having to go back and forth.

Suzuki has recently introduced a seven-year warranty for its road bikes, and the DR-Z4S is included despite the inevitable rigours of off-road life most will be subject to.

3750-mile service intervals are fairly typical for smaller capacity bikes used off-road – that’s a lot of sub-50mph green-lane thrashing, and service costs are low for any engine like this.

Outright reliability remains to be seen with this new-generation, but given there is no change in peak output compared to the old DRZ400S (itself broadly reliable, neglect notwithstanding) the more modern engineering introduced in certain areas should solidify its credentials.

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The DR-Z4S is still built in Japan, and the fit and finish backs that up. It’s well put together, and the launch bikes weren’t showing signs of early wear from boot/dirt abrasion around the frame, which is something we’ve seen on the likes of the CRF300L pretty early on.

Mirrors, switchgear and clocks are of a respectable standard for a trail bike, and the headlight is surprisingly bright despite its tiny size.

Several bikes suffered minor and moderate drops and bumps, but none suffered any damage you couldn’t fix by simply tweaking the steel brackets holding the indicators and cowl assembly on. It appears it’ll be a robust bike in all regards.

UK pricing hadn’t been set at the time of writing: the European RRP equates to £8200. If we had to guess, we’d say Suzuki GB is working to get that down a touch more, but that remains to be seen. On the face of it, it’s a reasonable chunk of cash for a sub-40bhp single, but its spec is somewhat unique.

On one side, you have Britain’s most popular new trail bike, the CRF300L – the £5899, 26bhp 142kg single continues to find buyers for its outstanding value and novice friendly feel. For £6599, you can opt for the Rally version that brings nothing more than a fairing.

There’s a clear gap in performance – not only power, but chassis wise, and the Honda only has ABS. It’s fine for gentle plodding, but owners often find themselves hitting its limitations or out-growing it. It’s built in Thailand to a more basic level of finish, too.

There’s also Beta’s 300cc two-stroke XTrainer for £6795, which isn’t the angry smoker it may sound, but a light, forgiving trail bike in the same vein as the Suzuki. The engine configuration limits its appeal, though, particularly if road use is on the agenda.

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On the topside, KTM’s 690 Enduro R comes in at £10,399 with 73bhp and a high-grade chassis: but that power and weight (149kg, minus fuel) means it’s a handful on slower trails for many.

It’s set to be joined by the Indian-built 390 Enduro R for £5699, which claims over 40bhp with high-grade suspension, but there’s no telling when (or if…) it’ll arrive given KTM’s problems in 2025. They’ve got a big job to rebuild customer confidence, too.

All of those considered, the Japanese-built, well-specced Suzuki is probably fairly priced, but ultimately the market will decide…

General running costs should be low: service intervals are 3750 miles, which is less than half the CRF300L’s theoretical 8000-mile spacing, but few owners allow a small single that spend a lot of time working hard, with minimal oil capacity, to go that far anyway. Suzuki’s seven year warranty applies here, too.

Claimed fuel consumption is 80mpg – probably close to achievable on a sensible road ride, though consumption in the high 40s was typical on our trail-heavy ride.

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Trail bikes are spartan by design, but the DR-Z has most of the features you could reasonably hope for. The rider aids package is a plus, as is the mid-level KYB suspension with a full house of adjustment, and Nissin braking that leaves nothing to be desired.

It’s hard to think what else it could reasonably have: folding mirrors might be handy, and we’re hoping it spawns a rally-style variant with a ‘tower’ front fairing. The lack of sixth gear could be a deal-breaking omission for some, though taller final drive ratios may alleviate that.

Suzuki has a basic range of accessories, too: a sump guard, hand guards and small rear rack are likely to be the most popular. It’s someway short of the extensive hop-up parts book KTM tends to offer, but they’re perhaps not the best business role model for the Japanese to follow.