Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ G ..J a, « a::" w :.: ~ ~ > ED o l- o :r ... ~ 00 O"'l ........ c-r c-r >~ ~ New porting. a larger ca rburetor and a longer connecting rod improved the Suzuki 's powerband. but exiting turns quickly is still a problem. RM2S0F (Con tinued fro m pa g e I I ) rive powerba nd. Seco nd-gea r sta rts a re th e h ot ticket - as soon as the ga te drops, the engi ne revved o u t, the clutch slip ped very smooth ly for abou t 15 yards to nai l a holesh ot, Last year, th e RM tended to loop o u t o nce th e engi ne reach ed m id -ran ge, becau se o f th e a bru p t low- 10 mid-range transition. T he n th e mot orcycle would tip over to th e side mak e h o ld ing a st rai g h t line very d ifficult . . . n ot any mor e. Slow in g down fo r th e turn s didn 't giv e us any problems o n th e new R M, unlike last vear. T he switch to th e di sc fro nt brak e rea lly ' mak es a ni ce difference, because it is much stro nge r a nd smoother tha n th e drum . Two fin gers on th e lever is eno ug h to ge t th e job done. T he rear brake is as good as ever; th ere's 'no p roblem wi th the rear wh eel lockin g u p and the feel is fine . Some 1984 Suzu ki o wners com p lai ned th e rea r whee l h opped and kicked wh en brakin g over bum ps an d th is is n o lon ger th e ca se. Every now an d th en, a la rge, sq ua red -off burrip wi ll sneak in a nd ca use the bac k end to kick sha rp ly but no t as ha rd as wit h th e '84. T he cha in st ill flops aro und a nd sla ps the h ard -pl a stic swingarm protector, ca usi ng a lo ud chatter under brak in g , but the n oi se is harm less. ' . Spea king of th e chai n , o urs d id n' t even last a few hou rs before it sta rte d to brea k a part, Crac ks appea red j us t a bo ve every ro ller p in o n th e to p left side. As those crac ks widen ed , th e chai n became ex treme ly loose a nd co u ld ha ve derail ed o r sna pped a nd gone thro ug h th e case durin g a race. We sugges t keeping a sharp eye o n it. The stoc k Bridgeston es performed very well on a ll kinds o f terrai n, even o n th e dr y, hard-pa cked din. T he rear tir e wo re o u t fa irl y qu ickly, wh ile th e front tir e still looked brand new . T he Su zu ki co mes with a very informative a nd easy-to-read owner's maintenance manual th at is fill ed w it h ph otograph s a n d di a gram s th roughou t its 114 pages, as well a s a sepa rate, 41-page updated race pr epara tio n ma n ua l including basic ridin g tips with photographs. T he re 's n o doubt th e '85 RM2 50F is better than th e '84 because o f its m or e usab le powerband and plushi er suspe ns io n. T he new Suzu ki st ill lacks power off th e bot to m , but if yo u' ve ridden RM s before, yo u 'll apprecia te every modi fica tion made to th e '85 Suzu ki , T hey' ve mad e winning o n it th at much easier. • Suzuki RM250F Engine t ype . ... . . Liquid -cooled, . two-stroke . single Bore x stroke .. . • , . . 70x64mm Displacement 246cc Compression ratio 8 .4;1 Carburetion 38m m Mikuni Ignition Suzuki PEl Lubrication : . Pre -mix Gear rat io s Primary '. • , '• • .• 2 ,565 Final . ........ . • .. .. . • . 3.571 5th ... ... . . . .. • . " ..• 1 .000 4th • .•••• ... . • . . . . . _. 1.173 3rd .......... . . . . •. • . 1 .381 2nd .. : , . .• , 1 .722 1st ... . . . . . . . . .• . •. .. . 2 .076 Frame Single downtube. double cradle Rake- ... _...• • •. , • • • , . " . 30 0 Trail ..• ... . . . .. . •. • 4 .3 inches Front brake 9.5-in. Disc ' Rear brakes Fron t suspension type Drum Telescopic fork Fork tube diameter 43mm Front wheel t ravel 11 .8 in. Rear suspe nsion type Singleshock swingarm Rear wheel travel . . 13.0 inches Front wheel : . . 21 inches Rear wheel 18 inches Front t ire • . . . . . . . . 100/80-21 Bridgestone M -37 Rear tire .. .. .. .. .. 130/80-18 Bridgestone M -38 Dry weight . • , . .• .• . . . .212 lbs. Wheelbase 58.1 inches Fuel capacity .... . . • . . . 2 .4 ga l. Ground clearance . , 14.6 inches Seat height •......•. 33 inches Colors •• _• • •• • , • , .... •. Yellow Retail price • . • , $2690 Thierry Michaud tackles a rocky section on the way to his fourth win in five World Championship Observed Trials Series rounds. World Championship Observed Trials Series: Round 3 French victory to Michaud By Mike Rapley wh ile in sevent h p lace behi nd Lejeun e was regu la r points sco rer Luis G a lac h o n th e Spa n ish b u ilt Merli n. Th e interestin g battl e between Yamaha men Ton y Scarlett from Brita in a nd Fren chman Gill es Burga t, World Champion in 1981, took a fu rther decisive step wh en Burgat had th e edge an d mov ed to within one point of Scarlet t in p oints. In other years , Searl ell wo u ld be hai led as th e new savior for British p rest ige. U n fortu na tely he is oversha dowed by the brilliant performances of Sa u nd ers , wh o in lying joint seco nd in th e points tabl e with Lejeu n e can now see a situation where he has a real cha nce of bei ng th e best Hond a rider com e th e en d o f th e series. In typi cal Mediterranea n wea ther, which la ter turned cloud y, th e tigh t Fr en ch sections over limesto ne ou tcro p fill ed with a gripless mix of sha le and dust p rovided some spectacul ar action . Michaud was bri ll iant right from the stan . Saunders matched h im , but went off a t th e end of th e lap with two cl u msy fives. T he firs t lap took the top m en nearl y five a nd one -ha lf hours, which meant th at th e next two had 10 be ridd en in u nd er a n h o u r each . Mich aud , trailing a t th e back of th e 90 stro ng entry, a lmos t mi sjudged th e sched u le an d clocked into th e fin ish with jus t seco nds to spa re. 'H is . " m inders" h ad don e him p ro ud for as th ey heard scores from Radio Monte Ca rlo , who had sectio n by sectio n results fed back to th eir cen tra l co n trol , Mich a ud kn ew a t every point wh a t he had to do to win . It brought o ut so me trem endous riding fro m the likea ble you n g Frenc h ma n, who no w look s set 10 be th e ma n 10 det hrone thr ee-tim e cha m p Lejeun e. • Results 1. Thierry Michaud (Fan) 65 : 2. Steve Saunde rs (Hon) 77; 3. Philippe Berlatier (Apr) 93; 4. Renato Chiabe no (Fan) 95; 5. Diego Bosis (Mon) 105; 6. Eddy Lejeune (Hon)1 13; 7. Lui s Gallach (Me r) 115; 8 . Gilles Bu rge t (Yam) 119); 9 . Ton y Seer le" (Yam ) 123; 10. Andreu Codina (Mon) 126; 11. Gablno Renales (Mec) 126; 12. Jord i Tarres (Bet) 127; 13. Pascal Couturier (Bet) 128; 14 . Lars Holmberg (Yam) 136; 15 . Giann i Tabarelti (Bet ) 140 . WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTSTANDINGS, 1. Michaud (97); 2. (TIE) Saunde rs/Lejeune (79); 4. Scarlett (50); 5. Burga' 149t 6. GaUach (43 t 7. Bar'atiar (3B); 8. Chiabano (33); 9. COUlurlar (28); 10. • • _1" ~ ... ( 1.. ~ • J , _ ... r .. Bosis (26): i ~

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