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/128626
20 0 1 Suzuki RM250 Take the h iri n g of J e rem y McGrat h , wh ich in itially see me d a substantia l move forwa rd for Suzu ki, bu t soon e nded as a black e ye when McG rath left th e te am at th e e nd of the 1997 season a s the number-two S upercross ride r - the o nly time in the past decade that M:C. has not be en a s tad iu m c ha mp . Adv ersi ty is to be e xpected in operations of this m agnitude , howev er, and Suzuki showed its mettle by shrugging off the blow a nd trudging forward , build ing a race sh op at it s h e adquarters so its m echan ics would no longer ha ve to work o ut of th e te am semi. The effort fin a lly got its first real payoff la s t year, a nd it was a doozy , with Greg Alberty n co llecting the 250c c Nationa l Motoc ross Ch am pions hi p - Su zu ki's first qu art er -liter t itle sin c e 198 1. T ha t acco mpl is heme nt s eems to ha ve pushed th e c o m p a ny o ver the hum p. Th is year saw the sign ing of tee n-s u pers ta r and press fav orite Travis Pastra na (who cla ims to have absolu tel y no des ire to move else where ) , and a lthough Albert yn re cently announced his intent ions of re tiring at the end of this season , that bad new s was offset by the unveiling of the 200 1 RM2 50 - a n all -new steed tha t e rases a ny do ubt as to S uzuki 's seriousness in the 'm ove to be taken seriously. The com p a ny definitely ha s momentum on its s ide. RM=R E -MAK E m ent s gai n inertia grad ually , but the m ost obvious warning shot showing th at things wer e differ ent in th e land of Yellow Magic c a me in th e h iring of legend Rog er DeC oster as m an a g e r o f th e fac tory MX team . O f cours e th is was o nly one ste p among many some sm a ll , s o me larg er - as th e B Y CH RIS J ON NU M PH OT O S BY J O E B O NNELLO O ve r th e past few years , it h a s b e come re ad ily a p pa re n t th at Suzu ki wa nts to s tep up to the p la te in terms of being tak e n s eriously in th e m otocro s s worl d . Su ch m o ve - 32 AUGUST 16, 2000' eye I e n e vv s Suzuki Is rid ing the momentum of Greg Albertyn's '9 9 National t itle and Travis Past rana's im pre ssive 2000 season, re lea sing a 200 1 RM250 th at has undergone a long list of im pro ve m e nts . pro c e s s of grad ua ting from doorma t to conte nder is a lo ng , slow , s o m e time s frustrating gr ind . Suzu ki's g o al for t he n e w RM? Acc ord ing to press relations m anager Mark Ree se , it was "to cr eate a more co m pac t, ligh t er-fe el ing bike with improved stability (but tha t reta ined its good s tee ring manne rs) ." Oh , so th a t's a ll. An d he re we we re think ing that Suzuk i was getting serious . Obviou s ly, s uc h a wish list nec es sitatated a n ew-from -the-ground -up approach, and that's exactly what the RM got. Take a lo o k a t the "2001 Updates " a n d "Whe re ' d the Weight Go? " sidebars to get a n id e a of th e extensiveness of Su zu k i's ov er ha ul. Th e m o st o bv io u s differ en ce between the 2001 and 2000 models is vis ua l, a s th e new RM gets a n all -new co lor a nd bod ywor k - pretty m uch the sa me stuff tha t Coron a Suzuki GP star Mick a el Picho n ha s been running for t he past ye ar. T he rounded lines of this ye ar 's bik e a re rep laced b y a m or e jagged look that is somewhat reminisc ent of a Yamaha YZ or a KTM SX , in clud ing the "arrowhe a d" fro nt fender. That shape al so is be stowed on th e rear fende r , res u lti n g in a ha nd -g rip a rea that Ree se refe rs to as t he "Pa s t ra n a h a n d le " - h and y for th os e wh o perform Superm a n fe nder g ra b s . T h o u g h t h e b ik e ' s lin e s are fa m iliar, its co lor - a kind of neon lime c a lled "Cha m p ion Ye llow " - is a thing a ll its own, d iffere nt e ve n th an th e hue of prev iou s Su zu kis . O pin ion s o n th e n e w lo o k are m ixed . Th e Cycle News staff ha s co me