Is it possible to make an RM85 competable in 2024?

The best thing you can put on either of them is seat time.

Practice, practice, practice.

Have you experimented with gearing?

Suspension probably needs some help also, especially the forks.

You're looking for a combo that will work on the slowest sections (typically corners) while still giving acceptable acceleration and top speed.

You will always be limited by the internal gearbox ratios but you're trying to optimize things for your conditions.

If you can take a corner in 3rd and don't have enough top end for the straights, I'd say you can gear it up since you have room to  downshift in the corners.

However, if you're clutching it in 1st in the corners and still too slow on top, you don't have a lot of external gearing options.

They've come a long way! 😳

1978? I broke the frame in half under the gas tank on mine. 

Ride ride ride and ride some more. 

Dean at R&D can make that motor scream but it'll still probably only be as fast as a stock Austrian bike also Jeff at Bill's pipes can build a good motor if Dean is busy! Biggest thing to watch out for is the frame if you're getting off the ground the frames going to break had to switch Brands after four bikes in one year that includes gussets and Welding LOL

We went to the Suzuki school of motocross at Carlsbad in 1978 or 79. They supplied RM 80’s, my brother broke the frame in the same place first day of riding. They weren’t the strongest frames.

Just follow the advice and experiment with the gearing, and don't throw big bucks at it to make it run as an Austrian 85 because first of all it's near to impossible and also the suspension is so old fashioned on an RM85 that you will have a challenge there as well.

Go ride the 125 more often to get comfortable on that bike, except if you are not strong enough / old enough to handle that bike. Keep riding the RM85 till you are ready to transfer.

Follow this advice.....  You will be fine.

Wrist mod...twist the throttle a little bit more.

The simple answer is yes. But do you need to?

If you’re racing at a level where the aging design of the RM85 truly is limiting your success, then yes they can be made competitive with the newer bikes, engine wise, quite easily. But as with all older bikes, everything you do will be a compromise.

Without knowing your situation, I’d say IF you have a few spare bucks, get the cylinder and head done on the RM to give it a little boost, while concentrating on riding the 125 more, to begin the transition to full sized bikes. You’ll soon forget about the 85.

That's beautiful 

Don’t waste any money on that 85. If you already have a 125 I’m guessing you won’t ride the 85 much longer

No. It's an obsolete design, unimproved for years. Any decent rider on a modern Austrian bike will wipe the floor with you unless you are the brother of Baby Jesus. Learn to ride the TC to its potential (likely means you will need to increase YOUR potential) and dump the RM. Who the hell even buys an RM85 now?

Edit - this is stock to stock. You could spend $5 grand on the RM and maybe it'll be competitive. But probably not. Unless you are already winning everything in the 85 class on a crap RM you don't need to do a thing to the TC. Spend the $$$$ on track time and lessons.

We love our rm, my little brother rode the bike a ton, been on a 125 for 2 years and at the start of the year he wanted a final run in mini sr2 and supermini so we threw a bike today, blew up first lap of practice at spring a ding, got it back together for regionals and couldn’t get to race, But so much fun    Are they as good as a ktm?  No.    Are they outdated? Yes. But they are simple and for what they are.    Some gearing, springs and some little touches and it’s a perfect bike for 99% for kids who aren’t out trying to win Lorettas. Need more affordable bikes for kids to learn on and use as a step stone before going balls deep into racing.

Call Dean Dickinson at R&D Racing.  Can’t think of anyone that knows more about RM85’s.  I think he’s got a really good mod for the exhaust valve…

We need some tips from Tyler. 

Beast

We are old. 😆

Hell yes, call R&D

Would you go with a pwk on a rm85? Or is it a waste of time? Thinking of building up a rm85 for my son to hopefully ride aus sx on. 

I'll probably get flamed for this, but the RM85 is a disposable bike. They are good when brand new and competitive, but once worn out and floppy you could spend a ton of money and it will never be as good as new. Buy them 2 a time, one for practice and one to race and sell when worn out.

Funny, I have the same thoughts about today's 4T bikes - pay a small fortune for them and when they need a major overhaul it doesn't make financial sense to dump the money into them... and it's not ethical to dump them on an unknowing buyer, so do you part it out or make it a parts bike?

Read my mind! Where is Tyler when you need him!?