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/128639
M ickael Pichon's 2000 Corona Suzuki RM250 I I ery , b ut o f tru e works ra ci ng m otorc y c le s. Th e 2 001 Suzuk i RM25 0 i s j u s t n ow h i t tin g d e a ler f lo o r s, b u t Geboe rs' shop h a s b een housing the b ik e since th e fi na l t hird of t he 1999 World C h a m p i o n s h i p M oto cr o ss Series , a n d all through the 2 000 sea s on . Wi t h Fren chman M i c k a el P ichon at th e h elm a nd B e l g i a n Frank Shro yen spi n n in g the wrench es , the bike c ame a bo ut as close to wi n n ing t his yea r' s ti tl e as is p o ssib le w it hout actu a ll y d o in g so, w ith o nly a l ate i nj u ry giving Pam o Hon d a ' s Fred eric Boll ey t he necessa ry ed ge . Part o f the r ea son for the t eam ' s co m pe titi ve ness is the bike , but part of the reason for the b ike's c ompetitiven e s s is Pic h on , who , in a d d ition to b e i n g a t a l e n t e d c o m peti t o r, is a n acco m p li shed t est r id er w ho n o t ic es de tails and articulates th em w ell to h is team . Geb oer s lik ens h im to Fo rmula O ne driv er Mi ch ael Schumacher, say ing, " He 's still young, bu t he ha s a lot of experience. He p ic k ed up a lot in th e U .S . , [wo rking with t he Pro C i r c ui t Ka wasaki , S u zu ki a n d H onda race t e a m s ]. H e t hinks w he n h e r i d e s , bec ause ri d ing itself is so easy for h im." W ith t ea m man a g e r a nd prem i er r ide r b oth ren o wn ed s tic k le rs f or det ail , it should come as no surp ris e that th e C or on a S u zu k i RM2 50 i s every b it as p o l ish ed as th e sh op in wh ic h it res id es, and w hereas eve ry- (Left) Cy cle N ews tester Ch ri s Sp ren kel airs out M ickael Pich o n ' s factory Corona Suzu ki RM250 on the Yamaha Land c ircuit in n orthern Belg ium. He was impressed. c ally o rderly w o rk areas of A m eric an S T O RY A N D PHOTOS BY CHR IS J ON NUM factory race teams , refl ec t ing a near- U p o n enter in g S y l va in G ebo e r a' p ath ol o g ic al d ev ot ion to st erility tha t r ace sh op in t he nort h of B e l - res ults i n wh at m a y b e the wo r ld ' s g i um , the m o st st r i ki n g impre ss io n o n ly g a rage in w hich o ne quite l it e r- m ad e o n a first -ti m e visitor is o ne o f a lly could ea t off of t he floo r. a nt i s epti c cl ea n lin e s s . T h e po l a r T h o u g h in it ia ll y startli ng , the se t - o p posite of a n avera g e greasy b ik e t i ng is p e r f e c tl y appro pr iat e w he n g arag e , t he C o ro na Suzuki fa cil it y is o ne c o ns ide rs it is th e hom e not o f m o re im m acu late th an even th e ty p i - A m er ica n p ro du c ti on -ba sed mac hi n- The 2001 RM250 is new to t h e public, but Co rona Suzu k i has b e en rac in g the same basic package for over a year. 12 NOVEMB ER 1 5, 2 0 0 0 ' cue • e n e uv s Pichon is known for preferring a mi drange motor, and the Corona Suzuki has one of the meatiest m id ranges of any m otocr oss motor out there. What we'r e talking here is an explosive hit in the mi ddle, one that will slide you back on the seat and send the front end sky ward for the better part of a straightaway . Sti ll, the power is anything but peaky , as it contin ues to buil d smoothly after the initial hit, and one becom es increasingly enamo red wit h the mo tor as more time is spent on the bike. Call it quick, but smooth - no mean feat for a motor buil der. "Mic kael likes a smoo th motor: says Geboers. "It's easy to make it smooth - j ust take some of the power off - but the trick is to ma ke it powerful and smoo th." With so much of the hit focused in the mid dle, Sprenkel was less impressed with the bott om -end power, which is softer than on some factory 250s , necessitating that the rider downshift for corners. Still, once he got the suspension dialed in to his preferences and began attackin g the track in mor e of a race mod e (thi s is no trail bike) , he naturally kept the m ill off the botto m and never missed the relative lack of oomph. In fact, he actually came to view it as an asset, periodica lly utilizing the more controllable bottom on slick spots, then movi ng up to the midd le (v ia a bit of 125-esque c1utchwor k) for soft berms and soil with am ple tractio n. The bik e will keep pulling right on into the top end if you desire, and will perform respectebly once there, but this isn' t where it mak es the most power. Prima rily a 125 rider, Sprenkel spent more than a little time on the Suzuki at high revs, and it didn't fall on its face, but the time spent up there is ti me away from that stellar m idrange. With Pichon 's setup , it's best to ride in the meat and keep tha t top for when you need it. That said, Corona Suzuki rider Jo sh Coppin s prefers more of a high-rpm hit for GPs than Pichon's Supercross-Iik e middrange m onster, and team technicians accom modate the Kiwi via a wide variety of pip es (w hich Pichon also occasionally uses for different track conditions). Speakin g of the pip e, the expansio n cha mbe r and carbon fi ber silencer em it a throaty , m eaty , business - l i k e b ark that i s sti l l q ui et eno ugh t o pa ss the st ri ng ent FIM sou nd regu la tion s, and the throttl e response is crisp and im m ediate. The bike sounds and feels exac tl y like a top-shelf factory machine should , and its slick-shiftin g gearbox and buttery- Monster of Midrange: Pichon likes smoot h, light cl utch co m plete t he m idrange, and his motor offers the most pack age. middle power of any b ike we've ridden.