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/128102
2 0 0 1 Suzuki OR-Z2 5 0 By KIT P ALMER P HOT OS BY K INNEY J ONES y w i f e has discovered a new hobby - dirt-bike ri ding. The first t i me I talked h er 'int o going riding w ith me i n th e Southern C al ifo rn i a desert, sh e got hook ed . And I m ean h ooked. Now, she ' s constantly bug gi ng m e to go ri d ing . "Wh en are we go ing rid ing aga in? " she pe rsist entl y ask s. "W e ha ven't go ne rid ing in two weeks !" We go camping an d, minutes after th e sun pops up over the hills, she 's " try ing t o pry me out of my coz y sl eep ing bag . " C' m o n, lets go for a ride - before breakfa st , before it gets to o hot. C' mon! " She alw ay s wins. Ever since we bought her a Yama ha XT225 a few years ago , she 's been like a k id in a candy store when we v isit her fa vorite ridin g pl ace in the A nza- Borrego desert near the Salto n Sea . And it seems that ev er y other w eek end , we' re.. .err I'm, lo ad ing up the trailer and driv in g sou th so she ca n get her rid ing fi x . Lu ck il y , I like off-roading as mu ch as she does , so it actually works o ut quite wel l. (I ca n think of a million ot her th ings tha t I' m gla d she didn't get hooked on .) A nyway, you're probably th in k ing to yourself that you know where I' m go in g w ith th is: 'T he new entry -le ve l Suzu k i DR -Z250 , a mellow thumper - 46 MAY 2 , 200 1 • c ue I e the perfect wife's bike,' and such . But th is isn 't the case. In fa ct , the DR Z250 is the perfect husban d 's b ike. A ctually , the DR-Z250 would be a g reat bik e for m y wife , too , if she weren 't just five-and-a-half fee t t all. The DR is j ust too ta ll for her, as is any full -siz e motorcycle, fo r that m at ter. No , she loves .h er little XT and will never part w it h it. B ut th e DR Z2 5 0 is the perfect moun t f or m e when we go riding together. M y ide a of the ideal tra il ride. how ever , co n si st s o f endless m il es of tight, hilly , sing le -trac k tra ils in th e wo ods , ca nyons o r d eserts - pr ef er ably on o ne of m y fa vor it e off-roa d b i k es, lik e the KTM 300 EXC. But when I go riding with m y w ife, who's still relativel y new to motorc ycl e rid ing and would classify as a beg inner (sorry, ho ney), well , for m e, th e KTM (o r any serio us off -ro ad bi k e, for that m att er ) is j ust overkill for o ur lei surely romps across the desert. Whe n I go rid in g wi th her , we take o ur time and go ex plo ring , so I hav e a who le new set of req ui rem ents fro m m y moto r cycle - elec t ri c st ar t bein g fa r a nd away the fo rem ost. You see, m y wife fa ll s down a lot (ni ne times out of 10 i n th e th ick des e rt sand ) , a n d i f th ere 's o ne downsid e abo ut her XT , i t 's that i t ' s hea vy , and her 1 20 pounds is simpl y no match for the 250 -pound bike . Ev en I struggle a bit . neVIl' s So , after many st op s to pick up her bike, or to check out the scenery , it's nice to return to m y bike and just hit the switch , savi ng my ene rgy fo r the next unschedu led stop . One ni ce thi ng about the DR -Z250 is, not only d oes it have an elect ric start , b ut it als o ha s a kic k sta rter. wh ich g ives you th at ex tra p eac e o f m ind kn ow ing that you'll be o kay if the ba tter y g ive s o ut , o r something happens to the electrical starting sys t e m , w hen y o u' r e fa r from ca mp . A c c o rd ing to Suzu k i . howeve r , th e bike won't kick- st art if the battery's vo ltage is below eight percent, as the CDI- igniter wi ll no t fu nction. But thi s shouldn't be a problem if th e bike had been running fairly rec entl y . Because of o u r frequ ent stops , a sid e-stand is almost as im port ant as an electr ic st ar t, becau se a sturdy tr ee to p rop your bi ke aga inst is hard to come b y out in the d esert . So I very much a p p reci ate the fact th at the DR has a side -stand . Reli abi lit y is a big concern of m ine whe n m y wife and I are rid ing t ogeth er. I want som eth ing th at I know isn 't goin g t o fo ul spark plugs, or st ick a ring, or seize up, so I li k e the id ea of bein g o n a tradition all y m ore rel iable fou r -stroke-p owered motorcycle (like hers ) and, si nc e horsepow er isn 't a nec essit y , I don 't reall y mind cru isi ng ar oun d o n a gutle ss sm all -b or e thumper. In f act , th e smaller th e d is p lac ement the better, since I' d just as soo n sac rifice horsepowe r fo r lig ht er w eight wh en I' m g oofi ng around o n th e trai ls wi t h my wife . Plu s , le ss pow er ma k es for less fuel consump tion , wh ic h means more range. So we c an pretty m uch ride all day with out worryi ng ab ou t run ning out o f ga s. Ha v in g a th um p er also m ea n s you c an ride up to a ga s stat ion and fill up the bikes without having to m ix oil. Yes , the DR -Z250 defin itely fa lls in to t he gut l es s c ategory w he n i t co me s t o horse power - it 's no YZ2 50 F, tha t' s fo r sure. It' s a m aj or a c c omp lishm ent to ge t t he fr ont w hee l off the gr oun d , and this does ge t ol d aft er a wh i le , e v e n o n a leis urely cruise. At least th e power is smooth and cont rollab le, b ut a b it more snap wo uld b e nice. (Perhaps I'm spoiled by the YZ250F.) No do ub t a different exhaust syst em wo uld help - as long as it doesn't make the DR much louder. ' T h a t w ouldn 't b e a good com prom ise , in m y opin ion . Getting the bike to brea th a littl e eas ier would help, as we ll. T h e DR ' s engine is al so a little annoying ir: that it seems to have an exc essive am ount of eng ine braking , so when yo u're sta nding on th e foot peg s and no t paying attention , you' ll near ly get thrown over the handlebar if you sudd enly cho p the throttle. Spea king of the throttle, tw ist ing it feels overly heavy. And to make matters worse , th ere is a lot of sti cti o n . T o m e , suspen sion matt ers whether yo u ' re try ing t o go fast o r jus t c ru isi ng around , an d th e DR 's suspension wo rks pretty darn ed good in both scenarios - bett er than aver age f or its cl a s s . T h e big , 43mm Show~ co nv entional ca rt rid ge fork is simi lar to that of the RM2 5 0W, and th e DR 's sing le shoc k , with a remote reservoir, is fairl y high -tech. Both th e fork and sh oc k f eature c o m p ressio n Unlike Its more race-minded brother - the DR·Z400 • the easy-to.r1de electrlclklckstart DR ·Z250 Is designed with more casual trail riding In mind, though It has quality suspension components, fitted to a' modem and rugged chassis.