BMW F 650 GS And Suzuki DR Z400 S - Sliding Scale

Let's face it: you need a bike like one of these. Our world, alas, is not one long stretch of smooth 'n' twisty asphalt; rather, it is gravelly, jackhammered pavement, frost heaves, potholes and your brother's steep, unpaved driveway out in the country. It's a two-foot curb separating your gridlocked office parking lot from a clear road home, and a fat lotta good your 130-horse ZX-9R will do you then.

What you want-what you need-is a bike that'll let you sit upright over all of the above, a bike with a wide handlebar and light weight for the quick flick around traffic, bump-absorbing long-travel suspension, and the ability to keep everything under control if (and when) the pavement ends.

The new steeds from BMW and Suzuki will do nicely, thanks, even if the F650GS and the DR-Z400S at first seem to have as much in common as, well, a streetbike with off-road looks and a dirt bike with lights and a horn. But think of these two single-cylindered motorcycles as bookends to a dual-purpose philosophy-each with its own strengths and compromises-and it becomes clear that this is not a case of which bike is better per se, but on which bike your type of riding will be better suited.

On the street-oriented side of the spectrum rides the DOHC, liquid-cooled F650GS. BMW's philosophy was to "improve everything" over the old F650, including the bike's overall image-a tough-guy, Gelaende/ Strasse "adventure-tourer" package being much more akin to the R1150GS big brother. A new fuel-injection system, redesigned cylinder head and a new stainless-steel twin muffler exhaust help the GS pump out 43.5 hp at 6250 rpm (and 40.3 foot-pounds of torque at 4500 revs) at the rear wheel, an improvement of 1.0 hp/1.1 foot-pounds over the old F650. An all-new frame shoves the GS's fuel tank under the seat for a more concentrated CG, and a total bodywork redesign offers R1150GS-inspired looks. But don't be fooled by the high front fender: the GS's 19-inch front wheel and 17-inch rear are shod with street-biased 100 and 130 Metzeler Tourance rubber, respectively; BMW is under no illusion that the 442-pound baby GS can fight bikes like Honda's XR650L or Kawasaki's KLR650 in the dirt.

Which is why Suzuki's DR-Z400S-which replaces the stalwart DR350S that's been around since 1990-fits nicely onto the other end of the dirt/street bookshelf. No surprise, really, considering the S-model is merely a street-legal version of Suzuki's DR-Z400 dirt-only machine. The DR's basics are this: mate a DOHC, four-valve, 398cc four-stroke, liquid-cooled single to a five-speed transmission, stick on preload/compression adjustable suspenders front and rear, house it all in a chrome-moly steel frame and roll it away on a set of 21-inch front/18-inch rear wheels holding street-legal 80- and 120-spec Bridgestone Trail Wing tires. Factor in the 2.6-gallon steel fuel tank, headlight, turn signals, etc., and you'll find that government wonks have forced Suzuki to add about 29 pounds of shite to allow its off-road bike onto yon public highways.

But it doesn't matter, for what you've still ended up with is a 318-pound, 34.0 hp/25.8 foot-pounds dirt bike that feels as slim between the knees as a backyard fence rail. Once perched on the DR's way-high 36.8-inch seat height and long travel (11.0 inches up front/11.6 inches out back) suspension, one can thumb the electric start and immediately launch into the morning commute (our unit rarely needed to be choked), towering above the surrounding tin boxes, a featherweight Gulliver hurrying among the four-wheel Lilliputians. How ironic that we might rate the dirt-worthy DR as a top urban blaster, but there you are, Korsakov's "The Flight of the Bumblebee" buzzing inside your helmet as you ride the power that lives up in the rafters of the DR's rev range, dispensing with traffic at will. It's great fun, and allows for various dirt-bike eccentricities-a shift lever that's positioned too far away for normal street boots, the inability to affix much in the way of soft luggage-to be easily forgiven.

The more-functional Beemer, however, is no less suited for urban warfare, and is certainly less frenetic. What you give up in superior slimness and ultralight weight is made up for by such amenities as heated grips, optional ABS, and the ability to slap on a tailpack or saddlebags as the need arises. Climb aboard the 30.7-inch-high seat and you find yourself feeling very much "inside" the motorcycle, with the plastic "fuel tank" rising before you as you reach out/up to the handlebar. BMW's engine-management system eliminates the need for any sort of manual choke or fast idle lever, although our test bike required repeated crankings of the starter before it would fire, even when we gave it no throttle as per BMW's instruction.

Clunk the tranny into first (overall not as smooth as the six-speeder fitted to the big brother R1150GS) and the GS rasps its way into traffic with a mellower note than the busy DR. Not unlike the Suzuki, the BMW makes short work of your city commute thanks to its wide bar and peppy (above 4000 revs) engine. You feel nice and safe aboard the GS, what with its manageable height, low-placed weight, sharp steel-braided brake setup, big mirrors, etc. Longish-travel suspension (6.7 inches front/6.5 inches rear) soaks up ruts nicely but feels a touch firm, even with the handy remote-adjustable rear preload (rear rebound damping is also adjustable, the 41mm fork is not) set toward "soft."

But firm turns out to be fine for weekend blasts up in the hills, which is where the GS can really strut its stuff. Ignore the blocky tread on the Metzelers-the GS will lean a long way before the footpegs touch down, and if you keep the tach spinning you can chuck the light and low GS from canyon corner to corner just as fast you'd like. Surely you've left your buddy on the DR-Z about six corners back, wallowing about in your exhaust fumes.

Except here comes the DR right on the GS's tail, and if the road gets really tight, the Suzuki can nip the GS right on its Germanic butt. A scant 107mm of trail-compared with the GS's 113mm-means the DR steers quickly enough to (you'd think) make a 90-degree corner at full-throttle. Where the GS might want to brake, the DR flicks over and stays on the gas-almost a shame, really, given the nice feel of Suzuki's RM250-derived brake setup. Don't let the DR's revs drop and the GS-mounted rider will have to work hard until the road opens up, wherein the bigger-motored BMW sucks in the DR like so much spaetzle at dinnertime.

And once out of the twisties you'll find the GS continues to hold its own at freeway velocities-only a lack of high-speed wind protection and a desperate need for a sixth gear (at 85 mph, it's buzzing its single-cylinder heart out) keep the Beemer package from feeling utterly stable. Still, ponying up for BMW's aftermarket windscreen and luggage would make the comfortable GS a fairly competent (if slightly subsonic) tourer.

The DR, on the other hand, spends every freeway mile looking for the next exit. What amounts to nimble steering in the curves translates to a fair amount of head-shaking nervousness at higher speeds, and the revvy DR suddenly feels tiny and distinctly out of place, especially when it comes time to merge with high-speed traffic. Hairy-chested sorts will lean into the wind and see 80 mph and above, but we wouldn't recommend it.

So there it is. But what of the dirt, you say? Not surprisingly, we'd prefer to keep the GS on the street; but if you must, the baby Beemer will perform fairly admirably on fire roads and slightly rougher terrain-obviously let down by its street-biased tires. The DR, however, will take to terra firma like the proverbial fish to water-especially fitted with knobbier rubber. But that's no surprise.

As streetbikes, then, choosing the Suzuki or the BMW is all about compromise: For a paltry $5349, the DR-Z is cheap-also cheap to insure, and even cheaper to tip over. You get dirt-bike weight, dirt-bike suspension, and dirt-bike agility; you also have to deal with dirt-bike spartanism. At $8100, the F650GS is pricier and heavier all the way around, but counters with the various luxuries and long-distance abilities of a larger bike. So. Dirty steetbike or streety dirt bike? Excellent choices both, which one's best depends on what you wanna do.

BMW F650GS

Suzuki DR-Z400S

Overall rating is independent and not derived from category scores.