IIIIIIRB=C:J 2004 Suzuki RM-Z250
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By
TH E S T A FF O F C YCL E N EWS
P HOT O S BY P AU L C A RRUT HE RS
L
ik e Kawasaki and Honda before it ,
Suzu ki rece ntl y held its own one-
16 S EPTEMBER 24 , 2003
cue I
d ay m ed i a intr o du c t io n to its v ery
fi rst 250c c fou r -st roke m ot oc ro sser ,
wh ich is also its very fi rst fo ur -stroke
motocrosser. It' s also Kawasak i 's first
f o ur - s tr o ke mot oc r o s ser : A s yo u
e
n
e
vv
s
prob ably k no w by now , the Kawasak i
KX250F and the Suzuk i RM-Z250 are
th e same m ot orcycl e - sans radi ato r
shrouds, color and g raphics . An d yo u
are probably aware th at th e two co m-
p an ies fo r med an alli an ce a wh ile
b a ck and t h at o ne o f t he i r m a in
objectives of th is pact wa s to share
re sourc es and produce a 250 cc fo ur stro ke motocross bi k e capa ble of giving the p opu lar Yam ah a YZ250F a
run fo r it s m on ey . A nd if yo u read our
in i t ial r ep o rt o n the K X 250F tw o
week s ago ( Se p te m be r 10 , i s s u e
#36 ). y o u als o alr eady kn ow that
th ey certainl y a c c omplish ed th eir
goal.
Wha t you m ight not kn ow , howev er, is that Suzu ki ann ounced at the
RM - Z250 int ro d uct io n that an RM Z4 50 is definitely in the wo rks an d is
sched uled t o g o into producti on in
A ugust of next ye ar. Unlike the RMZ250 , howe v e r , th e 450 w il l be
designed , dev eloped and manufactured entirely in -house by Suzuki (the
KX250 F and RM-Z250 are both manuf act ured by Kawasak i ). So Suzuk i
had at least o ne surp rise in store for
us at the intro .
Eve n though we had a go od id ea
how the RM-Z 250 was go ing to pe r form at the intro , we were a bit c urious as to how it was go ing to wo rk on
th e REM t rac k at Gl en Hel en Rac eway , w here Suzuk i hosted th is o n eday eve nt . You see. Kawasaki hel d its
KX250 F deb ut at Cah uilla Creek ,
whe re the soil is fairl y soft and sandy,
and t he bu mps ar e ge nera lly mo re
ro unded. Th is is q ui te a contrast to
