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/128369
SUUiRM-Z450 Honda CRF450R Motor KEY FEATURES: FOIJR..,rPEED TRANtMlWON rEMI-DR,( rlJMP LlfBRICATION rvrrEM CARBIJRETOR-MOIJNTED ilOUTART When it comes to the new Suzuki RM-Z4S0, Suzuki certainly did its homework, especially with the motor. Suzuki seemed to take the best of the Honda and Yamaha motors and wr.>pped them up into one solid package. All of our testers agreed that the Suzuki's motor is "smooth and powerful." Uke the Yamaha. the Suzuki pulls MOTOR REPORT CARD nicely and controlBoHom-E.d: Alably off the botA tom, and then, like Midra.g" the Honda, it rop-E.d: A accelerates with ""w"band: A+ authority from Shifti.g: A+ midrange on up. Clutch: A+ The Suzuki doesn't St.r1i'g: A rip your arms off 0,,,,11 R.ti.g: A but instead gradually builds up to an explosive hit and keeps pulling hard until you decide to shut off. But even with that hit. the Suzuki as a whole is relatively easy to manage. As far as the four-speed transmission. the Suzuki's seemed to work in harmony with the bike's power delivery, much like the KTM's. In other words, the gear ratios seemed about right, and we never really felt as though we were riding a four-speed. The Suzuki shifts well, and the clutch pull is light. One-finger operation' No problem. Even though the hot-start knob is inconveniently located on the carburetor body, we never needed to use it. The Suzuki is one of the easiest to start of the bunch, hot or cold. Chassis/Suspension KEY FEATURES: ALlfMINIJM TWIN..,rPAR FRAME rilOWA CARTRIDGE FORK TITANIIJM FOOTPEGr TAPERED ALlfMINIJM ilANDl.£BARr ADJlJaABl.£ ilANDl.£BAR MOIJNT When it carne to handling and suspension, our Suzuki required a good day just to figure out the clickers. Originally, our test bike liked to dance allover the place and was quite a handful, but after we fiddled around with the clickers (both front and rear) and slowed things up considerably, we got the RM-Z to handle quite well - maybe not as good as the Honda (then again, what bike does?) but right up there with the Yamaha and KTM. Now. the RM-Z feels plush and far more stable than it used to. We had absolutely no questions in regard to the Suzuki's tuming abilities, as this thing tums beautifully - the best of the group. for sure. The RM-Z rums so easily, you hardly have to think about it: Just set the front wheel in a rut and hit the gas. It's that easy. The Suzuki is very comfortable and super easy to adapt to. It has a neutral and flat lay· out, but is a little cramped for"'ler riders. We flipped the handlebar mounts around. giving us a few more mil- , . . . . . - - - - - - - . , CHASSIs/SUSPENSION Iimeters of space. which made a big difference. Uke all of the bikes, the Suzuki has strong brakes that offer good feel. REPORT CARD E'go" Fork: Shock: Corn"i.g: Fro.t Broka: Roor Bnka: Ov".11 Handli.g: A 8+ B A+ A+ A+ A- Misc. For a first-year effort, the RM-Z looks very refined and appears to be built well. Nothing broke or came loose during our test- ing, and the bike still looks relatively new. We like some of the finishing touches, such as the titanium footpegs and the Renthal Fatbars. Ukes RENTilAL TAPERED ilANDLEBARr TITANIIJM FOOTPEGr ADJIJaABl.£ ilANDl.£BAR MOIJNTr Gripes CARBIJRETOR.MOIJNTED ilOT..,rTART FIJNKV REAR FENDER bike felt remarkably plush, yet had plenty of girth left over to suck up the hard hits. And it Motor KEY FEATURES: FIVE..,rPEED TRANtMlWON rEMI·DR,(rlJMP LlfBRICATION rvaEM ilANDl£BAR-MOIJNTED ilOT...rTART Even though the CRF4S0R has pretty much taken over the big-bore thumper reigns ever since emerging on the scene. the CRF4S0R has been going up and down in the engine department: It's either been criticized for being too powerful or not powerful enough. This year Honda seems to have gotten it just right. All of our testers MOTOR REPORT CARD .A .A .A .A .A .A .A.A + Bolfom-End: Midrugt: rop-E.d: Pbwerl>.nd: Shifti.g: Clutch: S""i.g: 0v0,,11 Riling: raved about the CR's motor, saying that it does everything well. From low-end to top-end, the Honda pulls hard but in a controllable fashion. And it's just plain fast. Plus, the fIVe-speed transmission jives well with the motor, and no one really complained of having to shift the Honda more than the other four-speed bikes. We basically found that it doesn't really matter if a bike is a four-speed or a fIVe-speed, as long as the gear ratios work in harmony with the motor. and it certainly does with the Honda As for shifting, the Honda does well, but a few of our testers felt that it was notchy at times, most notably under power while exiting the tums. But it really wasn't a problem. just splitting hairs. As far as the clutch. we had no complaints whatsoever. Even though we consider the Honda to be an easy starter, it seemed to be a little more finicky than the other four bikes. Chassis/Suspension KEY FEATURES: AWMINIJM TWIN..,rPAR FRAME rilOWA TWIN.CilAMBER CARTRIDGE FORK TITANlIJM FOOTPEGr RENTilAL ALlfMINIJM ilANDl.£BARr Quite simply. the Honda is the best handling bike of the bunch. Honda has obviously got the aluminum frame figured out with its four· strokes. and it showed on the exceptionally rough Cahuilla crack. Here, the Honda stood out head and shoulders above the rest. The rarely swapped or did anything unexpected or scary. At the smoother and faster Competitive Edge crack. the Honda handled just as well. The Showa suspension is just plain good, and it required very little adjustment in the way of clickers from rider to rider through out our testing. Everyone liked how the Honda handled the rough and fast sections of the crack. and how it soaked up the landings off the big jumps. like the ones found at Competitive Edge. The Honda rums well, too - maybe not as sharp as the Suzuki. but it's not far behind. There wasn't a CHASSIS/SUSPENSION REPORT CARD ErgO$: Forte ShocIc Comon"!: Front Brako: Rear Brab: Ovotoll H""'ling: .A .A .A .A.A + .A + .A rut that we couldn't rail or a berm we couldn't blast when we were aboard the Honda. And hauling the Honda in for the tums was a no--brainer - the CR's brakes are awesome. Uke the Suzuki. the Honda is very comfortable. This bike has a very neutral layout and you feel right at home on it almost immediately. The Renthal handlebars fK the bike perfectly, and the seat. with the gripper cover. is just wide enough to give the rider good support. And it's not too hard or too soft. Misc. As usual, the Honda appears to be well built. It held up well through out our testing and, of course, nothing broke. Basic maintenance stuff is just that - basic. It's fairly easy to work on, but changing oil can be a little messy. Likes RENTilAL ilANDl.£BARr ilANDLEBAR-MO!JNTED ilOT...rTART GRIPPER rEAT Gripes OIL CilANGU CAN BE MUrv