was 2001 rm 250 a good bike?

[Nevada Sixx]

hi,,
was 01 rm 250 a good quality bike, even though it had a new design? any special problems that made people wish they had not bought one?

thanks.

 

[buffmaster]

The magazine's did not like the '01 RM250 (but we all know how they are:mad: ). They totally redisgned for this year to make it more competitive w/the rest, but they didn't do so good. If i remeber correctly, it had a really narrow power band and the ergonomics got pretty messed up. It was awhile ago that I read all that, so don't quote me for sure.

 

[MN KDXer]

The 01 RM250, which I rode for a season, was a pretty decent bike, but did have a few trouble spots. The first of which, was the fork had some harshness, and required revalving to cure. After that, it worked well. The engine was a bit lack on low end power and top end overrev, but a set of Boyesen reeds and rejetting cleared most of that trouble. Others reported success with porting. Ergos were good or OK, depending on your preference. The stock bar is low for most people of average height, and the seat is a bit low, too. These troubles are easily cured with a taller bar, and the seat foam from a 01 RM125 transforms the RM to a nice roomy machine.

Lastly, the engine is sort of touchey about jetting, and will ping if jetted too close to the edge. Race gas at 50% is a good idea.

Mechanicaly, I had zero problems with the bike and it never even fouled a plug. Two thumbs up!! :)

 

[JB]

ditto! with a little masaging, the 01 rm was super. way faster than my 02 yz

 

[ZOOK250]

01 rm 250

unfortunatly suzuki didnt have mxa in thier payoff budget so thus the poor reviews are still coming to this day. the only problems i had were the jetting, and the forks, both are easy fixes. forks midvalve modification and a set of gold valves did the trick, jetting made a huge difference. it was way to fat when i bought the bike, 168 main 52 pilot. try a 160 and a 48. runs nice and clean but could still use some top end. still very competitive in my class. 90% rider 10% bike. ergos are typical suzuki , nice and slim, very light feeling. i would have no concerns about buying another ,since this model was supposed to be the worst 250 suzuki has produced ever - mxa

 

[a454elk]

Ditto on everything said, I've got one and still do. Big difference between the 92 I uesed to have! I love the bike. I rejetted, changed the reeds and threw a pipe and siloencer on it. Made a great difference on the low and high rev areas. I know that porting would have done just as well too but I went the pipe route. My suspension is a little harsh on long choppy bumps but I dropped the forks to about 5mm in the triple clamp. That helped the headshake. Good luck
Elk

 

[NEMX305]

I've had mine for a year now. If your tall consider the higher seat a must. It really changes the feel, its much better. I used a sdg seat, they copied the 125 seat so it is higher than the 250 one. I had Eric Gorr port my cylinder , he did the woods/low end porting, and its just awesome. It runs like a real strong kX250. Plenty of low end and a real smooth mid and top. No mechanical problems in my first year racing it. Good bike. Tim

 

[JPrelude]

I'm so happy that this post is running. I have the 01 RM250 and have to say that in stock form the motor needs help. I got the MO Betta porting from Eric and run a Bill's setup. The difference in power is phenomenal (sp?). My friend has a 2001 CR 250 with a PC pipe and flat out admits that my RM will smoke his bike. Don't listen to magazines. Listen to me, spend 120 bucks and get a porting job. You'll have more power than the average person can handle! NO BS

 

[NEMX305]

How are your kickstarters holding up? I just broke my second one . I got about six months or so out of each of them and then they would crack where the phillips screw goes through the base of it, and then snap off completely. I'm kind of questioning if I have some bad habits from kicking my other bikes( TE410, and 380SX), or if these kickstarters are just fragile. Tim

 

[ZOOK250]

no problems with any cracking at all, i have a friend who did the same thing with his kx. 2 kick starters.but he's a pretty heavy kicker.