We’ve just clocked over 2500km on the 2026 Suzuki DR-Z4S by doing a couple of big adventure rides, commuting from Sydney out to Lithgow, Hampton and Newnes. Between both rides there were over 10 hours of uneventful road riding, during which the DR-Z did quite well with its five gears and no sore bum thanks to the comfortable stock seat! Coming from a bike with six gears, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy having only five, but it seems geared very well for general adventuring and I don’t feel the urge to chase that extra gear.
The stock tyres have actually been quite impressive off-road across the vast array of surfaces I’ve been riding. I definitely can’t ride as hard as I normally would with a more aggressive knobby tyre, but for what they are, I’m pleasantly surprised. For most of us who want to commute, hit some fire roads, have fun and ride conservatively off-road, they’ll do just fine until you decide what set you want to get next.
On the adventure rides, I equipped the bike with some 15L saddlebags and a 20L waterproof top bag filled with a tent, sleeping bag, a couple of litres of extra fuel, food and a handful of clothes. Once again, the suspension handled the extra weight with ease, combined with an 80kg rider without gear. The bike didn’t bottom out at all, but if you weigh over 90kg and/or like to pack heavy for an overnighter, I would recommend upgrading the rear spring to compensate for the extra load.
As far as fuel economy goes, during all the adventure riding I maintained around 27km/L, but as soon as I had to punch it back home for 3.5 hours straight on the blacktop, I was actually able to bring it up to an impressive 34.5km/L. I also managed to get 214km out of the tank without the second fuel warning light coming on. Technically, at that rate I should be able to get 300km out of the stock tank, but to be conservative I’d say a comfortable 250km before you’re sweating trying to find a servo.
Next mods are replacing that broken gear shifter with a new one from Motorcycle Specialties, which conveniently is the same as the good old DR-Z400E shifter, so aftermarket options are endless.
2026 Suzuki DR-Z4S
RRP
$14,490 + Ride Away
WARRANTY
3 years
DISTRIBUTOR
Suzuki Australia
INTERNET
suzukimotorcycles.com.au
SO FAR
TOTAL KM
1365km
MODS THIS MONTH
None
MODS next MONTH
MCS Online Gear Shifter
