2025 Suzuki DR-Z4S Review – First Ride

The Long-Awaited Update Hits The World Stage

A handful of bikes come to mind as stalwart designs which have stood the test of time longer than most. As motorcycle technology advanced over the years, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” seemed to be a top-level action item among certain design teams. A perfect example of this is Suzuki’s legendary DRZ-400.

2025 Suzuki DR-Z4S

Since its introduction in the year 2000, arguably little to no major updates were made to the DRZ-400 over its lifespan when compared to many other designs in the class, until now. The 2025 DR-Z4S had a very high bar to clear at this press launch in terms of replacing its predecessor, and vaulted over it with ease. While the North American market has steadily built up a loyal following of this do-all middleweight thumper over the past 20-plus years, European markets have not had this option from Suzuki available since it disappeared from their shores around 2008.

Not only the name has been redesigned for the 2025 DR-Z4S. Virtually everything about the bike is entirely new. Now Euro-5 compliant by virtue of two small catalytic converters contained within the exhaust at the front and rear, the DR-Z4S is again available globally. (Note: the North American version lacks the precious metals in a rear catalytic converter to make it Euro5 compliant, but all other aspects of the models are the same.)

At first glance, it’s apparent this is a new model. A slimmer design showcases a more modern look and feel. Beneath the exterior bodywork hides a redesigned semi-double cradle steel frame, and both the aluminum subframe and swingarm have been redesigned as well. The new swingarm design alone is calculated to add 9.3% additional torsional rigidity, but did not give the bike a harsh or overly-stiff feel.

The list of major updates goes on. The fork has been changed from a conventional to an inverted design with 11 inches of travel. The shock boasts 11.6 inches of travel and the linkage has been changed to a progressive linkage. This new suspension gives the bike an overall ground clearance of 11.8 inches, and a seat height of 36.2 inches. The footpegs are now a wider design, and both brake rotors gained 20mm of diameter so the bike now sports a 270mm front rotor and 240mm rear. The airbox shape has been redesigned and features an additional intake behind the seat, the headlight is now LED, and a 5% increase in fuel efficiency means the 2.3 gallon fuel tank has a claimed 155-mile range.

Changes to the engine are no less significant. The 398cc Single is now fuel injected, with a claimed 37.5 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 27.3 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm. It runs a redesigned lighter piston with titanium intake valves and hollow sodium-filled exhaust valves. The throttle body diameter has gone from 36mm in the previous version to 42mm with a 10-hole injector for 2025, resulting in less hesitation and bogging. A new twin-spark system results in a more efficient fuel burn, and coupled with an increase in torque throughout the rev range, the new DR-Z4S is almost difficult to stall, even when throwing around the entire 333-lb package in tight forest trail conditions. While this bike is heavy when compared to something like a Honda CRF450RL, the combination of compliant chassis, torquey motor, solid suspension, and lively brakes all hide the extra weight in most riding situations.

Getting power from this new engine to the rear wheel is now made easier by Suzuki’s “Clutch Assist System.” An assist cam and slipper cam inside the clutch reduce operating force by a claimed 25%. The practical realization of this on the trail was that the bike could often be shifted almost like it had a quick shifter, even in the most technical trail situations of this test. When operating the bike as intended by pulling the clutch lever, it has a somewhat vague feel. The engagement point does not feel as precise as you might find on other bikes, but the ample and wide torque range of the motor meant I wasn’t using the clutch as a control for power delivery nearly as often as I would have thought necessary.

For all this praise, one glaring detail will probably stand out to some riders: the bike still features a 5-speed gearbox. While it’s an amazingly smooth gearbox, the lack of a 6th gear does somehow feel dated. That said, for this test there was no need for one. Twisty pavement, tight narrow trails, and loose gravel fire roads were all well-served by the torquey engine and available gearing. I never tested the top speed, but the bike was still pulling well above 70 mph. Things start to get a bit buzzy above 65 mph, so droning on the superslab freeways of Southern California where I’m from might not be the best application for this bike.

Now we’re getting to what might have been my favorite and most surprising aspect of the bike - the electronics. In a world of seemingly ubiquitous motorcycle TFT-displays, I found the new LCD display to be super clear, logically arranged, and intuitive to use. Simple handlebar switches allow you to control most of the S.I.R.S., or “Suzuki Intelligent Ride System”.

This system has three levels of power delivery: A, B, and C, four levels of traction control: 1, 2, G, and Off, and three levels of ABS: on at both ends, front on/rear off, and off entirely. All three of these systems, power delivery, traction control, and ABS, felt completely integrated with one another.

All three power delivery modes achieve the same peak power level – the difference is how it gets there. Starting with the most mellow, “C” could be thought of as “comfort” mode. Power rolls on gently at first, then ramps up as you get deeper into the throttle. “B” is very linear, allowing the throttle to feel like it has the same response regardless of how hard you’re twisting. “A” offers the most precise and connected feel to the engine, providing a snappy power delivery throughout the initial portion of the range, becoming less aggressive as you approach peak power.

Traction control levels of 1 and 2 are best suited for the road, while G and “Off” are for the dirt. “G”, or “gravel” mode on the DR-Z4S is perhaps one of the best applications of this idea I’ve tried so far. On steep and loose climbs, the only time I felt the system intervening was when I tried to take over throttle modulation duties instead of allowing the system to do its thing. While in G mode, simply holding the throttle open steadily would allow the computer to find traction in a behind-the-scenes way that was more precise than any bike in this class I can think of.

ABS on the new DR-Z4S was no less surprising to experience. At one point, I encountered the perfect (or nightmare) testing situation for a system like this – going downhill at a decent speed on a relatively steep and very loose gravel road, with a sharp curve in the middle. With ABS set to front on/rear off I squeezed the front brake a bit harder than I normally would, and mostly locked up the rear. The bike scrubbed speed more quickly than I would have expected, with zero lever pump or front wheel chatter. It’s important to note, all this was experienced while running the stock 50/50 profile IRC Trail Winner GP-410 tires.

To get a feel for how the rider aids modify the engine and braking experience, I spent a healthy portion of my time on the bike riding with traction control and ABS shut off. Power hits very quickly in the “A” throttle map, and it’s pretty easy to break traction if you’re not really on your toes in this mode. Fortunately, the new fly-by-wire throttle is extremely precise, and provides a super connected feel to the bike which you quickly get addicted to.

The redesigned larger rotors on the new DR-Z4S mean braking happens quickly. By way of reference, the intense stopping power of the 2025 model reminded me of a time when I switched to Shimano 4-piston brake calipers for mountain bike races. Similar to that MTB setup, the brakes on the new DR-Z4S at first felt like on/off switches, in particular the rear. Only a few miles of riding were required to get used to the more precise modulation of the new brakes with ABS shut off. Once ABS was activated, it almost felt like you could do no wrong – no need for attentive modulation, just allow the system to work.

In the mix of mostly wide fire roads, some narrow trails, and twisty pavement on day one of this test, the “B” throttle map quickly became my go-to selection. Outside of tighter narrow trails, the more linear feel of this map made for a relaxed ride without sacrificing any power. For my tastes, these roads and trails were way too fun for the comparatively docile “C” map, but I could see an application for that on some rides. In the case of this test, we were here to play, so A and B it was for the most part.

Activating traction control and ABS simultaneously reveals how well integrated they are with the available throttle maps. For day one, the combination of map B, traction control on G, and ABS set to front on/rear off could have potentially been the all-day choice if I had to pick one arrangement to work with.

In the tighter trails of day two, the A map’s precise feel and switching between traction control to either G mode or Off made for a fun dance through the picturesque forests of the Tillamook Mountains. The fact that you can easily switch both the fuel map and traction control modes on-the-fly makes testing the performance of each a blast.

Switching ABS modes requires stopping the bike. The button for that is on the LCD display itself instead of the handlebar switch cluster. This simple fact led to discovering another surprising thing about the bike. At the very end of day two, rolling away from a staging area where we were re-installing mirrors after having removed them for the tight stuff, our group jumped onto a loose gravel road to head back to the highway.

For that stretch I didn’t bother deactivating the ABS because it would have required stopping first. A couple of the domed and off-camber corners came up pretty quick, yet even with ABS fully active neither the front nor rear brakes complained. I wasn’t pushing this section too hard, however the cornering speeds we were taking were beyond what I would trust most ABS systems while in similar conditions – an impression made more surprising by the fact this bike has no IMU, and uses conventional wheel-speed sensors to control everything

Suzuki’s DRZ-400 has boasted a level of design over the past 24 years which resulted in a solid reputation shared by few other motorcycles. How the complete redesign of the 2025 DR-Z4S improves on the old bike suggests maybe you really can’t have too much of a good thing.

Scorecard

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