You start talking about longevity at about the 9 /12 minute mark. I have a DRZ400 with 50K miles on it. Still starts and runs great. Doesn't noticeably use oil either.
Great video! This is a tough pick between them all but you are 100% correct, all 3 does everything just fine for the average trail rider. I love my DRZ400 on the street and faster flowy stuff because of the weight and power. 450RL hands down if you are a single track / rockier type of rider. I have a drz400 and a 2 stroke, so it is the best of both worlds. If I had one choice though, 450RL
Nice. All valid opinions. I mostly ride a late model CRF250L which I have installed YSS suspension and 13T front sprocket. Can't fault the bike now in all riding situations...
I'm coming off an XR650L. Rode the 300. The suspension is so weak. Bought a 2019 CRF450L with 800 mi. Added an ECU and IMS 3.2 gal tank. Love it. For Forest service roads, two track, and single track.
It's way better. The suspension is so easy to adjust. It has a light feel to it. Doesn't get hot. Not hard to pick up. Better brakes. Enough torque. The 450L is 295lb vs the 650L at 340lb.
You can mod the suspension on the 300l to make it really nice on the tougher terrains. And if you do a couple of other power mods, i hear it becomes a lot more capable as well
Just ridden the much older XR650L version for many years. Traded my DRZ400E in for a HP 2 Enduro after a short while. Both were non starters for the long haul. A CRF250L joined the list of bikes in between. The XR came after the DRZ-E and HP2 back in 2011.
I've ridden all three, DRZ400 all day long for me. Best off road, least maintenance (holds 2 quarts of oil), stone reliable, carburated (no fuel pump to fail or injector to plug). Its the workhorse of the DS world. The CRF450RL L is very hard to work on, is very lean down low making it difficult in the tight stuff, Is hard to get a nice shaped big tank for, is a very complicated and hard to work on bike.
Turn up idle from the super low factory setting on the 450l and the flameouts are gone. $0. Still twitchy throttle, but a super easy fix for the stalling issue they had.
The 8,000 mile service intervals sold me on the Honda CRF 300L. My theory is that engine will last longer than the 450 because it is lower compression. Also less stalling on the trails & half the price. As far as the suspension regardless whatever bike I would have bought I would have been setting up the suspension for my weight.
I had a DRZ and loved it. The only problem was, it's a turd and it takes probably, 1500 - 2000 to make it a REALLY awesome. I did hot cams, and FCR 39 and a big bore kit. With that the DRZ was pretty much the same bike power wise as RMZ450. I sold the DRZ and a few years later went with a WR250R and I have to tell you I love it. It has and after market pipe with header and it's fuel injected. I also has a power commander 5 other than that it is stock and I can tell you it's much better than the DRZ was. First off it WAY more nimble than a DRZ becasue its much lighter. Also it has as much umpf as the DRZ did before I put the big bore on it. Yes, even with hot cams in the DRZ, the WR250R was faster. It will power wheelie first and second no problem, I need the clutch for third but the WR250R is no turd. The DRZ 400 would not even do a power wheelie until it had hot cams AND the FCR39. Before that, nothing...With about 500 bucks in upgrades the WR blows away the DRZ400, IMO... WR250R was better for me...
If you ride slow and are on a tight budget go for the 300L, if you still have a pulse, want almost an MX bike with about 48hp, killer suspension and the ability to do everything, then it has to be the 450L. The DRZ for me is dated and pig ugly - doesn’t anyone make a shorter end can for them, they all have that awfully massive exhaust which just looks hideous. I’ve done a few rallies now on my 450L and it eats up the fire roads and fast trails, when you have that base machine to work with the limits are endless, and everyone loves making their bike their own, so spending a few more bucks isn’t a bad thing, it’s why I go to work!
I had the drz400 and although it was a great bike, one thing I didn't like it was that it starts vibrating after you reach 60mph, I currently have the 300l and that bike runs way more smooth at 65mph
@@Motosportz yes I did, it wasn't to bad, but also at the that time I went from riding the dr650 to the drz400e ,so I was kinda used to the smoothness of the 650
The DRZ 400 with excellent Showa suspension can be adjusted on both compression and rebound to handle any riding conditions based on rider weight and abilities!! I’ll stick to my DRZ - they are absolutely bulletproof!!
Really overlooking longevity (miles of machine) of each of these bikes. The 450l is a beast. But it’s pricey, and needs oil changed and valve checks at ever 1k miles. That is pretty demanding for a dual sport. 300l is every 8000 miles and the engine is way more reliable. Likely to get 5X the miles from a 300l compared to the 450l. If money and maintaining the machine is not an issue then why not get a KTM, BETA, or Husky? I just feel the 300l is the best dual sport option because of how reliable the engine is long term and the little maintenance requirements. Simply looking at performance doesn’t make sense if we are talking about dual sports. Why not get a straight dirtbike If we are only talking about performance off road
I'm looking for a newer bike to replace my 1972 Honda sl 350 Enduro . What I'm looking to do is make a big out bike that can carry tools and my survival gear + extra fuel . Still not sure witch one I want yet ,I need to ride all of them lol to decide I'm 58 years old and I love duel sport bikes .
That SL350 is a SWEEET bike. Same age.. DRZ400S without any mods would be a great bike. However the towering seat height compared to your SL would probably be a huge turn off. IMO you would be really happy on a CRF300L. It's a fantastic bike for what you described. It's super capable, plush, reliable, and has a manageable seat height. Would make an ideal bug out bike, camping bike, and lightweight adventure trail machine. They also are very desirable and have excellent resale so it will be a no loss easy sale if you try it out and want something else .
@@mikeborrelli193 im 5 foot 11 inches in hight, but being tall can be a disadvantage on a bike. one mistake those low tree limbs tend to come out of no where lol. A bigger fuel tank is a mod I intend to do first .
@@brailwolf The DRZ400S has a 37in seat height so when I say it's tall I mean it's TALL.. The Honda CRF300L Rally model comes stock with a larger capacity fuel tank.
@@mikeborrelli193 I actually like a tall bike, although they can be harder to control in heavy terrain .my old sl 350 always felt a little short . My first bike was a 1979 YZ125 Yamaha and that was a mistake on my part that bike threw me off so many times lol. I been looking at the 650cc models too .
In performance yes. But in reliability, maintenance intervals, and price it’s no match to the 300l. I get 8000 miles to an oil change you don’t. My bike will have 100k miles on it, yours won’t. So not in every metric. But in performance the 450l is dominant I agree. Like comparing a Honda to a Lamborghini. Not everyone can afford to own a Lamborghini snd wants to deal with the maintenance’z
@@johnharris7756 you are making definitive statements on engine longevity without stating a single fact. Your opinion does not count. I have seen quite a few reporting 30,000 miles maintenance-free on their CRF450L. Yes, oil change intervals are less than the 300l, but stating that the 450l is harder to work on is just plain false. The 450l is laid out better to change the oil quickly, less than 20 mins, and the air filter and batter are easier to access. The 300l is not quite as simple though still easy.
A DRZ400S.. It will be right at home in that roll. And you can likely sell it for what you bought it for if or when you decide to try something else.. TBH they are almost the perfect 50//50 dual sport. They are extremely road capable with street tires. A real Hooligan bike if you ride urban adventure.
might be a bit biased as we only get the street legal drz400E in australia and not the drz400s. the 400e has more power stock than both hondas nearly double the power of the crf300l and a couple more hp than the 450l. the drz weight is in between the two hondas the drz has excellent suspension by far the most trouble free and needs nothing but setting up for the riders weight and usage. the 300l suspension is pure garbage and needs to be replaced. the drz and 450l have similar top speeds with stock gearing drz 144kph/crf450l 146kph the 300l is far slower at 128kph redline is 10k rpm for 400 and 450 and 10.5k rpm for 300l so the 400/450 are doing similar rpm at highway speed the 300l is doing higher rpm. reliability goes to the suzuki no contest there's a reason they've used the drz's in cape york tour fleets for two decades. the drz can be ridden across australia, to work, on single track, hill climbs whatever it doesn't care. the 450l has 1000km oil changes it really isn't a reliable long distance bike. you could use the 300l for long distance but you'd either be miserable or you'd be spending bulk cash on power and suspension mods and still fall short of the 400e. there's only one choice here suzuki built a better bike 24yrs ago.
Hey mate, fellow Aussie here looking to buy my first bike. I've been jumping back and forth from the drz400e and the crf300 for months at this point aha. I'm still on my L's so I can't test ride anything until I get my P's but you hear a lot of stuff being said online in favor of the honda when buying in today's market (fuel inj > carbs as they need more maintenance, seat height, drz feels heavier, drz uses more fuel etc) but I know after a year or 2 of owning the honda I'll want to do performance mods when a stock drz would have what I needed from the showroom floor. All of the crf youtube channels are doing these mods so by the time you factor that into the costs, the more powerful bike is cheaper long term and potentially more reliable I'm obviously going to test ride both but from what you're saying it sounds like there's nothing wrong with buying a carb bike in today's market. I'll be using it to commute and as an adv bike so it needs to be good at 100k/h. I also wasn't sure if the 15/44 mod ruins the crawl speed off road in the technical stuff as i was told you almost need to do that mod for it to be good on the freeway. But again, it sounds like there's no issue from factory by the way you're talking
@@JoshSinnott97 i've done the simpson desert solo a 7k km round trip from nsw to sa arkaroola, strezlecki track simpson desert western qld western nsw back home. i commute on mine once or twice a week 65km each way. standard gearing on the 400e is 14/47 which is enduro gearing. i run 15/47 at home which is ideal for road and trail. 15/44 is ideal for adv and commuting. you can still do hard offroad with 15/44 but you wouldn't choose it if that was the main type of riding you do. a bit here and there on adv ride no drama. mods on my bike are renthal bars, comfort seat, 28l safari tank, b&b rack and luggage plate, hammerhead +20mm shift lever (size 12 feet) and i had the suspension sprung and valved for my weight by jay foreman doesn't need any fancy valves or swapping out entirely just stiffer springs and shims so the valving matches the spring rate. the bash plate, radiator guards, barkbusters are standard on the cape york edition. no issues with the carb it has the right jets from factory starts runs performs perfectly. theres nowhere in aus high enough to require adjustments mid ride. i've snow camped on my bike and it still fired straight up in the morning with 6" of snow on the bike, zero issues in the simpson in november with 43c temps. i think if you examine the quality of a drz next to the 300l it's an easy choice. the drz has cartridge forks with full adjustment and springs in both fork legs, the rear shock is remote rez with high and low speed compression and rebound adjustment. the crf has essentially what a cheap car gas shock with a spring on it no adjustment no nothing. the more you look the more you'll see the drz is built to a much higher standard and needs far less upgrades.
You start talking about longevity at about the 9 /12 minute mark. I have a DRZ400 with 50K miles on it. Still starts and runs great. Doesn't noticeably use oil either.
Great video! This is a tough pick between them all but you are 100% correct, all 3 does everything just fine for the average trail rider. I love my DRZ400 on the street and faster flowy stuff because of the weight and power. 450RL hands down if you are a single track / rockier type of rider. I have a drz400 and a 2 stroke, so it is the best of both worlds. If I had one choice though, 450RL
Nice. All valid opinions. I mostly ride a late model CRF250L which I have installed YSS suspension and 13T front sprocket. Can't fault the bike now in all riding situations...
I'm coming off an XR650L. Rode the 300. The suspension is so weak. Bought a 2019 CRF450L with 800 mi. Added an ECU and IMS 3.2 gal tank. Love it. For Forest service roads, two track, and single track.
hows it compare with the 650
It's way better. The suspension is so easy to adjust. It has a light feel to it. Doesn't get hot. Not hard to pick up. Better brakes. Enough torque. The 450L is 295lb vs the 650L at 340lb.
You can mod the suspension on the 300l to make it really nice on the tougher terrains. And if you do a couple of other power mods, i hear it becomes a lot more capable as well
Just ridden the much older XR650L version for many years. Traded my DRZ400E in for a HP 2 Enduro after a short while. Both were non starters for the long haul. A CRF250L joined the list of bikes in between. The XR came after the DRZ-E and HP2 back in 2011.
I've ridden all three, DRZ400 all day long for me. Best off road, least maintenance (holds 2 quarts of oil), stone reliable, carburated (no fuel pump to fail or injector to plug). Its the workhorse of the DS world. The CRF450RL L is very hard to work on, is very lean down low making it difficult in the tight stuff, Is hard to get a nice shaped big tank for, is a very complicated and hard to work on bike.
best off road? lol what
Turn up idle from the super low factory setting on the 450l and the flameouts are gone. $0. Still twitchy throttle, but a super easy fix for the stalling issue they had.
Agreed! That and a Steahly flywheel weight dealt with 95% of the issues with my RL.
Yep, turned the idle up on mine first 5 minutes of riding and the flameouts don’t exist anymore.
I've heard a throttle tamer helps the twitchyness a lot as well and that's a pretty cheap upgrade
Gas nileage of the CRF300L is an advantage in remote exploring.
I picked up a 20yr old, low mileage KLX400.
Hellava bike, rock solid design $2,500 used.
The Kawasaki KLX400 was a rebranded Suzuki DRZ400.
@mikeborrelli193 Yes Sir, that's exactly why I commented.
Love my 2 wheeled tractor.
Great video I used to have a DRZ 400. It was most at home on dirt and gravel Roads. But I used it more for commuting. Fun Bike .
The 8,000 mile service intervals sold me on the Honda CRF 300L. My theory is that engine will last longer than the 450 because it is lower compression. Also less stalling on the trails & half the price. As far as the suspension regardless whatever bike I would have bought I would have been setting up the suspension for my weight.
DRZ best value for money, by far!
Got a CRF300L with new rear shock and front spring for my weight, a bunch of protection stuff, bar and risers. You can't beat that for $6k
I had a DRZ and loved it. The only problem was, it's a turd and it takes probably, 1500 - 2000 to make it a REALLY awesome. I did hot cams, and FCR 39 and a big bore kit. With that the DRZ was pretty much the same bike power wise as RMZ450. I sold the DRZ and a few years later went with a WR250R and I have to tell you I love it. It has and after market pipe with header and it's fuel injected. I also has a power commander 5 other than that it is stock and I can tell you it's much better than the DRZ was. First off it WAY more nimble than a DRZ becasue its much lighter. Also it has as much umpf as the DRZ did before I put the big bore on it. Yes, even with hot cams in the DRZ, the WR250R was faster. It will power wheelie first and second no problem, I need the clutch for third but the WR250R is no turd. The DRZ 400 would not even do a power wheelie until it had hot cams AND the FCR39. Before that, nothing...With about 500 bucks in upgrades the WR blows away the DRZ400, IMO...
WR250R was better for me...
i think ur drz was out of tune
That was a really helpful comparison. Thanks for creating/uploading.
If you ride slow and are on a tight budget go for the 300L, if you still have a pulse, want almost an MX bike with about 48hp, killer suspension and the ability to do everything, then it has to be the 450L. The DRZ for me is dated and pig ugly - doesn’t anyone make a shorter end can for them, they all have that awfully massive exhaust which just looks hideous. I’ve done a few rallies now on my 450L and it eats up the fire roads and fast trails, when you have that base machine to work with the limits are endless, and everyone loves making their bike their own, so spending a few more bucks isn’t a bad thing, it’s why I go to work!
I had the drz400 and although it was a great bike, one thing I didn't like it was that it starts vibrating after you reach 60mph, I currently have the 300l and that bike runs way more smooth at 65mph
Did you balance your wheels? I don't have that issue with my DRZ400e.
@@Motosportz yes I did, it wasn't to bad, but also at the that time I went from riding the dr650 to the drz400e ,so I was kinda used to the smoothness of the 650
The DRZ 400 with excellent Showa suspension can be adjusted on both compression and rebound to handle any riding conditions based on rider weight and abilities!!
I’ll stick to my DRZ - they are absolutely bulletproof!!
Really overlooking longevity (miles of machine) of each of these bikes. The 450l is a beast. But it’s pricey, and needs oil changed and valve checks at ever 1k miles. That is pretty demanding for a dual sport.
300l is every 8000 miles and the engine is way more reliable. Likely to get 5X the miles from a 300l compared to the 450l.
If money and maintaining the machine is not an issue then why not get a KTM, BETA, or Husky? I just feel the 300l is the best dual sport option because of how reliable the engine is long term and the little maintenance requirements. Simply looking at performance doesn’t make sense if we are talking about dual sports. Why not get a straight dirtbike If we are only talking about performance off road
I'm looking for a newer bike to replace my 1972 Honda sl 350 Enduro . What I'm looking to do is make a big out bike that can carry tools and my survival gear + extra fuel . Still not sure witch one I want yet ,I need to ride all of them lol to decide I'm 58 years old and I love duel sport bikes .
That SL350 is a SWEEET bike. Same age.. DRZ400S without any mods would be a great bike. However the towering seat height compared to your SL would probably be a huge turn off. IMO you would be really happy on a CRF300L. It's a fantastic bike for what you described. It's super capable, plush, reliable, and has a manageable seat height. Would make an ideal bug out bike, camping bike, and lightweight adventure trail machine. They also are very desirable and have excellent resale so it will be a no loss easy sale if you try it out and want something else .
@@mikeborrelli193 im 5 foot 11 inches in hight, but being tall can be a disadvantage on a bike. one mistake those low tree limbs tend to come out of no where lol. A bigger fuel tank is a mod I intend to do first .
@@brailwolf The DRZ400S has a 37in seat height so when I say it's tall I mean it's TALL.. The Honda CRF300L Rally model comes stock with a larger capacity fuel tank.
@@mikeborrelli193 I actually like a tall bike, although they can be harder to control in heavy terrain .my old sl 350 always felt a little short . My first bike was a 1979 YZ125 Yamaha and that was a mistake on my part that bike threw me off so many times lol. I been looking at the 650cc models too .
Great video but so you the only difference between the 450l and the rl is the R and it red side panels not white
The only downside to the crf300l is the suspension, once you upgrade that it's the best bike for the money hands down.
the crf450l is exciting motorcycle. Sharp, fast and versatile. The CRF450L is the
better motorcycle in all parameters.
In performance yes. But in reliability, maintenance intervals, and price it’s no match to the 300l. I get 8000 miles to an oil change you don’t. My bike will have 100k miles on it, yours won’t. So not in every metric. But in performance the 450l is dominant I agree.
Like comparing a Honda to a Lamborghini. Not everyone can afford to own a Lamborghini snd wants to deal with the maintenance’z
@@johnharris7756 you are making definitive statements on engine longevity without stating a single fact. Your opinion does not count. I have seen quite a few reporting 30,000 miles maintenance-free on their CRF450L. Yes, oil change intervals are less than the 300l, but stating that the 450l is harder to work on is just plain false. The 450l is laid out better to change the oil quickly, less than 20 mins, and the air filter and batter are easier to access. The 300l is not quite as simple though still easy.
I am wondering which would be better for the desert sandy rocky roads of Las Vegas and riding to them.
A DRZ400S.. It will be right at home in that roll. And you can likely sell it for what you bought it for if or when you decide to try something else.. TBH they are almost the perfect 50//50 dual sport. They are extremely road capable with street tires. A real Hooligan bike if you ride urban adventure.
@@mikeborrelli193
I decided on a CRF300L due to weight and seat height. So far so good. Moding it up now for some rocks and trails!
might be a bit biased as we only get the street legal drz400E in australia and not the drz400s. the 400e has more power stock than both hondas nearly double the power of the crf300l and a couple more hp than the 450l.
the drz weight is in between the two hondas
the drz has excellent suspension by far the most trouble free and needs nothing but setting up for the riders weight and usage. the 300l suspension is pure garbage and needs to be replaced.
the drz and 450l have similar top speeds with stock gearing drz 144kph/crf450l 146kph the 300l is far slower at 128kph redline is 10k rpm for 400 and 450 and 10.5k rpm for 300l so the 400/450 are doing similar rpm at highway speed the 300l is doing higher rpm.
reliability goes to the suzuki no contest there's a reason they've used the drz's in cape york tour fleets for two decades.
the drz can be ridden across australia, to work, on single track, hill climbs whatever it doesn't care.
the 450l has 1000km oil changes it really isn't a reliable long distance bike.
you could use the 300l for long distance but you'd either be miserable or you'd be spending bulk cash on power and suspension mods and still fall short of the 400e.
there's only one choice here suzuki built a better bike 24yrs ago.
Hey mate, fellow Aussie here looking to buy my first bike. I've been jumping back and forth from the drz400e and the crf300 for months at this point aha. I'm still on my L's so I can't test ride anything until I get my P's but you hear a lot of stuff being said online in favor of the honda when buying in today's market (fuel inj > carbs as they need more maintenance, seat height, drz feels heavier, drz uses more fuel etc) but I know after a year or 2 of owning the honda I'll want to do performance mods when a stock drz would have what I needed from the showroom floor. All of the crf youtube channels are doing these mods so by the time you factor that into the costs, the more powerful bike is cheaper long term and potentially more reliable
I'm obviously going to test ride both but from what you're saying it sounds like there's nothing wrong with buying a carb bike in today's market. I'll be using it to commute and as an adv bike so it needs to be good at 100k/h. I also wasn't sure if the 15/44 mod ruins the crawl speed off road in the technical stuff as i was told you almost need to do that mod for it to be good on the freeway. But again, it sounds like there's no issue from factory by the way you're talking
@@JoshSinnott97 i've done the simpson desert solo a 7k km round trip from nsw to sa arkaroola, strezlecki track simpson desert western qld western nsw back home.
i commute on mine once or twice a week 65km each way.
standard gearing on the 400e is 14/47 which is enduro gearing.
i run 15/47 at home which is ideal for road and trail.
15/44 is ideal for adv and commuting.
you can still do hard offroad with 15/44 but you wouldn't choose it if that was the main type of riding you do. a bit here and there on adv ride no drama.
mods on my bike are renthal bars, comfort seat, 28l safari tank, b&b rack and luggage plate, hammerhead +20mm shift lever (size 12 feet) and i had the suspension sprung and valved for my weight by jay foreman doesn't need any fancy valves or swapping out entirely just stiffer springs and shims so the valving matches the spring rate.
the bash plate, radiator guards, barkbusters are standard on the cape york edition.
no issues with the carb it has the right jets from factory starts runs performs perfectly. theres nowhere in aus high enough to require adjustments mid ride. i've snow camped on my bike and it still fired straight up in the morning with 6" of snow on the bike, zero issues in the simpson in november with 43c temps.
i think if you examine the quality of a drz next to the 300l it's an easy choice. the drz has cartridge forks with full adjustment and springs in both fork legs, the rear shock is remote rez with high and low speed compression and rebound adjustment.
the crf has essentially what a cheap car gas shock with a spring on it no adjustment no nothing. the more you look the more you'll see the drz is built to a much higher standard and needs far less upgrades.
Ride with Will?
ha ha! yup thats me!
@@RWWRENTAL I wondered, I don’t remember subbing to this channel, lol.
@@jimperry4420 Ha ha!! the funny part is I am thinking of going back to RideWithWill lol few people telling me I should change it back not sure lol
@@RWWRENTAL You can always see how this name works. Can’t enduro might draw some viewers. Or maybe “enduro reviews.” Lol.
I wondered why the name keeps changing. I like ride with Will
Dr650
I love my DRZ
👍
The The The Daily Caller a few few weeksn
The crf450 is the better bike. Most power and best suspension outta all 3.
Terrible longevity , and maintaining it is constant.
Better for who?!