FEATURE I 2023 CYCLE NEWS BIKES WE LIKE
P144
RYAN NITZEN
FAVORITE: 2023
SUZUKI RMZ450
Okay, this is cheating, but my
favorite bike that I rode this year
was the 2023 Suzuki RM-Z450.
But it wasn't just any run-of-the-
mill RM-Z450, it was Ken Roc
-
zen's RM-Z450.
Suzuki gave the media a
chance to ride Roczen's "factory"
Progressive Insurance Ecstar
Suzuki RM-Z450 a few days after
he raced it at the Monster Energy
SuperMotocross Final at the L.A.
Coliseum. I was the lucky CN
staff guy who got to ride it. This
was the first factory bike I've
ever ridden, and while it checked
off a motocross rider's dream, it
also lived up to the hype in terms
of fun, nuance and overall cool
factor.
We had the chance to com-
pare Roczen's bike back-to-back
with a standard 2024 RM-Z450.
The differences were immeasur-
able. The number-94 machine
was everything I liked about the
standard Suzuki but on steroids.
The stock RM-Z is known for
its sharp handling, but Roc
-
zen's is sharper. The stocker
has a smooth engine, but his is
smoother. Plush suspension al
-
lowed me to attack the track in
ways I couldn't before, while the
mellow engine characteristics
made the bike ultra-easy to ride
throughout a moto. The overall
