2017 Suzuki RM-Z450 Review | First Impression

Suzuki didn’t dazzle us with any major changes in 2017, but they did make some cosmetic updates to the RM-Z450 that we think are very attractive. Suzuki updated the RM-Z450 with increased black and yellow accents to the machine like black wheels, triple clamps, side panels, shock spring, a yellow rear fender, a yellow/black seat cover and of course some updated shroud graphics. We do hear that the 2018 RM-Z models will be completely revamped but we will have to wait another year for those to arrive. Another hot rumor is that Suzuki is working on bringing its two-strokes (RM 125 and RM 250) back in 2018 to add to their motocross line up. We met Suzuki PR manager Tim Olson at Milestone MX and received our fresh Yellow 450 and took her for a “First Ride” spin. Here is a refresher course of what the RM-Z450 is like on the track:

The 2017 Suzuki RM-Z450 has a smooth roll on power delivery that is extremely easy and friendly to ride. Bottom end doesn’t have a ton of excitement when you crack on the throttle, but the rear end feels connected to the ground when the terrain gets hard packed. The mid range is very useable and the yellow bike prefers to use the mid range around the track. Second and third gear coming out of corners pulls adequately and can pull you around quickly if you short shift. This is not an engine where you can leave it in second gear and hope it will rev out down the straight. This motor likes to be lugged and will pull a taller gear but it relies on the rider to ride it like this. If not, the Suzuki signs off quickly and will take away rear wheel traction. We installed the lean coupler to try and get some more bottom end power and throttle response at mid rpm. It worked! It also cleaned up the rich feeling mid-top end pull down long straights. With the standard coupler the RM-Z450 runs dirty (especially on low rpm and on jump faces where you need instant throttle response).

We know the Showa SFF Triple Air Chamber fork hasn’t changed for 2017, so we referred to our best settings from 2016 and tested it at Milestone MX. On this day the track got fairly rough and had some good size square edge chop to test the suspension. While the Showa fork wasn’t the worst air equipped fork last year, it didn’t have the most comfort through the mid stroke. The 2017 RM-Z 450 fork dives too far in the stroke on flat landings, but has a harsh feel to its mid stroke on braking bumps. We went up in air pressure on the inner and balance chambers to hold the fork up more. The stock inner and balance chamber pressures are 171 psi and our best setting was 190 psi. This helped the fork as it gave more of a damping feeling at the end of the stroke, took some of the harshness away from the mid stroke and gave us added comfort on braking bumps. If you are anywhere north of 170 pounds you will need to go up in air pressure in both (inner and balance) chambers. Once we did this however it didn’t diminish the harsh feeling entirely. The top of the stroke became harsher on acceleration and seemed to deflect more down straights (with square edge) while under acceleration.. The rear shock squats out of corners and has more comfort (on square edge and braking bumps) than the fork. We ran up to 107mm of sag in the rear and dropped the fork down in the clamps (from 8mm to 4mm). Dropping the fork helped the balance of the RM-Z and didn’t leave us with a stinkbug feeling coming into corners. We don’t know why Suzuki runs the fork up so high in the clamp, but we recommend dropping the fork down immediately.

The chassis although not as rigid as in the past still needs some more comfort on rough tracks. When the track was smooth and fresh in the morning the Suzuki’s chassis is like riding on rails. It corners better than anyone in the big bike class and can inspire confidence with its easy front wheel biased nature. The RM-Z does feels heavy when taking it off the stand, but it doesn’t nearly feel as bad on the track. In the air it is very flickable and can make sudden line changes on the track comfortably. When the track started getting larger holes and bumps the Suzuki can get tough to ride. We feel this frame is geared more towards supercross style type tracks.

The new styling for 2017 is so much better and we feel this is the best-looking RM-Z in years. The black rims and yellow rear fender make the 450 that much more attractive. This is still a very fun bike to ride on the track; it just takes patience to get it set up for where you’re riding. For 2017 we are going to take some extra time and try some different chassis modifications on the RM-Z450. Our “Long Haul” 2016 RM-Z 450 endured over 60 hours without one valve adjustment and ran great all year. This shows you that the RM-Z450 is a reliable machine; it just needs a little extra attention, kind of like a new pet.