Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RM125 is as fast as a Hond a CRl25, I would say tha t its motor pumps ou t an i m p ress ive am ount o f power. More experienced rid ers will p robably adapt to the RM be t ter tha n be g in ner or no vice-cla ss rid er s, as the powerband favors a more aggressive rid ing style. But wha t abou t the rest of the bike? Unlike Chris, I had no problems wi th the radia to r shrouds snagging the tops of my boots, bu t I d id notice that that the seat/radia tor shro ud junctio n was rather a w kw ard . For some re ason, the seat cover tends to flap over the shro ud, leaving it very vulne rable to my ever-lurking knee braces. The RM's seat cover isn't a pr etty sight afte r a few rides. The brakes wor k very well, p rov iding plen ty of stopping pow er with only a m in im a l tug or pu sh on th e b ra ke ... (Righ t and below ) To the casual ob server, the 1994 RM125 do es n't look much di ffer en t than th e '93 vers ion. A yell ow d isc guard and the sw ingarm graphics are the only obvious cha nges. LC') rl H Q) ~ Q) U Q) c (Below) The biggest news about the new RM is the new Showa fork. It is the same type of fork tha t was used by the factory Suzuki race team last year. The fork is set up soft in stock cond ition, but doesn't bollom violen tly. (Bottom) The 124cc motor pumps out a diffemt type of power than last year's. Moreexperienced or agressive rid ers will appreciate the new powerband. lever and pedal. I was, however, able to make the rear binder squeal considerably within a matter of laps. Taking the pads out and sanding the glaze off solved tha t problem, though. The stock bars have a strange bend, and they get even strange r after you r first big get-off. Both the bars and the levers bend qu ite easily. The Dunlo p 707s work excellently on hard-packed tra cks, and although they ar e a ha rd-terrain tire, they work fairly well when the going ge ts so ft as well. The ba ck ti re works better than t he front, though , and we op ted to inst all a K490 intennediate terrain tire in front All in all, the Suzuki RMl25 is a neat package. It's fast, han d les well and looks pretty sha rp . I'll take it. Donn Maeda Age: 25 Height/weight: 5'10" /160 lbs. Specialty: Motocross Riding ability: Interm ed iate onn and I ha ve totally differ. en t p h ysiques, rid in g s ty les and pre ferences, and normally hav e wid ely varying opinions of t he b ikes tha t we tes t. With the RMl25 , however , I agree wit h Donn on everythi ng exce p t handlebar p osit ion (I'v e give n up hope of ever weaning him from running his bars as far forw ard as they w ill go). I picked the Suz uki as the winner of . our 1993 125cc shoo t-out, du e p rimarily to its broad sp read of power . I liked the fact tha t Suzuki provide d the ir tiddler w i th a dece n t bo t to m e nd and m id range, when man y ma nuf acturers seemed to concentrate solely on the topend p erform ance. I w as less th rill ed with the RM's sus pension, but the swe et power spread mor e than made up for it, in my eyes. I was happy to disc over that Suzuki had greatly improved the 125's suspension for '94. I won't pretend to understand the intricacies of their new Twin-Chamber fork technology, but whatever it does, it works. The fork gobbles up whoops, ruts and G-outs with equal aplomb, and the back end doesn't swap to the side. I rode the bik e on th e infam ou s Mammoth Mountain MX course, which is known for getting extremely rough towards the end of the day. The bike soaked up everything the track threw at it, including a set of gnarly braking bumps at the bottom of the dow nhill. As Donn mentioned, the fork and shock springs are too soft and the RM wi ll sha ke its head on cho p ped -u p strai ghts, but I was hap py with the suspension,other than that While Su z u ki improved the little RM's wea k point; I was sad to d iscover tha t they also d id away wi th what in my view was its strongest feature. Gone are the h ealthy bo ttom e nd an d p epp y midrange, as the 125's biggest hit is now concentrated in the upper regions of the powerband. I was qu ite d isappoin te d after my first ride on the RM, but the first time I cleaned the air filter I saw the reason why; Su zu ki had give n us th e bike wi th the airbo x lid in place. Removing the lid helped qu ite a bit, but I still preferred last year's power spread over that of the '94. However, the new Suzuki can also be made to' fly if you ride it correctly, especially on fas ter tracks. The pow er wor ked well at Mammoth, but I had to keep my clutch hand wo rking overtime. As usual, the RM can tum on a dime, and the new brake pads help it to stop on on e too. The clutch is a ple asure to use a nd sh ifting is smooth as buller. With the exception of the left radiator shroud constantly catching on my boot cu ff, the bike was quite comfortable. Ma ybe next year Suzu ki will combine the '93 engine with the '94 su spension... Chris ]onnum Age: 25 Height/w eight: 6'3" / 170 lbs. Specialty: Off-road /Motocross Skill level: A/Novice While Cycle News believes theforegoingtest reliable, it is the opinion of the reviewers only and should not be relied upon in determining the performance or safetyof the vehicleis). The reader should make his or her own investigation SuzukiRM125 S . calions D 19

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