Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125986
Riding impression Soft front, firm rear, go-go middle By Jeff Peck • Right off, you notice the biggest difference between the TM and the RM: the gas/oil shocks mount. ed In a cantilevered position underneath the bulging number p lates. After that the very flexible fe n ders at the front and rear might .' ,Suzuki's new toy at rest . Looks trick, is t rick. Power-to-ground mechanism. Note · roller chain guide, metal dirt shield at lower end of shock (preload adjuster is at t op. shrouded by number plate I and stubborn adherence to Japanese Universal chain adjuster tabs. 36 Airbox is well protected and well stuffed with a proper filter. Note . too. how the upper load st ruts for t he shock mounts are bellied-out from the general plane of the frame tubes. Hell fo r straight load paths. but necessary to keep the shocks from binding. catch your eye or p o ssibly t he fat sea t that looks comfortable even at a distance. A!; you wheel the b ike o ut to the track you see the b ig mud flap on the front fender waving at you as if to say, "Don 't worry nothing is going to get by me ." 'Starting the bike is a two-three kick affair which involves battling with the small pull up choke rod that is standard equipment on Mikuni carbs these days. After a brief warm up y o u are off. At 190 pounds the RM125 is close to the super light 250s in the weight department, but this weight is not felt out on the track as the bike jumps forward with a new burst of power each time the shifter is moved to the next cog. The high in the sky feeling that LTR suspensions give is lost as the fine rear suspension starts to do its job. Over bumps and holes the gas/oil units keep the bike moving in a forward direction without any extra side trips through the giggle weeds. With the rear end doing such a fine job it is too bad that the front end does not do likewise. At first you think that it is because the front end is so cus hy, so a change of o il is in order. That help s but not enough. The front end still washes out. To repair this short-eoming we would suggest that the fo rks be m oved up into the clamps about 5mm. Alo ng wi th moving the forks up a change in spring rat e or more pre-load wo uld make a defini te improvement. Ot h er than the front end problems the RM is a fine piece of machinery. The stock motor is strong and revs fast with the power impulses starting down low and p ulli ng strong all the way to the top. It is a quick moving bike that likes to be driven straight into and straight out of corn ers, w ith no messing around. The bike handles well enough to allow you to dive under people and has enough zap to get you down the straight parts of the track in a hurry . To handle t he transfe rring of power to ,the ground Suzuki has hooked a well spaced five speed transmission to the RM engine. They feel that the RM has a wide enough power band to compensate for the lac k of a sixth gear, It seems that they have been doing their homework, the trans always delivers with no big gaps in gear ratios, As for shifting, it is very smooth with short positive throws. Clutch pressure is minimal and no fading was experienced even after some abusive riding from a he avy handed shifter. A!; for rider comfort, the seat is well padded for those who don't carry their own and the riding position is such that the sit down-stand up transfer is very easy. The footpeg, shifter and brake pedal position is very good and does not require that you hunt around for their use. Suzuki is putting together a hop up kit for the RM 125 and we had a chance to ride a bike so equipped. The kit added about 15% more power to the engine with no loss of lo w en d torque b ut it did increase the punch at t he top end of rev range. With the kit the engine has to be revved more and the difference is quite no ticeable . Suz uki has score d another first with the RM125. At a time whe n co mpanies are fina lly starting to sell bikes t hat closely resemble their team racers, Suzuki is the first Japanese company to merchandise a small bore challenger with cantilever mounted gas/oil shocks. Along with suspension goodies the retail price of $925 will put the RM 125 below just about every sales competitor in the expanding lightweight marke t. •