1978 Suzuki RM250C - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1978 Suzuki RM250C - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, Vintage Magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
• If you race last year’s Bike you're
» gonna lose; it’s as simple as’that. Never
mind that ’during the years the major
Japanese motorcycle manufacturers
" have been building motocrossers-^prof-
' liabilityhasn't exactly been something to
cause a'wall Street Robber Baron to lick
his lips; never mincfthatused .motocross-
ers are worth their weight.in used tooth-'
picks; never mind, that the sport'of
motocross has produced billions-of tons ~
of brightly^colored scrap metal in the form
of last year's models, which are- in all.
forms absolutely useless. Racing and .
technology reside cheek-to-jowi. Tech-
nology creates obsolescence; obsoles-
cence creates expensive scrap piles.
.-Suzuki has had as much to dq_with this
process of creation and obsolescence as
any other company. The RM 125 first
came to us in 1975, followed by the RM
250 and the RM 370. Each year all of them
have been updated and improved, each
change responsive to the call of the mar-
ketplace and to changes made by the
competition. Engines have grown more
potent; chassis have stiffened; suspen-
sions have become longer and longer-
legged, with better and better control.
The early RMs were good, but Suzuki—
to its credit—didn't kick back and slide
along on reputation. Suspension systems
were improved and engines with more
usable powerbands were developed. The
RMs have, as a result, been a powerful
influence in every class of motocross
competition. While other companies con-
centrated their firepower in one displace-
ment class at a time, Suzuki launched a
frontal assault across the entire moto-
cross field. Attention to every class has
made Suzuki the dominant bike by sheer
numbers alone. RM prices have been kept
competitive with other Japanese makes—
and hundreds of dollars less than com-
parable European MXers. Suzuki has of-
fered good, reliable machinery at bargain
prices and that has moved the RMs to
record sales. Last year just over 30 per
cent of all bikes Suzuki sold in the United
States were RMs.
This year Suzuki has pushed forward
again with their newest 250: the RM-C.
The air fork has finally made its ap-
pearance on Suzuki's RM250, and the
expansion chamber has been totally re-
worked to give the best powerband yet on
an RM250. The new bike doesn't look that
much different than last year's model—
but who cares about snappy cosmetic
changes when it's the inside job that gets
you on the winner's stand?
No other factory has used knowledge
gained on the Grand Prix and National
circuits as completely as Suzuki. This past
year the technical services branch was
given control of the racing and product
planning efforts. Roger DeCoster, five-
time 500cc World Motocross Champion,
Gaston Rahier, three-time 125cc World
Motocross Champion, and Tony DiStef-
ano, three-time 250cc National Motocross
Champion, all report to the same person,
and he plans what machinery will be
available at your local dealership. The
difference between what the factory
riders race and what the public can buy is
getting narrower. Gone is the excuse
everyone hears at a big race: "If I only had
a bike like Roger's I could . . . "While the
RM-C isn't a DeCoster replica, it is as
close as any factory has ever gotten.
The most visible change this year, and
the only significant one in the area of
suspension, is the addition of an air fork.
On last year's model the fork was of the
leading-axle type, but the sliders only ex-
tended about an inch past the center-line...
13533-AL-7801-04