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1969 Yamaha AT1 (and its derivatives) had essentially the same type of magneto-start system.
Same with the Honda metro and ruckus for some reason. Hit the button and the motor just starts running no starter windup, its pretty wild lol.
We work with shot start sleds at work frequently and it is a cool system but finicky and probably a bit bulky for a dirtbike + lack of room in the motor for the system.
Something that I think is kind of funny, is back when there was still Factory ATV racing, I had 2 RMZs and wanted one of those LTR450s, shortly after they came out. I traded my RMZ450 to a guy that had a year old LTR, since I also had a new RMZ250. And the LTR looked like an RMZ motor, but did have electric start. And then I remember the Factory Suzuki ATVs used to pull that system and they were all Kickstart. I assume it was to reduce drag or something? And then in the first couple years of the CRF it was like that w Kenny and JB. So did the brands all figure that out to where it's a non-issue? Is that what Suzuki is worried about or do they just not want to redesign an engine and drop weight that would be added by the e-start? It feels like so long ago since I had a Kickstart 4stroke, that I don't even think about the initial challenges that were there for that era of other brands.
theres a few things they have publicly noted. Weight isnt a major concern, PMG and JGR both noted that the weight works to their advantagee, making a 450 too light with that much power can cause it to be unstable.
Id speculate also, that since the motor and the chassis are refined versions of the OG 05 bike; its flex characterics and balance are very good as noted by some tuners. being the case, adding electric start not only adds weight from the motor/battery but it would need serious redesign along with the frame to avoid pitfalls others like honda ran into where while maintaining what the bike already has
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I can almost guarantee that Suzuki isn't putting a kickstart into the bike because they aren't selling enough of them. Nobody wants to be the guy who signs off on the R&D budget to make that minor update and then have it be a waste of money because they didn't recoup their investment. You might be surprised at how many decisions are made in that manner - it's not always about making the best bike.
The sad truth is that thinking is self-defeating. The longer they go without the e-start, the fewer bikes they sell and the smaller budget they have to make more changes. Then it gets harder to convince the higher-ups to invest in RM-Z development because "We only sell a small handful of those bikes anyway."
I’m not sure where you’re getting your information from, but the current RM-Z450, outside of being a yellow, kickstart, single cylinder 450cc 4 stroke motocross bike, has nothing in common with the 2005 model.
The front wheel nut is the same!
I use an RMX450 Airbox Mud Flap on my PDS'd CRE!
Tried a whole bunch of said items, from other bikes, and, it was the one that worked! Same one's been on it for near on 10 years - though, I've got a couple of spares, as I thought they may not be available for long.
As I understand it, a Big part of the RMX450's demise was the trouble Suzuki got into with the 'Cherry Bomb' ( or 'Bomb' something or other ) that subverted the Californian Emissions spec. Cost Suzuki quite a bit, to my dim recollection, and they just gave up on it, after that.
It was a pity, as it was quite a good bike, with not much more 'lard' to it than the other Japanese 450 Off Roaders at the time.
And yes, as others have written, it was a Very different engine to the RMZ !
Just be glad it's not a pull start... This thing looks badass though.
your not wrong. while the frame has undergone multiple iterations, its the same same dimensions, seat height, etc. the motor while it underwent multiple revisions is still based on the og design. they never went in another direction with the frame like honda or yamaha or even kawi who were all searching for new handling characteritics like sharper turning or mass centralization. or even motors, honda abandoned the sohc, yamaha flipped the cylinder, kawasaki got rid of its fire breather.
the current rmz450 is a refined version of what it started as.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meMRkK5nyT8
I really hope the one mentioned on pulp is different. These are not pretty IMO.
Honda is still SOHC.
This dude has a pretty simple mod that works from 08-26 lol. If its this easy suzuki should just offer the option.
Yep. I went down rabbit hole one day with all this years ago now and RMZ, RMX and LTR are all different part number cases, cylinder and heads. The reason you can't just bolt on RMX stuff to RMZ is because it's completely different with the cam tensioner in cylinder on RMZ and in head on RMX to make room for starter motor below, which is bolted to the the cases on RMX and can't be on RMZ unless your adding metal, machining and putting in bolt holes with RMX head and cylinder, if the RMX cylinder fits RMZ cases which you have to have per AMA rules, and then you got to make it go poke through clutch cover and drive a sprag clutch gear, which isn't there either or have a place to mount. I can't be bothered explaining that to stupids that keep saying so.
yep for sure! Because the RMZ needs to be 2 inches wider and 2 kilo heavier. Check the S bend on the gear lever to make it out passed!!
That video wouldn't generate a sale from me. Maybe once they figure out why the bike doesn't want to start and provide some instruction/fix, then it would be more interesting. From the video it looks like you should just kick it.
These after market starter kits have been problematic...to say the least.
Especially the Pantera one, KTM, gas gas have had so many issues with the side case mounted starter system, they get sloppy in short time and that introduces binding.
yep they require frequent cleaning and fresh grease, but not too much, to keep in working order
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U thought kickstart Kenny had electric start?
Everyone is so hooked on electric start. Roczen proved that it is not needed.
almost cost him a SX chip...
The only explanation I can come up with is most of the people here are prone to panicking and the location of the starter button keeps them from accidentally opening the throttle while trying to re-start a stalled bike.
More reasonable people don't see e-start as a necessaity, especially on a race bike.
Everyone still complaining about a kicker probably wore a mask 7 years ago...
would bet you Kenny was complaining right here. Btw Ken was on his bike before Hunter. Hunter got 4th, Ken 10th.
From a mechanical persoective, how does an electric starter make the bike fire better than a kick lever?
Have you ever dropped a bike while you're at max HR in a racing situation? Then pick it up and kick it half a dozen times or more before it fires? If not, you have no idea how much the button saves your energy.
Then there are some who view a kickstart as some weird badge of honor. Like everyone else here I've kicked over a bike a million times. I prefer the button.
I can tell you from personal experience I have never had an issue clicking the button, but have plentyyy times kicked my bike in a racing panic for what felt like 5 minutes completely gassed after.
I guess one comes down to when your kicking a bike not in a rush, you can pretty easily get a solid kick in and have no issue. Try that in a race, in gear, on a hill, on a jump face, etc etc.
That is user perspective, from a mechanical perspective I cant see how there would be a benefit. There are costs though, weight penalty and increased chance of system failure.
Thanks for confirming my panic hypothesis from earlier.
User experience is what matters lol. I would say a solid majority here would not buy a kickstart dirtbike today. Not because they can’t kick a bike over, but we’ve all had the experiences explained above and the benefits FAR outweigh the negatives.
Heres your answer though: mechanically, a button turns over the bike instantly many many times. A kick start is 1 kick to turn it over. I don’t think I need to go further into how this is beneficial lol. Have you owned both?
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