This past Saturday I took the RMZ 450 out for its shake down cruise. Wow! I'm very impressed with this bike. This is only the third time I've rode a four stroke, but I felt more comfortable on the RMZ after one afternoon of riding then the past two years on the 02 CR 250 I'm coming off of. I followed the break in procedure outlined on www.mototuneusa.com/ . After the third time out the motor felt stronger in how it pulled. You can let the rpm's drop to the basement and roll the throttle on or tap the clutch and the power torques right out of the hole. The only items I changed from how my dealer set up the bike was: 1; Increase the idle. I stalled the bike the first lap in the sixth corner. After the idle adjustment I didn't experience any additional stalling issues. 2; Lowered the rear brake petal. 3; Went one in (harder) on the forks compression. Everything else was left as I received it from the dealer. I do need to check the sag on the rear shock.
Sawblade's First Impressions:
Engine: I don't have any "real world" four stroke experience to gauge the motor against. I felt the motor pulled good on the bottom, very strong in the mid and felt like it wound out a little soon on the top. A change to a 51 tooth rear sprocket may help. Overall the motor was powerful, but not a beast to ride. A very fun motor that felt stronger at the end of the day. There is also little engine braking. Yes you can feel it, but its not any were close to the 03 YZ 450 I rode 2 years ago that was a beast.
Transmission: Shifting was very smooth. Neutral is hard to find with the motor running. I like the 4 speed, but may need to go too a 51 tooth rear sprocket.
Starting: This was the thing I had feared most about a 4 stroke. I'm sure I will screw it up at some point in the future and be swearing like a sailor. To bring the engine to life requires a good firm kick that you follow through with. Its not harder then a 2 stroke, just different. The bike started in less then 4 kicks cold and 1 or 2 kicks when hot. I didn't have to use the hot start button either, but temps were only 55 - 60 degrees.
Suspension: The first time out the suspension felt very plush, balanced and metered. By my third time out I felt heavier springs are needed front and back (I weight about 190 in street cloths). I went one in on the forks compression. I will try one more click in on my next ride and will set the rear shocks sag.
Brakes: Both brakes had a very firm feel to them. The front brake required easy to moderate finger pull to bring the bike down from speed. As the day progressed the front brake developed a squeak but this was after I found I could grab more brake and not lock up the front wheel. The squeak went away after about 10 laps, so I think it was just the brake pads setting in. The rear brake has a nice progressive feel to it. Not like a light switch, but more like a dimmer switch. You need more rear brake, just apply a little more pressure with out fear of the back wheel suddenly locking up.
Handling: Like I said earlier in the post, I felt more comfortable on the RMZ after one afternoon of riding then the past two years on the 02 CR 250 I'm coming off of. It tracks very straight and turns on a dime. I only had one time that the front end swapped enough to notice, but this is most likely due to lack of set up being the first time out.
Fit And Finish: The bike looks friggin great! The welds on the frame look good, but are not quite as clean as on my CR 250. All the plastic fit will and the graphics stayed in place. The front number plate is bent out on the brake side and doesn't set against the fork leg as the left side. This may be due to cable routing.
Odds and Ends:
I did feel a very slight buzz through the bars. Not enough to bother me, but I did notice it. The jury is still out on this one.
The tires worked ok on the hard pack concrete I was riding on. But then again I've never really found I tire that I like on hard pack.
The head stay hides the idle adjustment. Plus it has a vent hose routed in between the head stay and the idle adjustment. I'm going to see about routing the vent hose a little differently. This is the type of thing that makes me just scratch my head in amazement that someone on the development team didn't say "Hey, the head stay needs to be moved or redesigned so you can have direct access to the idle adjustment". Then again, maybe some engineer figured in job security for one more year.
I bought my bike from a dealership that is 3 hours from were I live. The owner delivered the bike to me and forgot the owners manual. So, I'm flying blind until I receive it the end of this week.
The Good New and The Bad News: For my first ride I'm very impressed with the RMZ 450. I like the amount of power and the way its delivered. The suspension is good for only having made one adjustment to the forks compression. With more set up (springs maybe) and break in time I'm sure I will be very happy with the action of the suspension. The brakes became stronger as the day went on and the handling didn't do anything funny. Overall Suzuki has a great freshman effort. Besides, IMO, dirt bikes look better in yellow! :)
Sawblade's First Impressions:
Engine: I don't have any "real world" four stroke experience to gauge the motor against. I felt the motor pulled good on the bottom, very strong in the mid and felt like it wound out a little soon on the top. A change to a 51 tooth rear sprocket may help. Overall the motor was powerful, but not a beast to ride. A very fun motor that felt stronger at the end of the day. There is also little engine braking. Yes you can feel it, but its not any were close to the 03 YZ 450 I rode 2 years ago that was a beast.
Transmission: Shifting was very smooth. Neutral is hard to find with the motor running. I like the 4 speed, but may need to go too a 51 tooth rear sprocket.
Starting: This was the thing I had feared most about a 4 stroke. I'm sure I will screw it up at some point in the future and be swearing like a sailor. To bring the engine to life requires a good firm kick that you follow through with. Its not harder then a 2 stroke, just different. The bike started in less then 4 kicks cold and 1 or 2 kicks when hot. I didn't have to use the hot start button either, but temps were only 55 - 60 degrees.
Suspension: The first time out the suspension felt very plush, balanced and metered. By my third time out I felt heavier springs are needed front and back (I weight about 190 in street cloths). I went one in on the forks compression. I will try one more click in on my next ride and will set the rear shocks sag.
Brakes: Both brakes had a very firm feel to them. The front brake required easy to moderate finger pull to bring the bike down from speed. As the day progressed the front brake developed a squeak but this was after I found I could grab more brake and not lock up the front wheel. The squeak went away after about 10 laps, so I think it was just the brake pads setting in. The rear brake has a nice progressive feel to it. Not like a light switch, but more like a dimmer switch. You need more rear brake, just apply a little more pressure with out fear of the back wheel suddenly locking up.
Handling: Like I said earlier in the post, I felt more comfortable on the RMZ after one afternoon of riding then the past two years on the 02 CR 250 I'm coming off of. It tracks very straight and turns on a dime. I only had one time that the front end swapped enough to notice, but this is most likely due to lack of set up being the first time out.
Fit And Finish: The bike looks friggin great! The welds on the frame look good, but are not quite as clean as on my CR 250. All the plastic fit will and the graphics stayed in place. The front number plate is bent out on the brake side and doesn't set against the fork leg as the left side. This may be due to cable routing.
Odds and Ends:
I did feel a very slight buzz through the bars. Not enough to bother me, but I did notice it. The jury is still out on this one.
The tires worked ok on the hard pack concrete I was riding on. But then again I've never really found I tire that I like on hard pack.
The head stay hides the idle adjustment. Plus it has a vent hose routed in between the head stay and the idle adjustment. I'm going to see about routing the vent hose a little differently. This is the type of thing that makes me just scratch my head in amazement that someone on the development team didn't say "Hey, the head stay needs to be moved or redesigned so you can have direct access to the idle adjustment". Then again, maybe some engineer figured in job security for one more year.
I bought my bike from a dealership that is 3 hours from were I live. The owner delivered the bike to me and forgot the owners manual. So, I'm flying blind until I receive it the end of this week.
The Good New and The Bad News: For my first ride I'm very impressed with the RMZ 450. I like the amount of power and the way its delivered. The suspension is good for only having made one adjustment to the forks compression. With more set up (springs maybe) and break in time I'm sure I will be very happy with the action of the suspension. The brakes became stronger as the day went on and the handling didn't do anything funny. Overall Suzuki has a great freshman effort. Besides, IMO, dirt bikes look better in yellow! :)
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