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/126073
The problems As the plan now stood the Marzocchi forks and DeCoster shocks would replace the stock units on the RM250 . the stoc k RM2 50 forks and shocks would replace the RMI25 A forks and shocks. and th e RMI25 forks and shocks would replace the RMIOO forks and sho cks. T he trade ou ts wer e goi ng to give the RM250 a plusher ride with better feel and less fade , the RM1 25 was goi ng to gain almost two inches of fork travel and an in ch and a half at th e rear wheel , while the R MIOO wou ld g ai n one inch of for k travel and I y.!" of rear wheel movement . After lining up th ree m ilk crates and removing the RMIOO front end the RM125 forks wer e unbolted and placed onto th e 100 . It was a perfect fit with no problems. The front wheel was slightly different in spacing between the two tiddlers so a spacer was fit to the left side of the axle and the front end was button up . The gain was at least one inch in travel. The rear Showa shocks were taken off of the 100 and the longer RM125 Kayabas were bolted in place. The first problem arose when it looked like the chain was going to hit the spring, but it turned out to be no problem . The total number of parts used to modify the RMIOO for a major increase in suspension travel was a single one-half inch spacer for the front axle. ' The RM125 sat there naked of suspension components so after stepping over to the RM250 and stripping the forks and shocks off the ,RM 125 found itself with l super suspension and absolutely no installation problems. The RM250 forks and shocks bolted on with no problems , not even the little spacer hassle that the 100 exhibited. Things were go ing great. Two motorcycles had been improved in quantum leaps without so much as one thrown wrench or kicked milk crate. It was going W;ly too smooth. The RM250 proved that if something can go wrong it will . The new DeCoster sho cks bolted 'o n without a hassle, but the Marzocchi forks did exactly what Harry Clemm, chi ef mechanic at DG , said th ey would ; which was not fit. The stern on the Italian forks was too short. To get them to work the st em out of a set of Suzuki triple clamps had to be pressed out and then the Marzocchi had to have the Suzuki stem pressed in and shrink fit. The bearing races had to be cha nged from Suzuki to Marzocchi and after all of this the trouble was JUSt beginning. The forks fit , but there were no brakes because the brake anchor had nowhere to connect. This was solved by mounting a brake retaining stud mounted to a one-quarter inch thick aluminum brake arm . The stud went into the notch of the Suzuki backing plate and was held to the aluminum arm with two counter-sunk allen screws . . Theaxle had to be turned down and an aluminum colla.r was machined. to ta~e up the slop in the fork leg. Lots of hasslesl All 10 all It ~as a handful of a job. I don't suggest that.anyone jump right in and try to mount Marzocchi forks to their RM250. Half of the hassles could 'h ave been eliminated by using the stock Suzuki triple clamps. which the Marzocchi legs will slide right into. But the brake problems can only be eliminated by using a different hub and that starts getting into money. So much for the bolt on Marzocchi m~h. , ,As an alternative to these 250 gyrations it probably would have been easier to take a set of stock Suzuki forks and mount a Ottow Werks gas accumulator fork kit to th em . The- Ottow kit improves the Suzuki RM forks drastically wh ile increasing travel. Stage three by three This project started because 1 \'lilSn't satisfied with what was currently ava ilable on the machines at m y . disposal and wanted to initiate major changes at minor cost. If th is was a scoring event the results would ' say that two out of three ain't bad. The improvement in the RMIOO and RM125 were well worth the effort , mainly because the modifications were 'a lm ost effortless. Both bikes stand several inches taller and plunge several inches farther . Learning to ri de them has been easy. The longer the suspension the more radical the rake becomes in corners. The rider adjustments are quickly calculated in the head and practice makes them automatic . But don't race -either bike without taking an afternoon to adjust to their height and feel with a period of gradual riding.. All in all bolting new forks and shocks to the small .bikes worked exceptionally well , but ,now I,want a little more. I'm thinking of bolting 250 forks and shocks to the RMIOO. after all they will fit with no trouble . There is no reason to be tied to factory regulated suspension travel an~ore : shocks with reservoirs, ala Roger DeCoster. were selected. We passed up a lot of good shocks that work well on Suzuki RM 250 's because we actually liked the feel of the stock shocks and the DeCoster models. which are stock on all 1977 models, provide that same [ eel over a longer period of time. That was the extent of the major purchases; Marzocchi forks and DeCoster shocks to go on the 250 .' The bill was a rather heavy $350. but could be trimmed by almost $100 by-using Fox Shox, Works Performance, Curnutts, Boges or Arnaco's. Where. who, what an~ huh? DG Performance Specialties 5552 La Palma Ave. East Anaheim . Calif. 92806 (714 ) 996-4430 Ottow Werks 15156 Downey Ave . Paramount. CA 90723 (213) 531 ยท8801