Overview
Making
the RM-2450 more rideable
was Suzuki's number-one
priority
for
'06.
A new
cylinder head, revised carburetor
settings and iSnition mapping,
and a high-
er final-drive ratio
(49l
14 to 48/ 14)
were
incorporated to improve low- to
midrange
performance
and to ease
power
deliver/ at all rpm.
Like
the
Kawasaki
and KTM, the Suzuki
features a DOHC four-valve (titanium)
valvetrain
system
(the
Yamaha
would be
included here had not it
been for the lifth
valve), and, also like
the Kawasaki and
KTM, the Suzuki opts for a four-speed
transm ission.
Suzuki
got
with the
program
this
year
by moving its hot-staft lever
up from the
carburetor to the handlebar.
The RM-Z's aluminum
fwin-spar frame
is
pretty
much the same
as it was last
year,
though it did
get
added strength in the
headpipe area. The
swingarm, howeve( is
all-new redesigned to improve tractioh
and straightline stability.
The 47mm
Showa cartridge lork
and
shock
got
revised valving-
Like the KTM and Yamaha, the
RM-
2450 features tapered aluminum handle-
bars
(Renthal).
The
Suzuki is the only bike of the five
that comes with a sealed
O-ring chain.
Not
So Mellow Yellow
ln light of Ricky
Carmichael's
perform-
ance aboard the
Suzuki RH-2450, we
have to admit that we were
excited to see
if anything that Carmichael and
co. had
learned through the course of the
past
season would spill over to the
production
RM-z, which really
did
give
the Honda a
run for its money in last year's
shootout.
lf there's one word
that best describes
the Suzuki RM-2450, it's
torque. Lots and
lots
of torque. The RM-Z's
throttle
SUZUI
