Multiple World Motocross Champion Mickael Pichon was impressed with his recent test of the new Suzuki RM-Z250 four-stroke motocross machine at England's Canada Heights circuit.
"The whole bike feels good. The engine is comparable to a 125 two-stroke but I feel there is much more power and especially more torque. It's unbelievable how fast you can turn and the traction is always there," said the 2001 and 2002 World Motocross Champion.
"You can ride that thing as fast as my RM250. It's easy, maybe not faster, but you feel like the bike is on automatic - there is nothing to do on it. You use the auto shift and that's it. It lets you focus a lot on your riding, on your lines and technique. You can test lines that you maybe never thought about before on the two-stroke - it's really a magic bike. But on the other hand sometimes you don't have so much reaction as on the 2-stroke, but for sure you know it's so easy that it seems like everyone can go fast with that bike,"
"I can see that I can make up the time coming into the turns. I can turn on the acceleration so much earlier and get on the power so much quicker. There are times when I am still almost braking on the two-stroke but I am already on the gas on the four-stroke and nothing's gone wrong, but when I try to accelerate slowly on the 250 I can't make the turn."
"Physically it's such an effort to ride on the slippery tracks. On the two-stroke you need to control the bike and ride it hard, and it's a very difficult effort and you get tired, but on the four-stroke you just go. The power output seems to help the stability.
"There doesn't seem to be so much suspension movement in the turn. On the two-stroke, when you shut off it's very light and flighty. On the four-stroke its moving, but much softer so you know when you shut off you still have some traction,"
"It's very light and is good for jumping, which surprised me because you hear sometimes that the four-stroke is not so good for this. I can't wait to try it in supercross. I'm sure it will be good for that because you can do pretty much what you want with jumping and the response is pretty good. It's so easy. It's light, it feels like a 125. You can turn short and with the torque and traction it's easier to ride than a 125. You can put your wheel where you want and you can focus on your lines."
"The 4-stroke feels as responsive as my 250 when jumping which is good because I like jumping and supercross. You actually jump lower than on the two-stroke because with the engine braking it feels like it stops shorter. You have the power - just what you need but not too much. It's not too aggressive."
"It's easy to start - if anything easier than on the 250 two-stroke - just don't kick it too hard. It starts better when it's hot than cold and in a race situation there would be no panic to restart the machine.
"It's very good, I was impressed and I hope I can get one soon. It's just perfect!"
The Suzuki RM-Z250 is due to arrive in Australia next month in Suzuki's traditional Champion Yellow colour. Its price will be announced closer to its arrival.
Intresting topic
The Suzuki RM-Z250 looks good in holding its ground. I hope to read more about it later on.