The Torture Test – ProMoto Billet Fastway Performance Working Man’s Ultimate Suzuki RM-Z450 – Dirt Rider Magazine

ProMoto Billet/ Fastway Performance team captain Rory Sullivan set a blistering pace on the RM-Z450 around the Escargot course, and then followed it up with a respectable time at the motocross test. Suffice it to say, Rory ain’t scared.

About the Bike:
Each year around this time, we patiently wait for our invite to the 24 hour/Torture Test. We just never know what kind of a new spin Jimmy has dreamed up. When the e-mail arrived, we all crowded around the computer. “Build the Ultimate Bike”…We hadn’t even finished reading the entire e-mail before the brainstorming started. What does the “Ultimate” bike mean to us? Horsepower, suspension, titanium, bling, flash….it all got tossed around.After an hour of brainstorming, we all calmed in a state of post adrenalin bliss and gave each other a reality check….we had all seen articles on the bikes of the stars. Money is no object when you race for your paycheck with factory backing. However, none of us here at ProMoto Billet/Fastway Performance enjoy that luxury. Money “is” an object and most of the extra already goes to support our riding habit. We are all working guys who love to go ride every free minute we get. Okay, so with the reality check of being working guys, what is the ultimate bike? This changed the conversation immensely. A new word popped out of our mouths…affordable. The “Ultimate” bike for us would be affordable.Instead of having the most horsepower, the quest would be for useable horsepower. A motor that would allow you to place in the top of the expert class at a motocross and still allow you to trail ride on the weekend; a motor that is so butter smooth you can ride all day long, a motor that is always crisp and jetted spot on, a motor that is reliable and has reasonable maintenance intervals and costs…that would be the ultimate.Suspension? Same thing. Flexible enough to allow a fifth gear blast across the desert without giving you baboon butt at the end of a 60 mile trail ride.Our “Ultimate” bike would need to be durable as well. If we want to take a week and go ride, we don’t want to replace bent parts and worn out pieces. We would need protection in the right places.Of course, none of us would have an ultimate bike that didn’t look good. There had to be some budget for bling.So with these items in mind, we started our quest for the “Ultimate Working Man’s Bike”.First on the agenda was to choose a base platform. We needed a bike that was durable, proven, powerful and affordable. To fit these criteria we chose the Suzuki RM-Z450. This is the one bike with fuel injection that has had a year of proven durability. We were lucky enough to spend a week with Paul Whibley and Jimmy Jarrett of Factory Suzuki last year. These guys showed up to ride an exhibition Endurocross, play ride, practice, and race the Iowa round of the OMA with one RM-Z450 each. They didn’t have a practice bike or a truckload of parts. They rode them, washed them off and raced them on the weekend placing first and second. Pretty impressive! In addition, the 2008 and 2009 are virtually identical which allows a person to purchase a leftover 08 at a sizeable discount….affordable.Next on the agenda was to get the suspension set up for the “Ultimate” bike. Since we sponsor a large contingent of amateur riders, we get an inside track on what really works for them. Amateurs are usually racing the same suspension any one of us can get over the counter. They don’t have the luxury of factory mechanics and special one-off parts. They need affordable suspension that works on a variety of terrain. After quizzing many of our riders, one name kept popping up…Travis Flateau and TBT Racing. Travis has been around the industry for many years and has worked with Subway Honda and other top teams. He provides great suspension at reasonable rates and treats each customer like a factory racer.Our focus next turned to the heart of our machine. Although we all like big horsepower, we felt the stock power of the RMZ was adequate for most of our needs. None of our paychecks depend on getting the holeshot on Saturday. We would much rather ride smooth all day and have energy left to take our spouses to dinner in the evening. Our efforts in the motor department were geared towards this smooth forgiving horsepower that pulls you to the front of the pack, but doesn’t wear you out. The Suzuki RM-Z450 is known to have great low to mid power, but tends to flatten out on top. Our experience and input from others “in-the-know” suggest that an aftermarket head-pipe can increase the top-end and provide a little more over-rev. Most aftermarket head-pipes will mount right up to the stock silencer. This is a very affordable way to get improved performance. It also allows a person to mount the very affordable ProMoto Billet spark arrestor end-cap which provides a great spark arrestor solution while providing excellent power characteristics. In addition, the ProMoto Billet Endcap can be fitted with two different ProMoto Billet silent inserts. The first insert uses a deflection technique to direct the sound towards the ground which effectively uses the ground as a sound damper. The second option, the Ultra Silent Insert, provides additional backpressure as well as the deflection technique.In addition to the exhaust upgrade, managing the heat transfer to the air-fuel system can provide significant performance benefits. We have all experienced the nice crisp feel of our bikes on a cool morning and the flat feeling on a hot muggy day. We contacted Steven Heye at Heat Shield Products for recommendations on header wrap and air-fuel system insulation products. He sent us out some of his new Lava Header Wrap made with volcanic rock (What else would we have from the high deserts of Idaho?). He also sent us some matting to insulate the fuel tank and air box as well as an insulation sleeve for the fuel line. This will keep our air-fuel charge cool and dense under all conditions. It will also reduce radiant heat transfer to the engine resulting in a slight reduction in engine operating temperature.To further address heating issues, we added a Boyesen Supercooler water pump. The design of this water pump insures the best coolant flow and reduces the chances of overheating. We also used CV4 silicone one-piece radiator hoses. The one piece silicone hoses eliminate the plastic tee in the radiator lines which is a known weak link. It also allows us to run a higher pressure cap from CV4 to reduce boil-over.The final power item is the addition of a No-Toil Air Filter and Power-Up kit. This helps the bike breathe and the water based filter treatment makes filter cleaning a breeze.For tires we all agreed the Dunlop 756 front and rear combination was a great choice. After many years of riding, we all felt these tires provide an excellent combination of durability and traction.

Ryan Orr praised the RM-Z for its solid motor, but just couldn’t get used to the suspension setup. Still, Orr threw down some great trail test times aboard the PMB Suzuki.

There is one item that really doesn’t fall into the performance or the bling category, but in our opinion, no bike should be without. That is a ProMoto Billet Kickstand. We are not sure where along the way it became a good idea to buy a new bike and then lay it on its side or tote around a big bulky stand. The ProMoto Billet Kickstand swings up out of the way and will not come down in even the worst flat landing. It tucks up behind the number plate on most bikes and the improved 2009 model features a 20% lighter leg.There is one part that is imperative in making this bike the “Ultimate” all around machine. This bike will be subjected to a top-speed test, which penalizes low gearing. The bike will also be subjected to an extreme enduro test which penalizes high gearing. How do we build a bike that can rail the desert at 70 miles per hour, but still chug through the enduro sections? This is where the Rekluse automatic clutch comes into play. Since the Rekluse mimics great low-speed clutch control, it helps eliminate the bogging and flame-out usually experienced with a tall geared motocross bike. It also helps eliminate rider fatigue by lowering clutch requirements.Everyone likes the steering on the Suzuki claiming it can turn on a dime. However it has also been characterized as a little nervous at high speed. To make the “Ultimate” bike that turns on a dime and has great high speed stability, we added an Elka Steering damper. Elka has spent many years perfecting the technology which provides consistent feel and excellent tunability.Since this is the all-around “Ultimate” bike, it would not be complete without additional fuel capacity. IMS is well known for making tanks that increase fuel capacity without being bulky. Their solution for the RMZ is 2.6 gallons, innovative, sleek and right on target.One of the durability areas that we usually address on any new bike are the sprockets and chain. Suzuki already provides a great DID o-ring chain. It is nice to see an OEM provide a high quality chain from the factory. To insure the ultimate longevity of this system, we contacted the guys at Dirt Tricks for a Stainless Steel Ironman Sprocket set that features a one-year guarantee. The o-ring chain and the quality sprockets insure your long ride is not cut short with a stretched chain.Arguably the most important components on a motorcycle are the points where the rider and the motorcycle meet. These points of contact are the footpegs, the hand grips, and the seat; although most of us have touched many other parts of the bike at some point. Regardless of how good a bike is or how good a rider is both the bike and rider must work together to achieve outstanding performance. For footpegs, the Fastway EVO3 pegs are the ultimate solution. The wide surface provides a nice comfortable platform and the replaceable cleats provide three options to insure you always have the ultimate traction. In addition, the pegs can be lowered for taller riders to provide a little more leg room. The pegs are stainless steel which results in a durable peg that can take a hit and not result in a DNF at the track or on the trail. To increase durability, we added a set of Acerbis footpeg pivot covers to keep the muck out of the pivots. For the grips, we chose the Renthal Dual Compound Grips with Kevlar. These grips provide great wear resistance and a nice soft tacky feel. For the seat, we chose the Stomp designs seat cover which provides additional traction for those times when the knees need to lock on.Of course our opinion of the “Ultimate” bike is influenced by where we live and ride. Riding in the deserts and mountains of Idaho, sometimes there is not enough daylight to experience all our state has to offer. Besides, would the “Ultimate” bike really be without a headlight? We chose the new LED Vision headlight from Acerbis. Not only does it fit well with the styling of the RM-Z, but it provides great fitment and excellent all purpose lighting.The only things left to take care of were protection and bling. At ProMoto Billet and Fastway Performance, we specialize in functional parts that enhance and protect your riding experience. The “Ultimate” bike must have good hand protection. Fastway Performance provides the toughest hand guards available. The inner mount is connected to the handlebar clamp and provides resistance to rotation while allowing the bars to flex for vibration damping. A new part for ProMoto Billet/Fastway is the Evo Case Saver. This evolution of the case saver attaches to the frame at the upper chain roller which transfers the chain energy into the frame during a failure. This reduces the chance of mass destruction during a chain breakage. For skid plate, engine guards and radiator guards we chose the components offered by Works Connection. These parts are a functional work of art. The fit is perfect and the design is well thought out. We were not interested in adding weight to the bike that did not also have a function. The quality components from Works Connection fit this bill. Also falling into the category of well designed functional parts are a front brake rotor guard from Acerbis and a rear brake rotor guard from Zip-Ty racing.The final focus for us was the bling components. First and foremost, the “Ultimate” bike has to look like the ultimate bike. We turned the graphics requirements over to Patrick at RidePG.com. RidePG.com has great artistic style and provides durable graphics that protect the plastic. Their new Riverside design was the perfect combination for our “Ultimate” bike. There are many companies offering trick little anodized aluminum components. We stuck with the class leader, Works Connection. The brake covers and engine fill plugs really set off the color theme of the bike. In years past, we have stripped our wheels down, anodized the rims and powder-coated the hubs. This provides an affordable good looking wheelset but takes a lot of time and elbow grease. Due to time constraints, we chose not to undertake that effort this year. Luckily we came across the wheelsets offered by Warp 9. These great looking wheels come in a variety of colors and are durable and affordable. The Warp 9 wheels come with brake rotors and a sprocket and are basically ready to run. For the “Ultimate” bike, it is nice to have an extra set of wheels with fresh tires. Trust me…this bike is going to get some miles put on it.

www.promotobillet.com; 1-866-466-4762
Kick-It Kickstand: $149.95
Spark Arrestor End-cap: $134.95
EVO3 Footpegs: $129.95
FIT Version 3 Handguard Syst.: $129.95
FIT DMADA Graphics: $14.95
Evo Case Saver: $ TBDWorks Connection: www.worksconnection.com; 1-530-642-9488
Skid Plate: $69.95
Rear Master Cylinder Guard: $32.00
Radiator Braces (pair): $59.95
EZ Holeshot: $109.95
Engine Plugs , two piece set: $39.95
Engine Guards (pair): $125.00
Aluminum Rear Caliper Guard: $29.95
Brake Reservoir Cap – Front: $19.25
Brake Reservoir Cap – Rear: $24.95
Elite Perch: $139.95
Rotating Bar Clamps: $65.00TBT Racing: www.tbtracing.com; 1-951-707-7837
Shock Revalve: $215.00
Fork Revalve: $185.00Heatshield Products: www.heatshieldproducts.com; 1-760-751-0441
Lava Mat Tank/Air Box Insulation: $31.42 (2 sq. feet)
Lava Wrap Header Wrap: $39.70 (2×25 feet)
Thermal Ties: $16.42 (6 Pack)
Reflecta Sleeve: $16.59 (1/2″x 3 feet)Elka Suspension: www.elkasuspension.com; 1-800-557-0552
Elka System 3 Steering Damper: $495.00Dunlop Tires: www.dunlopmotorcycle.com
Dunlop 756 120/80-19: $122.95
Dunlop 756 80/100-21: $104.95Rekluse: www.rekluse.com; 1-866-735-5873
Rekluse Z-Pro Clutch: $629.00
Rekluse Billet Clutch Cover: $139.00Dirt Tricks Sprockets: www.dirttricks.com; 1-775-783-1750
Ironman Rear Sprocket: $109.00
Front Sprocket: $37.00CV Powersports: www.cv4.net; 1-888-835-3322
Silicone Radiator Hose Kit: $119.14
CV High Pressure Cap: $19.95IMS Products: www.imsproducts.com; 1-800-237-9906
2.6 Gal Fuel Tank: $274.95RidePG: www.ridepg.com; 1-800-903-6764
Riverside Graphics Kit: $199.00Acerbis: www.acerbis.com; 1-800-659-1440
Front Disk Guard: $29.95
LED Vision Headlight: $149.95
Footpeg Covers: $24.95Stomp Design: www.stompdesign.com; 1-888-612-5240
Seat Cover: $TBD
Traction Pads: $46.34Warp 9 Racing: www.warp9racing.com; 1-801-706-5680
Rear Wheel W/Rotor: $379.00
Front Wheel W/Rotor: $365.00Boyesen Engineering: www.boyesen.com ; 1-800-441-1177
Supercooler Water Pump: $219.95No Toil: www.notoil.com; 1-877-668-6451
Power-up Air Filter Kit: $79.95Zip-Ty Racing: www.ziptyracing.com; 1-760-244-7028
Shark Fin Rear Disk Guard: $130.00FMF Racing: www.fmfracing.com; 1-310-631-4363
Powerbomb SS Headpipe: $199.95