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/128233
Although th e c hassis was designed by K awasaki, this engine i s all Su zuki - d es i g ned . th e more ha rd -pa cked ( b ut no less fu n) so il of the REM tra ck , 5 0 this was a good c ha n c e to tr y o ut t he RM Z25 0 o n a s ig nific a n tly d iffer en t co urse. (T he REM trac k , th ough , ca n b e quit e so ft a f ter it ' s j u s t b een pr epped .) On th e mo re gr ippy soi l, the Suzu ki actua ll y felt somewha t m ore exp lo s i v e than w e re me m be r e d the Kawasaki t o be , bu t th at w a s, n o doubt, becau se there was sig ni fic ant ly less horsepo wer- sap p in g san d o n the REM tra ck . It also migh t've had a lot to do wi t h je tti ng , si nce S uzuk i reps said th ey lean ed o ut th e Z's c ar buret io n a b it fr om t he fa c t ory settings, 5 0 we're assum ing th e Suzu ki s we re tun e d a li ttl e l e an er th an t he Ka w asak i w e ro de a w eek e a r l i e r , w h i c h c o u l d a ls o ex p lai n w h y t h e Su zuki' s e x ha u st " po p pe d" o n d e accelera tion somewhat m ore th an th e KX's did. Oth er wi se , th e mot ors felt ide ntical. E v e n o n t he d rie r sections of th e REM c o u rse th at fo rmed l ater i n th e d a y in t he h ot s u n , w e fou nd th e Suzuk i to hook up nic el y and cont ro ll a b l y . In t he soft pa rts that never went away , th e RMZ25 0 fe lt j us t like th e K X 2 5 0F strong . As far as the sus pen sion , the Suzu k i a nd th e Kawasak i com e off th e asse mbly li ne w i t h th e sam e spec ific at io ns and sett ings , 5 0 we could not detect any differen ces - just an ove rall sm o oth an d plush ride. It will p rob abl y have to wait fo r our 250cc Four-Strok e MX Shoot out, but reali sti call y , yo u ca n like ly de termin e whi ch of these two thum pers yo u' ll be buying ei the r by th e pr eferr ed colo r, co ntingency programs , o r whic h sho p yo u'll be abl e to get the best de al at . (Left) The front-brake li n e features what was f o nne rly known as Honda- style routin g, as do all of t h e bikes in both the RM and KX lineups. (B elow) This bike i sn 't obnoxi o usly l oud , whi ch i s a nice c hange . Th e RM-Z250 is essent ially ide ntical to the KX 25 0F . they 're eve n bu ilt in th e same p lants - 50 we don't antici - pate a pe r f orm an ce advantage for o ne o r aga inst th e o th er. So if yo u wa nt a m o re d et ailed desc ripti on of t he b ik e' s p erf or m an c e , lo o k ba c k two iss ues to Issue #3 6, and yo u ca n read all abo ut it in our rev iew of th e KX 25 0F. To k eep it sim ple, th o ugh , th e RMZ25 0 is a solid pa c ka ge that seems to do j ust ab ou t eve ry thi ng well , and it 's really h ard t o lo c at e t roubl e areas wit hin th e ma chine. It j ust wo rk s. CN Specifications ~@@tfJ ~GfJ~GfJ!ZD [X][ljJC7J~~@@ ENGINE TYPE: DI SPLACEMENT : BORE x STROKE: COMPRESSION RATIO: CARBURETION: IGNmON : STARTING: TRANSMIS SION: FRAME TYPE: RAKE/TRA IL: . : WHEELBASE: SUSPENSION Fro nt : Rear : Four-strok e, liquid-cooled sing le .249cc 77 x 53 .6mm 12. 1: 1 Keih in FCR37 Dig ital AC -CDI Primary kick Five-speed Perimeter, high-tensile steel w/bolt-on aluminum subframe .26.5"/ 4.3 in. 58.1 in. Kayaba 48mm inv ert ed cartri dge fork w/ 16- way com pression and rebound damping Bott om link Uni-Trak w/ adj. preload and 16-way compression and reboun d damping WHEEL TRAVEL Fron t: . . .. .. . .. .. . . ..... . ..... .. ...... . . . . .• ... ... .... . . .. . . . . . 11.8 in. Rear : _. . 12.2 in. TIRES Front: . . . . . . . .. . ... . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . • . . . . ... . .8011 00 -21 5 1M Rear: 110/ 90- 19 62 M SEAT HEIGHT: 37.4 in. FUEL CA PA CITY: 2.0 gal. CLA IMED DRY WEIGHT: 20 4 Ibs. MSRP: $55 99 cue I e n e _ S • S EPTEM BER 24 , 2003 17