Been waiting long? So have we! So were going to break tradition and give you the RM-Z 450 info as soon as we get it. First with this quick riding impression, and second, we're not going to make you wait for the hard copy of the magazine for the first test; you'll find it right here at Dirtrider.com as soon as we feel we've tested the bike to its potential. But you'll still have to wait for the magazine to see how it stacks up against the rest of it's class.
We took delivery of our bike at noon today (01/13/05), suffered through Attention Deficit Disorder as the Suzuki marketing department took us on a quick trip of the machine, then loaded it in our truck as fast as we could, sliced through the LA freeways up to the high desert track Racetown 395one of the few places to survive the recent rain storms. We unloaded and got to work, if you call it that!
Right from the first kick this Suzuki surprised us. It takes a firm boot to kick over and there is only an automatic compression release to ease the stroke. Once fired the RM-Z has some thump. You feel the low rpm power pulse, and the Suzuki builds in a very linear spread without revving too quickly. Our bike only has one afternoon on it, and it feels better with every 20 minute moto, so we'll reserve final judgment until she fully breaks in, but we assure you there won't be any complaints about power. And you can tell that the power was designed to run with the four-speed gearbox.
Suzuki's are known for their light feeling and quick handling. Since Racetown was looking more like a full-on National Motocross track with gnarly rutted-out jumps and straights, it wasn't like our typically simple So Cal MX trackmore like something out of the Northwest or back East. Here the RM-Z never did anything funny and handled the ruts with aplomb. It gained about 15 pounds of mud after the first lap, but still felt light and flickable. The suspension handled the choppy conditions rather well. It was very balanced and resisted bottoming on jumps with kicker bumps on the backsides.
Our first half-day on the bike lasted into the night till we got kicked off the track, but we're camping out and hitting it as the sun comes up tomorrow. Check back in a few days for a full-blown 2005 Suzuki RM-Z450 bike test right here. Meanwhile it's RM-Z roosting!