Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Right) Answer's Pro Taper Handlebars In the high Honda bend gave the RM a morebalanced feel. The new-style clamp pad is solterand offers more protection th an the older unit. (Below) The Gold Series Exhaust Is the most obvious change, but the real difference was made by Emler's porting. The once-pipey motor now produces a wide spread of power. (Above) Hard landin gs are soaked up with ease, thanks to the Showa Only fork end shock modifications. . .' . ., .' . ' . Showa Only .1!Iltit .:t'~'.: ·~ti.4.e . . .' . · $1~.99 FMF Power Core Silencer ' · . ' . ' $69.99 FMF Cylinder and head mods '. " . .. . $250 - Sho wa Only Fork MOdification ' . '. . " $149 Showa OnIy 'Shock Modification ' . : $i29 : Heavy shock ~piing ; ". . .." . . . '.~ . , Heavy"forksprings " .' ;', . ' .... '. $75 ~actory" Effex FullShroudGraphics ' .' ; : .. -:' .. $59.95 Factory Effex Front Fender Graphics ' . '. . .: $16,9,5' . Factory Effex Rear' Fender Graphics': ' .'. . ' $1~ .95 · 'Factory Ef£ex Backgrounds .. :. , .,. . .... . , : '. $14:95;' , . Factory Effe~ No-Slip,seat Cover ' ,' ,,',: ,' :: $74.95,:.-PC-} Filter Skins (3) ·' , : ' . $12:95 ' Dunlop K490 . . ~.()() . ~. . -, ';,..... -, Full-coverage radiator shroud graphics, front and rear fender sticker kits, and pre-cut numberplate backgrounds changed our RM's looks from mild to wild . 'P"""-: Stock bars bend easily; transmit vibration. S.t.u-: Pro-Taper Handlebar from Answer Products As alwa ys, we relied on the good folks at Answer Products for a pa ir of their Pro Taper Handlebars. Not only d o ~e Pro Taper bars help dampen vibration and shock, but they are far mo re r esistant to bending as well. To help offset what we consider to be an odd-feeling bike, we installed high Honda-bend bars, which are mu ch taller than the OEM units. The taller bars provide a more balanced feel, as they counteract the tallish rear end. As for the rest of the motorcycle, we installed a pair of Dunlop tires, a Twin Air air filter, and a PC-I Filter Skin. The front Dunlop K490 tire has long been regarded as a great all-around sneaker, and we regard the 0707 as the best hardterrain tire available. ON THE TRACK Before we allowed Don Emler to venture into the RM's motor, we elected to try the bike with only an FMF pipe and silencer installed. From the moment we took to the track, we were pleased. The 310/ 539-6884 5442 Tate Ct. . FMl: Gold SerlesPipe. . :.D~op D7~! . ~1.. fe' ,.".. uti? FMF Racing U.S.A. 25933 Frampton Ave. Harbor City, CA 90710 $74.00..' Riverside, CA 92505 909/ 714 / 352-3825 Answer Products, Inc. 27460 Avenue Scott Valencia, CA 91355 805/257-4411 Dunlop Tire Corporation P.O. Box 1109 Buffalo, NY 14240 716/ 773-8398 PC-I Racing 145 N. Batavia #2 Orange, CA 92668 714/771-6381 pipe and silencer immediately bring the non-existent bottom end to life, and the yellow machine is considerably easier to ride. While the once-narrow powerband was suddenly easier to rid e, there was still a violent hit in the midran ge. Topend overrun was unaffected , an d all in all, the pipe and silencer alone provided much-improved results. Once Emler ported the cylinder, however, the bike really began to shine. Can you say, "yellow Honda?" Well, maybe we're exaggerating just a little, bu t the ported Suzuki can hardly be compared to a stocker. Where the stock bike bogs, the modified machine grunts. Power sta rts down low on the ported bike and pu lls s te adily through the middle o f the powerband with no un expected surges or hits. Up top, however, is where things really start to cha nge. Instead of overrevving like a screami ng banshee, the modified motor tapers off before falling a little flat. The best way to ride the new pow erband is to actually - dare we say it - short shift. A short-shifting Suzuki? We never thought we'd see such a thing, bu t it's true. In tacky or loamy conditions, the bike mu st be kept in the absolute middle of the powerband. Try to get away without shifting before that next corne r and you're history. You hate to grab the next gear in order to go fast. Still, ridi ng in such a manner is much easier than holding on to a stocker for dear life, When the going ge ts dry, however, the mod ified RM is head -and-shoulders better th an a stoc ker. Since the new motor produces a steady, gradual pull of power, the bike hoo ks up while exiting comers, rather than spinning and sliding. While we were marvelling at the newand-improved power output, we almost forgot to think about the performance of the Showa Only-modified sus pe nd ers not that they didn't perfo rm well, mind you. Actually, the front and rear end s worked so well that we d idn't have to make such a concious effort to hit every bu mp and square edge a t a s traig h t angle. Rather than deflecting off of such obstacles, the fork soaked them up withou t a whimper; same for the rear end - no swaps, no kicks - just straight and true tracking. The stiffer fork springs helped considerably, allowing the fork to ride in the upper half of the suspension t ra vel. Under hard bra king, th e s to ck forks would dive considerably, but the altered legs resisted su ch action. Out back, the Show a Only sh oc k wor ked wonde rs. Unde r hard acceleration, the rear end no longer squatted, and fin ding tracti on d id n' t seem to be as much of a task as it was before the modifications. Over square-ed ged bumps, the altered shock seemed to do a better job of soaking up the terra in. The harsh feeling of a stock unit was eliminated. When we were informed tha t a stiffer spring would be installed, we must admit to having our doubts - but in conjunction with the softer valving, the beefier spring worked perfectly. But what about the other stuff? Well, th e Factory Effex Graph ics sure d id change the look of our bike, but the jury is still out about the new styling. While every tester agreed that they looked better than the OEM gra phics, a few felt that the red , purple, yellow, black and white color scheme was a tad on the ga udy side. All of the s tic ke rs wer e eas y to install,'but hard to remove . The No-Slip Sea t Cover was also easy to install and, thanks to the Kevlar side panels, resisted tearing under the abuse of knee braces. The textured cover also p rovided good feel and plenty of traction. Perhaps th e lazy man's ultima te accessory, the PC-I Filter Skins did exactly wha t th e y we re clai me d to d o . Installed over an oiled air filter, the filter skins serve as.a "pre-filter." After a hard d ay's riding in th e d us t, a flick of the wrist removed the skin, leaving a clean filter. Isn't it amazing wh at a few changes here and there can make? Though we violated the "bolt-on-only rule" by having the cylinder ported, all of the aforementioned modifica tions are easily made and well worth the cost. Once the leastfavorite 250 in the Cycle News garage, the RM250 has become one of the most popular. ~ ..... - I-< 0.. ~ 23

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