VOL. 52 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 P71
A
t first glance, the 2016
Suzuki RM-Z250 ap-
pears to be the same
old thing, but it's not. It's what
you can't see that makes the
all-new RM-Z250…well, all
new.
Behind the nearly decade-
old plastic and very similar-
looking graphics, the RM-Z250
is a significantly updated
motorcycle, the motor alone
getting 80 changes, according
to Suzuki. It also got all-new
suspension and frame updates,
all highlighted by its new-to-
the-RM-Z250 Suzuki Holeshot
Assist Control (S-HAC). It's
a first for the RM-Z250. The
RM-Z450 got it in 2014, but
the 250's S-HAC system is an
updated version of it. There's
also an all-new fork.
Gone is the Showa SFF oil/
spring fork in favor of KYB's
latest-generation PSF2 (Pneu-
matic Spring Function) air fork.
As mentioned, Suzuki made
many changes to the RM-Z's
motor, too many to mention
here. Worth mentioning, how-
ever, is a new piston, piston
pin and rings, new camshafts
(including exhaust), new intake
valves and a new crankshaft.
Add it all up and you have some-
thing very important—an up-tick
in compression ratio, from
13.50:1 to 13.75:1. Might not
sound like a whole lot, but that's
fairly significant for a 250F.
Higher compression usually
means more power.
Other engine-related changes
include a new rotor with in-
creased mass and a 9% increase
in inertia, a revised throttle body,
a new cam-chain tensioner and
adjuster, and a new exhaust
system that meets the AMA's new
94dB sound requirement.
Suzuki also made the RM-
Z250 a little easier to maintain.
They discovered through re-
search that dirt bike owners are
hanging on to their bikes a lot
longer than they used to, about
three years on average. So to
make your life easier and the
life of your bike longer, Suzuki
BY THE CN STAFF
PHOTGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
The RM-Z250
isn't the most
popular bike
on the track
anymore but
Suzuki is trying
to change that
with the all-new
2016 RM-Z.
