To many riders the DRZ400 motor is the most flexible and enjoyable mill around at the moment and this is what makes the DRZ so attractive. It is super smooth and hard to stall at low speed, making it easy to chug around town and pleasant just to take exploring.
Make no mistakes though - this thing can have a serious sting if you let it rev. And rev it does! You can dial in "stupid fast" if desired and it will do that merrily for as long as you can avoid the scenery.
There are more powerful motors about, but none that offer the flexibility of the DRZ. The torque allows lazy gear selection or "mistakes" if you want to call them that. The clutch is very light - typical Suzuki here, with plenty of feel. The gearbox is smooth and feels strong. Even fitted with the standard gearing, 5th had the crank going awfully fast at 110kph. It would still go harder... though responsible people don't need to read about such things!
FYI there is another bike exactly like the DRZ400S... it's the 2003 KLX400S, made for Kawasaki by Suzuki. Tim calls it the KawaSuki!