Who is responsible for Ken Roczen racing a Suzuki in 2025?

CLT809
Posts
295
Joined
9/2/2013
Location
Valley View, TX US
Fantasy
1/9/2025 5:32am
Problem with modding it  to make it a “race bike” is you will have more in it than just switching to a model where race parts...

Problem with modding it  to make it a “race bike” is you will have more in it than just switching to a model where race parts are actually available..

trust me I did my research on it when I owned it maybe it’s different now but at the time in order to use a Carillo A beam rod and high comp cp piston I was gonna have to swap the head to a 2017 rmz 450 head. It was a cluster.  

One of the reasons I sold the bike. After adding everything up to purchase I would have had 1 and a half KTM msrps in the one suzuki…



 

You didn’t do much research then… that rod and piston would drop right in.  Carrillo makes a great product (we’re running custom jgr spec’ed rods from them in 250’s), but they don’t update their catalog much for Suzukis for obvious reasons. Both bikes use the same rod spec since forever. The OEM rod goes back to 2014, and the pro-x goes back to all EFI rods. The length, width, and pin diameters haven’t changed, so why wouldn’t it work?

My bigger question is why you felt you needed that billet rod? As long as we don’t go crazy with the rev limiter we get plenty of time out of the oem rod. Heck, HEP was on stock rods in their 450’s until the last couple years. I’m not sure if JGR ran a billet rod in their race bikes, but here’s a build sheet of a 2017 engine that was still being ran as recently as 9/16/2020 by Tickle as a practice motor. All the parts in this column with “28H” are oem from 2017 (18 and up engines would be marked “37K” or whatever code is stamped on oem heads, I only have head build sheets for 2018+). JGR was running OEM 450 rods 30 hours just fine (second column is service limits).

Frankly, my team is on RMZ’s because of cost efficiency. I can remap and revalve a 450 and have a happy camper. Jake Masterpool’s only other addition is a high compression, off the shelf JE piston (13.5:1), and a slightly tweaked version of the PC map in the OEM box using the WiFi tuner. He’s even running the bfrc on outdoors and just used the kyb for ax/sx because it was easier for his tuner to find a setting. Travis Smith’s setting is even simpler, just a vortex by twisted. 

So a feller can buy a 450 for 6500-7k, run it two seasons, and sell it for 4k. Thats not a pipe dream, myself and dirt bike mike have done that exact thing for several years now with this arenacross program. My 21 model gasgas MC250F and 450? Paid full retail in 2021, sold for $4700 & $4200 two years later. Took a WAY bigger hit. Not to mention I’d take a BFRC shock all day and twice on Sunday over that air fork. My first thought when I rode the gasgas bikes was “craaaaaaap I made a mistake”. I eventually got comfortable on them, but the Suzuki’s just immediately felt like home. So I’m going to laugh at the “5x better” comment. It may be the bike you’re more comfortable on, but lap time to lap time I doubt there’s much deviation. 

Ok, hopping off my soap box now. 

IMG 2239 0
17
SEMAC
Posts
340
Joined
11/21/2017
Location
cordoba, Ver. MX
1/9/2025 8:24am
Sandusky26 wrote:

If any of you guys want to shit on a motorcycle brand, go check out the KTM bankruptcy thread.

Right

CPan
Posts
464
Joined
2/21/2022
Location
CA
1/9/2025 4:58pm
twotwosix wrote:
We are going in to 2025 Supercross and Suzuki have Ken Roczen lining up to compete for them, fully capable of grabbing some race wins.HOW???!!!There is...

We are going in to 2025 Supercross and Suzuki have Ken Roczen lining up to compete for them, fully capable of grabbing some race wins.

HOW???!!!

There is no brand doing less for the sport or putting forth less effort into dirtbikes than Suzuki and somehow they still have Ken Roczen racing one of their outdated bikes with a kickstarter in 2025, lol.

Who is the person(s) responsible for this? They deserve a presidential medal, a lifetime achievement award, a Nobel prize... They must me the most keen business person on this planet, because I just do not see how they still have bikes out there in Professional SMX. 

They have fallen a long way in recent years, but someone is keeping the US racing dream over alive at Suzuki... kudos to you.

makita1.jpeg?VersionId=up1oEwUdtb2MSw8K5.xC
Pop Shmoke wrote:
Actually part of this is not true, kennys bike will have an electric start at a1. (This is not a joke its actually real this year...

Actually part of this is not true, kennys bike will have an electric start at a1. (This is not a joke its actually real this year, been confirmed from multiple different industry podcasts)

I don’t see a starter button on Kenny’s A1 bike. 

Bineano
Posts
413
Joined
10/2/2012
Location
Whitecourt CA
1/9/2025 6:43pm
zehn wrote:

KTM really should have bought Suzuki, what a missed opportunity 

Could very well be the other way around shortly enough 😜

The Shop

Shred
Posts
1508
Joined
10/21/2021
Location
Brighton, CO US
Fantasy
1/9/2025 7:08pm
zehn wrote:

KTM really should have bought Suzuki, what a missed opportunity 

Bineano wrote:

Could very well be the other way around shortly enough 😜

Already in the works…IMG 1524 2.jpeg?VersionId=a8vZKl34

1
1
zehn
Posts
7861
Joined
1/15/2013
Location
Anchorage, AK US
1/9/2025 8:58pm
zehn wrote:

KTM really should have bought Suzuki, what a missed opportunity 

Bineano wrote:

Could very well be the other way around shortly enough 😜

Well it was a joke poking fun at a thread about it 

Pop Shmoke
Posts
1787
Joined
6/17/2020
Location
Boston, MA US
1/9/2025 9:08pm
twotwosix wrote:
We are going in to 2025 Supercross and Suzuki have Ken Roczen lining up to compete for them, fully capable of grabbing some race wins.HOW???!!!There is...

We are going in to 2025 Supercross and Suzuki have Ken Roczen lining up to compete for them, fully capable of grabbing some race wins.

HOW???!!!

There is no brand doing less for the sport or putting forth less effort into dirtbikes than Suzuki and somehow they still have Ken Roczen racing one of their outdated bikes with a kickstarter in 2025, lol.

Who is the person(s) responsible for this? They deserve a presidential medal, a lifetime achievement award, a Nobel prize... They must me the most keen business person on this planet, because I just do not see how they still have bikes out there in Professional SMX. 

They have fallen a long way in recent years, but someone is keeping the US racing dream over alive at Suzuki... kudos to you.

makita1.jpeg?VersionId=up1oEwUdtb2MSw8K5.xC
Pop Shmoke wrote:
Actually part of this is not true, kennys bike will have an electric start at a1. (This is not a joke its actually real this year...

Actually part of this is not true, kennys bike will have an electric start at a1. (This is not a joke its actually real this year, been confirmed from multiple different industry podcasts)

CPan wrote:

I don’t see a starter button on Kenny’s A1 bike. 

Hmm yea I just went and looked and I dont either. Wtf steve matthes, you lied to us? You got some explaining to do…. 

1
1/10/2025 3:24am

Kids on 85's kickstarting their bike would smoke 60% of this forum. 

Let Suzuki have their piece of the market, hopefully we have some other affordable option soon. Cost is going to kill the amateur scene eventually. 

3
2
TAUTOG
Posts
1588
Joined
1/27/2023
Location
Mohrsville, PA US
1/10/2025 7:12am
zehn wrote:

KTM really should have bought Suzuki, what a missed opportunity 

Bineano wrote:

Could very well be the other way around shortly enough 😜

Shred wrote:
Already in the works…

Already in the works…IMG 1524 2.jpeg?VersionId=a8vZKl34

I gotta say that really pops 👀

1
SEMAC
Posts
340
Joined
11/21/2017
Location
cordoba, Ver. MX
1/10/2025 8:17am
zehn wrote:

KTM really should have bought Suzuki, what a missed opportunity 

Bineano wrote:

Could very well be the other way around shortly enough 😜

Shred wrote:
Already in the works…

Already in the works…IMG 1524 2.jpeg?VersionId=a8vZKl34

LOL

2
OwenJakes
Posts
1687
Joined
6/30/2023
Location
sebree, KY US
1/12/2025 7:26pm

Just checking in to see how we’re doing after Saturday night 

4
501Ross
Posts
173
Joined
2/12/2022
Location
Sherwood, AR US
1/13/2025 3:51pm Edited Date/Time 1/13/2025 3:53pm

I honestly would have ended up on a new rmz this past year but they wouldn’t budge off 8600$. I walked away with a new Honda 450 for $7600. I would have preferred the Zuki due to the reliability and parts are very plentiful and will be for years to come. I don’t get to ride enough and don’t do the next bike every three years thing regardless. 

1/13/2025 4:22pm
501Ross wrote:
I honestly would have ended up on a new rmz this past year but they wouldn’t budge off 8600$. I walked away with a new Honda...

I honestly would have ended up on a new rmz this past year but they wouldn’t budge off 8600$. I walked away with a new Honda 450 for $7600. I would have preferred the Zuki due to the reliability and parts are very plentiful and will be for years to come. I don’t get to ride enough and don’t do the next bike every three years thing regardless. 

Yeah, good decision.

That doesn't seem right at all. 8600 is more than Suzuki is asking post rebate, taxes, and fees in most jurisdictions.

2

Post a reply to: Who is responsible for Ken Roczen racing a Suzuki in 2025?

The Latest