Suzuki & the 250s

I know the riders a couple years back, inlcuding devalos, where really complaining about engine speed and reliability.

Why is that? Is there little in the way of contingency, are the bikes not quick enough, parts hard to find etc making Suzukis a bad choice for a privateer?

Seems silly that one of the "big 5" has so little of a presence in the class.

I heard new bike 2016 250s also. GPs their factory bike was one of fastest before rider did get hurt.

I don't think the "Fell behind" holds much weight, I'm no pro but I tried a few new 250fs and liked the Suzuki, definitely not a bad bike.

It is a support issue not a bike issue. You should ride the new 250s and most guys prefer the Suzuki. It is just hard to race one if you can't make any money doing it and that's why the pros do what they do!

The bikes are good. Since 2012 it's even won a couple shootouts and placed well in others. I think a big part of it is the cost of parts. I broke a dampening rod in my 12 rmz450 the oem part was $700. I ordered an oem dampening rod from a 09 crf 250, same exact part, and it was $175.

That's weird. A few years ago I could order parts for a DRZ110 and RM65 and they would cost less than the identical KLX110 and KX65 parts.

Suzuki went nuts with their parts pricing a few years ago.

Honda pricing has gone up, but it's still the lowest.

The bike is very good, id say 2nd best. The problem is with support, suzuki simply doesent have enough money to fund a 250 team. Also for privateers, they get no support. Thats the problem.

no no no. There is a shortage of yellow PVC pellets worldwide and they have to use what they have on the 450 so they don't make as many 250's cause they don't have the same profit margin. True story… I read it on motodrive.

I believe the majority of outstanding shares of Suzuki stock is owned by the original Suzuki family. Also it seems kind of strange that after the auto division bankruptcy GM product is coming out of there former assembly lines. Anyone look at a Chevy Spark or Sonic lately?

Their engine is underpowered out of the box compared to all the other brands…..
Thats not what you want as a privateer….

I clipped a less-than-stellar post speculating about Suzuki's financial health. (If you're going to make claims on stuff like this, please have your ducks in a row.)

Anyway, after I did it, I noticed that RMT had posted a solid rebuttal to it that was about to go out with the tide (he'd quoted the original post), so I'm pasting that part back in. You'll find it below.


Please please please show me where or how you know American Suzuki, which by the way is not the name of the company, is financially unstable. Do you do the taxes for them? Did they come to you for a loan? Is it because they restructured a few years ago and that was called bankruptcy? When Suzuki brought over the cars and set up a new corporation, they made the mistake of including motorcycles, outboard engines and autos under the same corporate umbrella. When they decided to exit the car business here in the US, the only way they could do that and make a clean break would be to restructure the company by filling bankruptcy and forming an all new company. It had nothing to do with finances. As far as why they don't just throw money at MX racing, well they did that and it never really paid off. They hired some of the best riders and team managers and won a lot of championships. They had one of the best amateur support programs for years with great contingency. They built and still build some of the best bikes, but for some reason people still buy Honda's.

To be honest, Suzuki is smart. They cut back shipments to the US when the economy tanked and diverted that production to other countries that were still selling. Brazil, India and other developing countries got those spots on the assembly line that used to be slated to the US. Why tie up production on bikes that you have to turn around and give up half your margin so the dealers can sell them? Look at the rebates that the OEM's give out this time of year on the 14's. Do the math.

Just to send you on the right path on your google search, Its Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. and they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corp..

There are two different industries you guys seem to forget about. The MX industry, which is very very small, and then there is the Motorcycle industry. Success in the MX industry does not mean success in the motorcycle industry. A company like say KTM, which most see as this shining star and at the top of the heap, is not even on the radar of companies like Polaris or HD. They are a niche player, just like Ducati. Very small in the overall scheme of things. They do build a great product though, as does Ducati.