Need a good repair shop for a DRZ

[jbw 0]

I have been lookin at your forum for a little while but have not been able to go on any rides as my bike has been up in los angles where I have tools to work on the bike. Well I felt like I had all the mechanicle issues resovled and recently picked up a trailer. So I took the bike down last week and was excited to go on some rides with your group. Well I was premature in my assesment that it was mechanically OK. I went on my first ride down here and had a new noise a sort of whirring/grinding. The next day I started it to track the noise and it dies with a clank after 10 seconds . I do not think my apartment complex would be happy with me opening up my bike in the parking area so I need to find a place to get it repaired. Does anybody know of a good place to get an issue like this fixed? I was searching thought the post and found most of the places rated poorly or specialty shops for other brands of bike. My bike is a 03 DRZ 400s. I found one post that had a good review about C&D Cycle Center and they are close. How about a Suzuki dealer like Alba Action Sport (FBC is closest to me but I went their once and that was enough).

I always like when people post pics, so here is one of the bike and me soon to fall up in jawbone (it was really steep/loose and I am a NOOB)

The bike, all ready to go

Thanks,

Jbw

[TrophyHunter 15]

Mimi seems to have some tools, oh, and a great handle on mechanical issues.

Since you mentioned C & D, we discussed changes to my WR, agreed on the job and it's never run better. They called when it was ready for pickup a day ahead of schedule which is why I made the Truckhaven ride.

[Joliet 0]

The best DRZ mechanic that I know of is in Denver, his name is Eddie, aka (Burned) on Thumper Talk. He is honest, reasonable, and quick. It would require you to remove your engine, box it up and send it to Denver. If you need major work, that is my suggestion. If you go on thumper talk to the DRZ section you will find his info and even some info on how to properly ship the engine.

Could you tell if the noise was the noise coming from the left or right side? If coming from the left side, it could be a bolt backed out of the stator and tore things up. If that is what happened that is a fix you could do yourself.

If the noise was coming from the right side it could be the nut on the main shaft. Locktighting that nut is one of the first common fixes on a DRZ. I have a manual if you need to borrow it, if you are going to do some work on it yourself.

Spend a few hours on Thrmper Talk doing searches in the DRZ section, there is a ton in info there. You can PM me if there are any questions I can help you with. Good luck, Ken

[jbw 0]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I actually am on the DRZ 400 section of thumpertalk a lot as my bike has had a lot of other more minor issues. Since getting the bike I actually feel I have learned a good bit about fixing it from thumpertalk and a manual I found online. I am seriously considering shipping the engine to Eddie. But, I would first like to know if it is really a major repair as shipping is probably going to cost a lot. Joilet, I could not tell which side the noise was coming from but I think you are spot on with the starter clutch/stator bolts backing out(I found some references on Thumpertalk and it may be the issue). But to check I need to take off the cover. Maybe I will attempt it late at night so i will not draw any complaints from the apartment as I at least have enough basic tools to do that job.

I had just reserved my spot for Dirt bike school with Carguy and thought I was not going to be able to attend, but apparently he has a few bikes for use in the class at least a little good news.

Thanks for the input,

Josh

[bikeslut 1]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I actually am on the DRZ 400 section of thumpertalk a lot as my bike has had a lot of other more minor issues. Since getting the bike I actually feel I have learned a good bit about fixing it from thumpertalk and a manual I found online. I am seriously considering shipping the engine to Eddie. But, I would first like to know if it is really a major repair as shipping is probably going to cost a lot. Joilet, I could not tell which side the noise was coming from but I think you are spot on with the starter clutch/stator bolts backing out(I found some references on Thumpertalk and it may be the issue). But to check I need to take off the cover. Maybe I will attempt it late at night so i will not draw any complaints from the apartment as I at least have enough basic tools to do that job.

I had just reserved my spot for Dirt bike school with Carguy and thought I was not going to be able to attend, but apparently he has a few bikes for use in the class at least a little good news.

Thanks for the input,

Josh

john/josh- let me know what the date is... I may be able to run my drz over for josh to use

[RogerTOWM 0]

[john/josh- let me know what the date is... I may be able to run my drz over for josh to use

Just don't let Jon (hondapilot) use it first!

[jbw 0]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I actually am on the DRZ 400 section of thumpertalk a lot as my bike has had a lot of other more minor issues. Since getting the bike I actually feel I have learned a good bit about fixing it from thumpertalk and a manual I found online. I am seriously considering shipping the engine to Eddie. But, I would first like to know if it is really a major repair as shipping is probably going to cost a lot. Joilet, I could not tell which side the noise was coming from but I think you are spot on with the starter clutch/stator bolts backing out(I found some references on Thumpertalk and it may be the issue). But to check I need to take off the cover. Maybe I will attempt it late at night so i will not draw any complaints from the apartment as I at least have enough basic tools to do that job.

I had just reserved my spot for Dirt bike school with Carguy and thought I was not going to be able to attend, but apparently he has a few bikes for use in the class at least a little good news.

Thanks for the input,

Josh

john/josh- let me know what the date is... I may be able to run my drz over for josh to use

Thanks, that is a very generous offer. You guys seem like a great group to ride with . But I think they already have something for me to use that is the bit of good news that helped me feel better about the current bike issues.

Josh

[Tree 0]

If you just need some place to work on your bike you could use my shop during the day or my garage on the weekends. I'm in El Cajon

[jbw 0]

If you just need some place to work on your bike you could use my shop during the day or my garage on the weekends. I'm in El Cajon

Yes, I first would like to do some investigating(nothing major) to see if I can tell what is wrong and thus able to best decide what I want to do with it. A place to do this would be great.

Tree, I will pm you.

I took the Dirt Bike School with Carguy and Ride-Orange last Saturday and now i am even more excited to go on some rides with the group. I have to get my DRZ back up and running soon!

Thanks,

Josh

[carguy 1]

If you just need some place to work on your bike you could use my shop during the day or my garage on the weekends. I'm in El Cajon

Yes, I first would like to do some investigating(nothing major) to see if I can tell what is wrong and thus able to best decide what I want to do with it. A place to do this would be great.

Tree, I will pm you.

I took the Dirt Bike School with Carguy and Ride-Orange last Saturday and now i am even more excited to go on some rides with the group. I have to get my DRZ back up and running soon!

Thanks,

Josh

I know it is far from you, the carport is here with tools if needed.

[PastaPilot 17]

If you haven't taken it somewhere, Clairemont Cycle Supply on Clairemont Mesa Dr is close to you. I've only bought parts and lubes from them but they are nice guys. They've always got a number of different makes in the shop so I think they'd be good to handle a DR-Z and whatever it's problems are.

Good luck,

Jon

[Ride-Orange 2]

Great times this weekend Josh, you are a model student and you did great!

You could also try Alex at Kon-Tiki in PB 858-272-6751. He's extremely knowledgable and honest, but that also makes him extremely busy most of the time.

No matter what, you have to get the DRZ fixed by 21/22FEB so you can apply your new found skills at the Desert Dash

Good luck!

[tntmo 887]

Just another reply offering assistance here, if you want to bring it by my place I have tools and beer. That's usually all I need to get things fixed or get into trouble. It would be a really quick check to see if it's either of the problems that Ken mentioned.

[Ride-Orange 2]

Just another reply offering assistance here, if you want to bring it by my place I have tools and beer. That's usually all I need to get things fixed or get into trouble. It would be a really quick check to see if it's either of the problems that Ken mentioned.

Awefull nice of you Tom You should jump on this offer Josh, you can't go wrong with Tom and the price is right

Trust your Coach and call him a.s.a.p.

[paulmbowers 236]

Just another reply offering assistance here, if you want to bring it by my place I have tools and beer.

Did I read music? Next time I need a tire, I'm coming over. Do you have lounge chairs? Dancing girls? Snacks?

[jbw 0]

I used some space at Tree's powder coating shop to do some exploration. Thanks Tree the work area was much appreciated. I looked under the stator cover and none of the bolts had backed out. I only found a very few pieces of black metal flakes in a pool of oil in there, not too good. I also had a look at the cams and removed one of the cam journals. It looked OK a little scoring(the DRZ does not have bearings). The clearances were all in spec, there was one thing that caught my attention with the journal, but it is hard to describe and I do not know if it is even an issue. The last easy thing to look at is the Primary nut that Ken mentioned, but if it did come off then the piston would have hit the valves and the clearances would not have been correct?

Tom, yes I would like some assistance, I will contact you soon.

If the problem cannot be found too easily I will take it to Alex at Kon Tiki. I really want to get it back up and reliably running.

Thanks,

Josh

[bikeslut 1]

let me know when you guys dive in to the guts... I'll hand you beer and wrenches... And bring In n Out burgers that Tom paid for... Thanks Tom

[jbw 0]

so I spent the evening with Tom wrenching on the bike. Thanks Tom, you were a major help! We Removed the clutch cover and everything looked good. Opened the valve cover and it seemed OK. We could not find anything wrong with it. Started it up and it ran well no noise. So I think that I need to take it on some rides where I can stay near the vehicles if something does happen with the bike.

Josh

[tntmo 887]

Swing over any time Josh. I think you have nothing to worry about with the bike, it sure runs and sounds good to me and without any obvious issues I would be confident riding it. Get that thing out in the dirt!

[jbw 0]

Get that thing out in the dirt!

+1000 :hunter:

It has been sitting in the parking lot much too long.

Josh

[jbw 0]

I was going to go out for the first ride(on the street) after looking at it with Tom... so I started it up and after about a minute of warming up it dies well I had forgotten to turn on the gas . So thinking that was the problem, I turn on the gas and start it back up and not 5 seconds later it stall with a loud clank(not a normal one). So I think I am going to take the bike to a mechanic, or send the motor off to the guy Joliet mentioned. No riding for me for a while.

Josh

[Joliet 0]

I was going to go out for the first ride(on the street) after looking at it with Tom... so I started it up and after about a minute of warming up it dies well I had forgotten to turn on the gas . So thinking that was the problem, I turn on the gas and start it back up and not 5 seconds later it stall with a loud clank(not a normal one). So I think I am going to take the bike to a mechanic, or send the motor off to the guy Joliet mentioned. No riding for me for a while.

Josh

If it is the stock petcock, it has no off position. It has a "pri" and an "on". Prime is open petcock and in the on position the petcock needs manifold vacuum to open the petcock. Sorry to hear it is not right. Ken

[jbw 0]

I was going to go out for the first ride(on the street) after looking at it with Tom... so I started it up and after about a minute of warming up it dies well I had forgotten to turn on the gas . So thinking that was the problem, I turn on the gas and start it back up and not 5 seconds later it stall with a loud clank(not a normal one). So I think I am going to take the bike to a mechanic, or send the motor off to the guy Joliet mentioned. No riding for me for a while.

Josh

If it is the stock petcock, it has no off position. It has a "pri" and an "on". Prime is open petcock and in the on position the petcock needs manifold vacuum to open the petcock. Sorry to hear it is not right. Ken

A while ago the stock petcock started to leak and actually led to hydrolock(the float valve also leaked). So I replaced the petcock with a manual one(I also replaced the float valve).

Josh

[tntmo 887]

We did everything but pull the head and split the cases on that engine, everything looked good and it sure ran strong while it was in my garage. Wierd stuff.

[jbw 0]

Well I just finished off my quarter at UCSD and I actually had some time, so... I pulled the engine out and shipped it. It is now in transit to Eddie Sisneros or Burned as some know him. I cannot wait to get it back up and opertational and go out on some rides, finally. And even if the problem was only minor I think it will at least be coming back with a BB and worn out parts replaced

Josh.