Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

.-. Unfortunately, the aluminum silencer is the same as last ye ar 's, It blows out qu ickly and can be rebuilt, but it takes drilling out four pop rivets, co mpressio n a nd 2 1 rebou nd external d a m p in g set ti ngs co mpa red to o n ly fo u r (bo th re bo u nd a nd co mpression ) last yea r. Wh eel tra vel stay s th e sa me at 13.D in c h es. T he Ka yaba front forks a lso ha ve m ore adj us ta bility tha n th ose o n last year's R~I : instead of eight compression da mpi ng adj ust m en ts, there are now 17 a nd new damper "rods m ake each adjustment click more sens it ive , S ta nc hion rubes a re 43m m, with blue fo r k ho ot s a nd yellow p lastic fork leg protectors. T he telescop ic. air-ad] usta ble fo rk s de li ver 11 .8 inc hes o f wheel trav el. New th is vea r is the front h vd ra ul ic di sc bra ke, replacing the 191 do ubl eH'; lead in g d n im : u n like Ka wa saki, H on da and Ya m aha , wh ich use braided stai n less steel hoses. Suzu ki uses a r u bber hose wit h a hard plastic cover. Th e d isc it self is dri lled with rna nv ho les to reduce weight. . T he rear brake is a doub le-leadi ngshoe d rum linked by a ca ble to a non fold in g br ak e pe dal. Bo th front a nd rea r r ims ha ve straight-pu ll spo kes a nd gold a nodized a l u m i nu m-a lloy ri ms w ith fo ur-ply 100/ 80-2 1 M37 (from)and 130/ 8018 M38 (rea r) Brid gestone tires. Dry weight is I A pounds lig h ter for 1985 a t 2 12 Ibs. T h e new S uz u ki is easv to kick ov er, hut rare ly fires on the 'first ki ck; us ua ll y it ta kes three o r four jabs in qui ck success io n w hen the engine is hot o r co ld . (No th ro u le when co ld, a bo u t half or full th rottle when warm .) .Th er e is p lenty o f clea rance between th e foot peg a nd th e ki ck starter a t th e bott om o f th e stro ke, p re ven ting sm as hed a n kles . Even w hen new, the R M d oesn 't have a p lea sant tone to the ea r; it so u nds ra spy and harsh, a nd since th e sile ncer is hard to rebu ild , a fter ma rke t si lencer co m pa nies will likely be kep t busv a ns we r ing th e ca ll from Suzuki owners for so methi ng be tte r. And it d oesn 't tak e long for th e stoc k si lencer to cl o g w i th o il, addin g to the p ro blem . Once o n the trac k, th e S uz u ki feel s much like last year's R M b ut with m ore power . The engi ne's powerband is si m ila r, hut th ere is just m ore h orsepower every where; th ere' s m ore pull d own lo w (b u t st ill not enough); m id -ra ng e is stronger; a n d top-end is slig h tly in creased (bu t th er e sti ll need s to be a little m ore). The m aj or differ ence is the broader sp rea d o f mid range powe r a nd smoo t h~r transit ion off th e botto m to th e mi d dl e of th e power band . Tryi n g to get th e Suzu ki o u t o f a tigh t tu rn fast is still difficu lt , alth o u g h eas ier th a n i t wa s last yea r. Th e clutch h as to be fanned in those si tu ation s, but si nce the Suzuki now has a sm o o ther powerband, th e cI ut ch ca n be us ed without the wo rry o f having th e front end cli mb up u n co n trolla b lr l'ikl: i r-did l a~f'Ycii r. WHoout New front disc brake is much better than last year's drum. the clutch, the mo tor tends to bog a bit. It's a relief when th e Suzuk i comes o n the pipe and h it s th e m iddle of the powerba nd - that's where the RM reall y ho o ks-u p a nd flies, m uc h more so th a n th e '84 Suzu ki. T he rea r kn ob by d igs in to th e ea rth ca usi ng th e front w heel to rise o ff th e grou nd a few inches w hi le pull ing a way fro m th e pack; it loses a l ittl e o f th at p u ll ing pow er w he n tapped o u t in each gear but not as much as it use d to . T he key to rid in g th e R M q u ickly is to keep it in th e m iddle o f th e powe rba nd .an d keep it there by sh ifting up a no ther gea r before it ge ts co m p letely wru ng o u t. Ever since th e fir st Fu ll -Floater sus pende d R M250 emerged back i n 198 1, they ha ve a ll su ffere d from th e case o f vibra tio n- i ris th a t h as driven m o st Suzu ki riders cra zy. Finall y, th e facto ry d id so me th ing about it. because th e n ew RM d oesn 't vibra te o r ra tt le a t a ll. Th e wh o le packa ge is tight a nd well built. It 's ha rd to believe, but last yea r's R M, the best sus pe n ded 250cc m otocrosser o n the tra ck , has been rep laced b y th e eve n - be tte r -s u spe n ded '85 Suzu ki. The o n ly co m p la i n t we ha d 'wi th th e '84 R M 's rear suspension was i ts harsh rid e o ver sm a ller bum p s a nd a tenden cy to kick u n der brak in g for tu rns. Va lvi ng cha nges to th e shock a nd a ligh ter spr ing rate have m ade a ll th e difference in the worl d ; th e R M n ow soa ks up the littl e stu ff 100% better w ith out losing sta bi li ty o ver la rge, ro lli ng whoops. The m ore a pi lot rides th e Suzu ki, th e m ore con fident he beco mes: soon, h e G ill p low th rough th e roug hest bumps without losin g fai th in th e ba ck en d . T ha t lets th e rider co ncen tra te o n o t he r th ings, s uc h as setting up a pass in th e nex t tu rn. But the Suzu ki still sh in es best over th e big bumps , a nd th e ha rder it is pushed, th e be tter i.tworks. T h e q ual it y of the Ka ya ba sh ock seems as good as e ver. becau se it doe sn 't sag o u t or lose its excelle nt pe rformance after a few rides; fading at th e end o f a lon g moro is barel v no ticea ble. T he for k on the Suzu ki is r ig h t u p there' in peH o rlma ncl.' " 'ilh Il'u"back Some thing s haven't changed , like the RM's excellent in -flight stability, Note slack in the chain - it started to crack the first hour on the bike. end; it has smoo th action i n just abou t every si tua tion. Bra kin g fro m h igh speeds so met imes brings o n some tw itch in g but noth in g to ge t swea ty pa lms -abou t, Ov e rall ha ndling a nd th e ge nera l feel o f the R M ge nera tes m ix ed opin io ns - ei ther yo u reall y lik e, or yo u hate i t. Fi rst o f a ll, th e R M ha s a stra nge ba r/ sea t/ peg rel ati onship th at ta kes a w hile to adap t to , especia lly if yo u' ve been ri d ing H o nda s o r Yarn ahas m o st o f yo ur life. The£ront o f the m otorcycl e is lo w, a nd th e ha nd leb ar is cl ose to the rider, w hi le th e rear end is tall a nd wid e (as is th e sea t a nd ta n k j unctio n ). For long -tim e RM rid er s, thi s is not hi ng new, and th ey wi ll feel r ig h t at ho m e o n the '85 S uzu ki. New Suzu ki riders will qu ik ly no tice how th e rear portio n o f the sea t (w here i t wr a p s aro u nd th e rear fender ) wi ll come u p a n d smack th em i n th e butt o ver th e bumps o r while jumpin g , b ut a slig h t ad j us tment in ridi ng sty le will dea l w it h that , T he Suz u ki forces th e rid er in to o ne positi on to rid e it fa st . keeping his wei ght as hi gh a n d as far ba ck as po ssib le a n d Je tting th e rear suspens io n do a ll th e . work. Some riders also co m p lai ned o f feeling a li ttl e cra mped aboard th e RM. Ti g h t tra ck s are ·notthe best for th e R M . Tryin g to cut th rough a hairpin turn without th e use o f a berm ca n be tri ck y; the R M te nds to drift o u t wide after th e a pe x. T he Suzuki ca n be h ard to turn , because it lack s power o rr th e bott om a nd i t' s hard to get th e bi ke leaned o ver without it risi ng ba ck up too soon . It has to be stu ffed i nto th e berms with th e gas o n a nd th e rider 's weig ht far forwa rd ; it 's th e same for wid er tu rn s - find a berm, lean i t o ver as far as possible, cl ut c h i t and bla st o u t o f th ere in a h urry. The 'worst kin d o f turns fo r the Suzu ki ar e th e su pe r tight o nes th at hav e a n incl ine immedia tel y af ter, her d use the revs eas i I y d ro p and th e m otor bogs u nti l th e clutch is fa nned. L uckil y we n ever had any problems wi th o u r cl u tc h dragging o r sli p pi ng, but we h a ve hea rd o f a few cases : bf d u rdJl p robletrls on tHeiR M. Su~u ki Valving changes and lighter spring improved the rear suspension . d oes o ffer o p tiona l heav y-duty clutch p la tes. The Suzuki loves to be jumped, part o f th e R M tra d itio n for many yea rs; th ey've a lways bee n very stable a nd p redicta ble in th e a ir, a nd takeo ffs rarel y ki ck the back end high er than the front , which co mes in handy with a ll the double-j umps th ese days. It quickl y ga ins a lti tude with a quick bli p o f th e throttle, a nd if th e Suzu ki lands a Ii ule short a nd ca tc hes th e Ii I' o f the second doub le-jump, th e shock a bsor bs the impact withou t pitc hi ng th e rider o ver th e ba rs. And it rarely ever bo ttoms. Sh ifting is very smooth and easy on th e R M. T he shiltlever is si m p le to find, a nd it on ly tak es a quick littl e tap to ca tc h th e n ext gea r wit h, o r wi th out, the cl utch. G etting th e Suzuki off the sta rti ng li ne quickly is much easier th is yea r beca sue of th e good tra nsmissio n and more-cooperat 1 I'l > n I .t Cont ihurd 10 pug/' 36)

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