Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127991
Breathing neltV life into the '98 ,Suzuki RM125 By Cameron Coatney Photos by ,Kinney Jones kay, so all of your buddies have '99 inotocrossers and you're bummed because your year-old , 1998 Suzuki RM125 seems a little worn and tattered in comparison. But that doesn't have to be the case. For far less than the cost of a new bike, you can easily breath new life into your trusted two-wheeled friend. Here's how we did it. For this particular project, we shipped the head, cylinder and carb of our '98 RM125 to Bill's Pipes for modifications. The cylinder was ported to improve performance throughout the powerband, and the compression was upped significantly when the head was cut to work with a flat-top Wiseco ProLite piston (738PS) that is more than 20 grams lighter than stock. To increase power from mid to top, the stock 36mm Keihin carb was ovalbored to what is equivalent to a 38= carb, and rejetted it to work with the new motor package. A moto Tassinari V-Force Delta reed-valve assembly was installed for enhanced throttle response and power, and a Bill's pipe and silencer finalized the motor mods. With the increased compression ratio, we lipped the fuel ante as well by using VP C12 fuel to eliminate detonation. (We mixed the VP fuel half and half with 92-octane purnpgas.) We had the folks at Factory Connection rework the suspension. The stock spring rates were left alone (since they were the proper ra tes for the bike's owner), but Ziggy and the boys at Factory Connection revalved the 49= con- A and handlebar mounts, and Pirelli supplied the rubber with their MT460 frontand-rear combo. Reassembled, our bike looked almost as good as new and, as expected, performed even better. The motor lost some bottom end but made up for it in the middle of the powerband and on top. The bike is even more of a revver than before. And the bike sounds rea.lly good. The stock 49mm conventional forks in '98 were grea t uni ts, but the Factory Connection mods made them even better. Both the shock and fork were revalved for a more progressive feel and better bottoming resistance. Adding up the receipts, our project RM would cost a little over $1000 to duplicate. In the end, we were quite happy with the way our '98 RM125 project bike turned ou l. It runs strong, handles extremely well, and loqks great, proving to us that new isn't necessarily better. CIII ventional forks and shock, replaced any worn-out or damaged parts, and changed the fluids. Since our mods were similar to those used by the 1998 Primal Impulse Team riders, Wide Open Racing supplied us with a set of their Team Primal lmpulse replica graphics and a seat cover. How- Supertanker By Mark Hoyer he strict training regimens that we keep around-here demand that we carry lots of stuff around with uS: not the least of which is lunch. The mtra Tank Bag from Marsee cO N with a capacity of 30 liters - sure holds a ~ lot of Slurpees and doughnuts, almost C enough to go around. But it was good 'for carrying lots of other things too, 40 T things like rain gear, running shoes, sunglasses, cameras, maps, carburetors.. , Eh, you know what you need. We know how you need to carry it. As the Ultra name suggests, this is the top of the line in Marsee's manybagged lineup. We 'elected to use the magnetic base - quick-release straps are also available - because magnets have always seemed like magic. ever, '99 Suzuki RM "super scoop" radiator shrouds are available. We gave our '98 RM some finishing touches with a Works Connection skidplate, frame guards and 'works•.adjustable clutch perch and lever. Also, Answer Pro-Taper bars were coupled . with an Emig Racing top triple clamp But they are also heavy, and these stronger-than-average polarized versions are particularly so because they are shielded with steel on the bag side to protect magnetically sensitive cargo - it keeps things like your credit , cards from being erased if you put your wallet inside. And against our better judgment (in which better still isn't necessarily good ... ) we stuck a laptop computer ·inside. The computer unfortunately. worked perfectly afterward, meaning that we would indeed have to type all Sunday night in a hotel room writing race coverage. Luckily, both bases unzip from the bag so you don't carry their weight around. The black Cordura bag features a foam internal structure to lend shape if Mr. Ultra is anything less than fully full, ana so when it is collapsed to its 8-inchhigh dimension (it's a tall 13 inches fully pumped up; th.e other dimensions remain constant at 9 wide and 14 long, not including the detachable belt pack) it remains a rough parallelogram. On your more aggressive sportbike, the expanded size borders on too tall, obscuring the gauges and making you sit more upright than you would like, though collapsed it worked well on everything. We liked having the extra capacity, though Marsee makes many other sizes of tank bag, as well as jackets (I've crashed in mine twice!) and saddlebags, to suit your taste. Durability has been good, as one might expect from a product with a lifetime warranty. Zippers are big, smooth and have proven durable over the past year, and the cords attached to them make it easy to execute zips and unzips, even with chubby, begloved digits. The plastic map window has remained clear and flexible, and the Ultra has more pockets than a shoplifter. Although no shoplifter would want to use it, despite the handy 2-inch-wide shoulder strap, since the 3M silver reflective tape is too attention-grabbing in low light. The bag is, in a word, good. As such, it will set you back a not insubstantial $185 for the bag with the magnetic base, $165 if you go with the strapped base (the option you will need to take if you ride a motorcycle with a plastic tank; on which magnets can't work their magic). Yeah, it's a lot of cash, but if you're anything like us, you don't need that doughnut anyway. CIII Marsee Products Box 2588 Temecula, CA 92590 800/293·2400 fax 909/600·9441 www.marseeproducts.com