Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·" .R JE IK P' O ct:B E ', ~ . , . By Donn Maeda Photos by AI King hen it co mes to mo to cross machines, each of the Cycle News editors have different preferences. Dissimilar riding styles and · variations in ability create a wide range of op inions amongst ou r staff, and a un animous verdict about any bike is a rarity. . When it came to the Suzuki RM250 however, we were finally able to agre e · upon something: Though the RM pro- . duc ed the most excitable pow er, it was also the most difficult to ride. A lack of low end, combined with an incredible surge of midrange power that hit abruptly when the power valve opened, kept each of ou r testers on their toe s. The qu ick-revving Suzuki w as fast - th ere was no doubt about that - but it was the hardest of the four Japanese 250s to ride with any amount of consistency. When fresh, a rider could pilot the RM aggressively and make good use of the violent powerband, but th e moment fatigue began to set in, the RM took control and would beat the tiring rider into a quivering mass of jello. Add to the equation questionable handling characteristics - a soft front end and a harsh rear - and the RM was definitely a handful. " It 's just scar y," said on e tester. "You never really know what it's going to do." . At the conclusion of our annual 250cc MX Shootout, three out of four testers picked the Suzuki RM250 last. Winnin g the shootout was the Honda CR250, with the Kawasaki KX250 a close second. The shootout result s were clear; and so were our goals when we set out to build the "ultimate" RM250. 'P~ Lack of low-end power. S~: Pipe, silencer and porting from 1() FMF. . ... . FMF/S~owa O lyS kiRM250 n uzu (Above) FMF gave our RM250 project bike an allnew feel. A better spread 01 low-end power allows the rider to tractor out of the comers. (Right) The Factory EllexGraphics kit makes the RM250 a realeye-catcher. Founded in the early 70's by president Don Emler, FMF is on e of the industry's oldest hop-up companies. In modern-day motocross circles, the Flying Machine Factory is best known for its eye-catching nickel-plated exhaust pipes and silencers. Eager to help, Eml er supplied us with a Gold Series Exhaust Pipe and Pow er Core Silen cer and, in addition, tore into the cylinder in search of even more low -end power. Eml er decked and ported the cylinder, and reconfigured the squish band and chamber of the cylinder head. 'P~ Soft forks/harsh rear end. SoIMdtJc: Fork and shock modifications by Showa Only Racing. Though th e Twin Chamber Show a forks are arguably the most sophisti cated forks available to the public, they are - in -stock form - valved too soft for faster or more-aggressive riders . All is not peaches and cream in the rear, either. Though Suzuki reports that their shock linkage ratios are slower than the supercrossinspired ratios of the past few years, the '94 RM250 still suffers from errati c han dling characteristics out back. Un der acceleration, the stock rear end woul d kick and buck the rider silly. The first thing that the Showa Onl y technicians did was add stiffer front and rear springs to the shock and fork. A 5.2 spring replaced the OEM 5.0 unit out back, and a pa ir of 4.0 fork springs in place of the stock 3.8 parts. Internally, the Showa fork received a Kayaba comp ression valve assembly with specifications set specifically for our tester's ability. KYB-01 fork oil is used, but wi th an exclusive Showa Only ER additive that is claimed to reduce the amount of friction within the fork. We found tha t the fork worked best wh en the compression was set 10 clicks out from full-in, and the rebound set at 12 from full-in. The shock received extensive valving changes. Low-speedcompression damping was increased, as was the amount of bleed. High-speed compression damping was slowed down, while the rebound damping was left stock. With 95mm of sag, we set. the shock up with the compression adjustment 12 clicks from fullin, and the rebound at 10 from full-in. 'P~ Poor styling - looks like a '93. . S~ Graphics from Factory Effex When pictures of the '94 Suzuki RM lineup reached the Cycle News offices, more than one editor laughed and joked that the Suzuki folks had goofed and sent us photos of last year's machines. When we realized that Suzuki had , in fact, sent the correct ph otos, we must admit that we were gravely disappointed. Sure, the radiator shroud graphics are a little different and the gaudy "250" logos had been moved from the sidepanels to the swingarm, but all in all the bikes sported the same look for the second year in a row . . Next to ha vin g your last name on your front fender, or first and last name on the back of your chest protector - it seems that a change in graphics is the hottest trend in motocross. Factory Effex offers a complete head -to-toe (or should we say fender-to-fender) treatment that can completely change the look of any m achine. Whether o r not it is an improvement, however, is for each individual to decide.

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