Suzuki injects 2010 power
By TMX Archives on 26th Aug 09
THE 2010 season is on its way and that can only mean one thing for me - writes JOHNNO WHITE - more bike tests! Which isn't a bad thing at all. Lets face it, batting round top tracks on brand new bikes isn't exactly hard work (so you won't want paying then Johnno...Ed!)...so last week I sped down the M6, veered onto the M5, came off at J6 and headed straight for Apex Moto Park in order to get first shot on the brand new 2010 Suzuki RM-Z450...
Now, I admit I'm a bit of a sucker for Suzukis and actually have a 2009 one myself, so I was really interested in seeing how the factory could improve it even more. First impressions were, "OK, so this year Suzuki have just gone for a different colour scheme and slightly sharper graphics and seat cover, not forgetting a red bar pad..." Nothing too exciting there then.
But when you actually give the bike a proper inspection you can see that the frame has been treated to some pretty serious changes. We all know that the handling of a bike is just as important as having loads of useable power and as Suzuki already have plenty of horsepower tucked inside the motor of their race proven RM-Z450, they decided to concentrate on the chassis for 2010.
The well-known twin-spar aluminium alloy frame has received several improvements in order to, as the factory say, optimize rigidity, Firstly, the headstock is now a two piece design that sits 9mm taller than the previous model while the back of the frame - or the sub-frame as we like to call it - has been made wider to also increase rigidity. And to top that off, just to ensure all is definitely nice and rigid a wider frame bridge underneath the seat has been added to make the frame even stronger.
Yes, we mock, but actually all these frame mods somehow combine to bring about a definite improvement and I noticed the difference almost straight away. Once out on the track I found the headstock mod was the most beneficial because I felt I could pull myself further forward towards the tank in tighter corners and then over the jumps it was a lot easier to manoeuvre the bike in the air. So from a practical point of view I reckon these mods to the frame have certanily worked. The seating position is still the same as before but the handlebars are in a slightly higher position now due to the 9mm higher headstock.
The suspension has had some tweeks as well and benefitted from some minor changes to the spring rate and valving to work. These, in conjunction with the new chassis changes, give the overall handling of the new bike a more comfortable feel when you ride it.
I found the suspension has a nice precise feel to it although towards the end of the day the rear spring was bedding in and needed tightening down a couple of rings which, once completed made the bike feel a lot sharper in the corners.
The brakes were also sharp, as you would expect with a new bike and the handlebar and lever position was almost perfect - but with three other riders all fighting over the same bike at the test we all liked them in different positions. Not something that will bother you when you have got your own! The brakes now feature very factory-looking Wavey discs. Oh, and a beefy and useful o-ring chain is also fitted to the 2010 model.
One thing I didn't like was the standard grips but only because they gave me blisters, so it could be just because I'm a wimp! But if you don't like them either, it isn't the end of the world to fit a set of your favourite after-market grips, suitable for softies.
"What about the power on this beast?" I hear you say. Well, once fired into life I'm pleased to say that it's just as impressive as ever and the standard exhaust has a real crisp rumble to it. When I kicked it up, straight away the sound of the RM-Z450 is spot-on and as I rode off on it I could instantly tell how well the fuel injection system was set up. Simply, the power of a fuel injected bike has a different feel to it than a carb-fed bike. There is no 'boggy' moment when you land hard off big jumps and the response from the engine room is immediate when powering out of corners.
Talking of powering out of corners, the five-speed box is bang-on too. Bottom gear is only used for trickling along to the startline. Second is then good for bolting out of the gate and then to be honest, at Apex I just used third and fourth for the whole track. Each gear is pretty 'long' plus a 450 has so much torque that I only needed to use the two gears. On a bigger track like Finningley I'd have been grabbing top and going for it. When Suzuki changed from a carb to efi it also switched from four speed to five and it really is an excellent box.
Within just a few laps I could see that Suzuki has also improved the power on the new bike as well as the handling. Firstly, the throttle linkage has been treated to some minor mods, made in order to improve low speed throttle response which has the effect of making the overall control of the bike out of the corners a much easier task.
Next thing to happen to the motor is a combination of head mods comprising re-working the cylinder head porting and a set of revised cams with different profiles which makes the new bike rev on a lot more which enables you to hang on to each gear a little bit longer and on the track I could deffo feel a diference. I found that rather than trying to lift-up out the corners on the front end, it just wanted to pull. It really is rather impressive. The fuel injection system has also been modified which also adds to the the overall sharp, responsive feel to the 2010 model. And remember, Suzuki were first to junk the carb and go the efi route on their 450 so they have plenty of experience and desire to stay ahead of the game.
So although on paper and at first glance it looks like Suzuki haven't made that many changes to the 2010 MX1 offering, in actual fact in real life they have improved it noticeably and in my humble opinion, having ridden them all to date, I have no hesitation in stating that this is the best ever RM-Z450!
SPECIFICATIONS 2010 model Suzuki RM-Z450
ENGINE
Type: Single cylinder liquid-cooled, DOHC four-stroke
Bore: 96.0 mm x 62.1 mm
Capacity: 449cc
Compression ratio: 12.2 : 1
Lubrication: Suzuki Advanced Sump System
Fuel system: Fuel injection
Transmission: 5-speed constant mesh
Drive: Chain
CHASSIS
Front: Showa 47mm inverted tele-scopic forks, pneumatic/ coil spring, oil damped
Rear: Swingarm with link type suspension system & Showa piggyback-reservoir shock
Front brakes: Disc
Rear brakes: Disc brake
Front tyre: 80/100-21
Rear tyre: 110/90-19
DIMENSIONS
Overall length: 2,190mm
Overall width: 830mm
Overall height: 1,270mm
Wheelbase: 1,495mm
Seat height: 955mm
Kerb mass: 113kg
Fuel capacity: 6.2 litres
Specification: