I go red in the face, or yellow in this case, when bikes rely on innovative technology to keep customers at the door. When I get to ride the latest greatest bike bristling with techno-gadgetry it just feels like the model from the year before yet the spec sheet says “new from the ground up”. But is that just ‘them or me’ confusing me with ad speak?
So does this particular Suzuki bristle? No not really, it hasn’t seen any major updates in a while, a long while, it’s a simple form follows function design but holy cheese and rice is this a fun and exciting bike to ride!
So how can Suzuki possibly get away without all the latest fandangle bits dripping all over the bike? Well, the thing is, each manufacturer has a design philosophy, a basic fit, feel and characteristic that the company assumes its bike should have. Suzuki is no different. Even though this bike hasn’t seen any major updates in recent years it still holds true to the Suzuki philosophy.
Pure and simple, nothing corners like Suzuki because this bike hugs a line harder than Charlie Sheen on a Friday night stuffed with ‘powder’. This is a bike you need to ride to believe. The 2015 RM-Z 250 is a solid workman-like package that everyone will enjoy. The bike does everything pretty well, but you’ll end up searching for corners because this is where the most MX fun is to be had. I even swapped a ride with a RM 250 2-stroke rider and did a few Moto’s back to back and I can testify that bike cornered on rails too. I like this plain and simple Suzuki philosophy a lot, and I mean a lot.
The RM-Z’s fuel-injected power comes on smooth and steady; solid is a word I would use. From low down the bike picks up impressively. Experts or Pro’s will want more top-end but that’s pretty much it and all you’ll need. Perhaps buy a race exhaust, maybe even just the silencer and live happily ever after? For everyone else this is near perfect MX haven, me too. You can adjust the power by using the couplers (grey or white) but to be honest I didn’t play with these. I just rode it how it was given (white), but as least you have three things to fiddle with, if you like that sort of thing.
The suspension uses Showa’s brilliant and superb Separate Function Fork (SFF). I did tinker with these settings up front a bit, not sure why, and eventually I returned to standard settings pretty quickly, which says a lot for Suzuki’s initial choices in this area. Each click on the compression and rebound can be felt, so be gentle when testing. Sometimes stock settings are just best, right (read - air forks are a bitch to set up and they can deplete your will to live when set up wrong)? The rear Showa shock was also predictably excellent as delivered, so not much to say about that really. I’m heavy (chubby then – Bill), for a 250F, yet I didn’t feel like I needed to tinker back there either.
So what can I conclude? Well for one, at only R79,900 it’s very well priced. The 2015 RM-Z 250 has a pure and simple design, workman like ability and it’s an absolute joy to ride, what more could one want from a pure undiluted MX bike? It’s also very reassuring to know that the Suzuki brand is back in the country in a big way, with help from Suzuki Japan. They have big plans for the future and that alone fills me with excitement. Parts, spares and backup are part of this big plan, which is cool. I predict an all-new 2016 Suzuki RM-Z 250 that’ll give other bikes shit fits, and about time too. But for now this 2015 RM-Z 250 is a great bike, but can you imagine this cornering prowess in a brand new package? I may just sell my spleen, which unfortunately I’ve just been told is also yellow!
Go to www.suzuki.co.za for full specs and to see their full model line up and more…
