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only privateers, so the chance of seeing a new bike at the alljapanmx is fairly weak!
I think that like Yamaha did with the new 2strokes for example, you won't see new bikes until the press release...
There is more chance than we have a look at the Triumph bikes way before Suzuki ones.
The good news is that this year, Suzuki is giving a little extra help to HEP team,
so it's a little something that may brings hope!
Technically, Kawasaki manufactured the engine from Suzuki blueprints. Kawasaki began modifying the design with an aluminum frame and engine spec changes in 2006 and Suzuki went their own way in 2007 with an all-new, all-Suzuki bike.
Love the wet look. 🙂
I was working the gate last year at my club's race series. Got talking to a guy with a shiny new RM. He said he absolutely loved it more than the '18 KTM he came off. He was B level rider for reference.
I was surprised myself when we swapped bikes. My bike is dialed and his is bone stock. I just figured the KTM was going to drop my lap times by just having e start. I ride just as shitty on any of the bikes.
If you like me a old VET INT plus 50 dude it was super easy to make fast and handle perfect. YES at the end of the day my lazy ass wishes it had Estart even knowing it kick starts super easy. LOL
This is long, but I think relevant:
The 3 things that (well maybe 4 if you count looks) that caught my interest on the bike, was handling, power delivery, and price. For this weekend or monthly or bi-monthly
I don't mind it doesn't make 60 HP as I've always been a torque guy anyway Plus, at my age/ability, not that big of a deal. Even back when racing my mid-late 90's KX250's, these characteristics always suited my riding style. Good(if not great) Low, meaty Mid, passable top with early sign off (yes, I said it, early sign off..almost a built in safety feature at the end of a moto or practice session)
When I made the jump to a 4-stroke in '06, again handling and power delivery were paramount and I was realistic enough to know a 38 year old (at the time) amateur needs to focus on himself and power delivery/handling vs raw power numbers((or even bike weight) in a 20 minute moto. Plus, price factored in too back then with Wife of 8 years (at the time) and 4 and 1 year old daughters and a mortgage.
That first 4-stroke ended up being an '06 RMZ-450. Everything I read about it just resonated. Factor in a test ride on my friends '05 CRF450 (that made tons of power well into the top end) and I made the choice to go with "mellow" yellow. (although that carb'd mill "hit" harder than my '18, fuel injection/mapping has been able to deliver more power smoother on my '18)
Took a little dialing on the '06 (backing down the high-speed compression having the biggest positive effect), but I took that bone stock bike...bone stock...(just swapped bars to my favorite reed/henry pro--tapers) to consecutive wins in my clubs's OTHG 38-Int. A very confidence inspiring bike (once dialed in.)
Our next "National" in Fernley, Nevada I 1-1'd the motos on Saturday and I kinda knew what was about to happen. Our race director walked up and said welcome to the othg expert class. Rather than make a stink (hell, we're right in the middle of a National), I glass-half fulled it, took it as a compliment and lined up with the 15-20 rider field of Experts on Sunday. When it was all said and done, I took home a 3rd overall in 38 Experts in a weekend I'll never forget.
The RM-Z can be made to suit your style and can be a confidence building mount that can surprise a few of your friends. Also, I kind of embrace the underdog anyway and the RM-Z is a willing companion in that role. I had my best ride on my '18 yesterday(2/12 at E-street) and that's after having a "best" ride last weekend. So much, so, that I will likely visit some local othg rounds in the near future. Been a long time and I've been missing it the last 10 years.
That would not have been possible without being realistic and buying the bike that made sense for me.
I bought the bike in '18 for $7,500 OTD, bought Pipe/Wheels / Bunch of Extras 2nd hand(thanks TeamGreen), and a new '19-22 RMZ-250 shock and a 5.7 spring. Add it all up and I've got (even with the bling wheels) about $9,900 total investment (including bike).
It's one of the easiest bikes to ride I've ever ridden and to say the bike is confidence inspiring in its current build, is an understatement. Even starting (that everybody makes a big deal about) is just a 3 kick cold / 1 kick warm affair with not much effort (exertion) on the kick-starter. I still like looking at it, riding it, and talking about it. Thanks Suzuki. The perfect bike for me. For a lot of reasons.
I really recommend 14/52 or 14/53 gearing, it really frees up the bike when the RPM’s are up there. I also like not having to replace the chain slider every 15 hours.
Performance has been a dramatic improvement over the stock shock. Been playing with the link from Ride Eng. and yesterday was a big nod to using the link with my new shock. Started out on sand track and my MX53 washing out / unplanted. Understand, tire not made for that, but it was borderline scary bad.
Immediately went back into pits and put Ride. Eng link back on and went out there 10 min. later and it was night and day. Then finished my day on the harder terrain Vet(back) track and bike felt amazing. I'll double check sag again, but it was at 104-105mm last weekend.
Good to know about the 14/52. Part of the "Extras" when I picked up the Pipe/Wheels were a 14/52 from Mika. Looking forward to putting those on soon.
Pit Row
them and even with it being too stiff for me, it still works really, really well. I have zero complaints any time I’m jump from my stock setup 17 to his 20. I’m sure the 250 shock is really good as well, but The BFRC works really well after Enzo worked their magic with it.
14/52 is a little taller than the stock 13/50, worked good for the RMZ’s powerband. I still use 3rd in the corners and can now shift to 4th less, I was running 4th a lot with stock gearing and I didn’t like where I had to shift on the track. I went 14/52 because I saw HEP using that’ gearing with stock chain guard, I wanted to try a 53, I’m worried it wouldn’t fit in the chain guide. I saw on pit bits that HEP switched to a 55 sometime during the season.
Post a reply to: NEW RMZ450!? oh boy.