Can an exhaust, ECU, and suspension revalve make Yellow’s 250F motocrosser less mellow and firm, and more fun to ride? We test one with such mods to find out.
Video By: Mason Owens
Read more from Dirt Rider: https://www.dirtrider.com/
Video By: Mason Owens
Read more from Dirt Rider: https://www.dirtrider.com/
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00:00 What's up everyone? Andrew Loyer with Dirt Rider and today we're at Glen Helen Raceway
00:11 testing a 2024 Suzuki RMZ250 project bike. Jay, you're the man behind the build, why
00:16 don't you take us through it? Well, as you know, these bikes haven't changed a lot, but
00:19 they're still really good bikes in a lot of ways. We've got quite a bit of time on these
00:24 bikes over the last few years and we had one last year, all year, and it's really durable.
00:28 I had my helper guy, Cody, he raced the thing a bunch, and we actually have his number on
00:32 here this year, and raced it a bunch and the things are kind of bulletproof as far as that
00:38 part goes. There's a lot of pros to these bikes because they are durable and they're
00:43 a little bit slower in this class, but you can ride the things wide open and you're going
00:47 to be safe. So that part's really good. And Jamie at Twisted, he builds race bikes for
00:52 some of the race teams on these bikes and makes them pretty dang good because these
00:55 things do have really good torque stock. We wanted to keep the mods fairly simple, low
00:59 cost. We just have an ECU from Jamie at Twisted. That's really the main mod we have. And then
01:05 the FMF pipe and with our header, we used the header from last year. Luke Santos, MX
01:09 reefer, he buffed it off for us and it looks all nice. Got a new FMF muffler on there.
01:14 And the big problem with these things stock, as you know, is the suspension. It's kind
01:18 of gnarly. For stock suspension, surprise, they haven't softened this thing up. It's
01:22 almost unrideable. I don't know what your test riders have all said, but I kind of get
01:26 that impression that it's pretty tough. So race tech, we had a good setting last year
01:30 and we went back and got the same kind of thing going. Okay, so for this build, I want
01:34 to keep it like again, pretty bulletproof. We sent the radiators off to ICW to get them
01:38 strengthened up so it's going to be strong, good for the whole race season for us. Pro
01:42 X chain and sprockets. We run the stock gearing. We have the stock Dunlop tires on there. This
01:48 thing being brand new, it's pretty, pretty nice. So that with a lot of our extra bits,
01:52 our ODI bars that we like, our lock on, these are Emig V2 grips, which are really cool.
01:58 Okay, so on this bike, we got a really cool looking look from Decalworks on the graphics.
02:03 And as you know, these Suzuki still look really cool no matter what. They look really cool.
02:09 And Moto Seat made us a custom seat cover to match. We have our works connection bits
02:12 on here, some bling pieces, but also the clutch cable elite perch setup is really cool. I
02:18 love these bikes. And we also have their whole shot device on here. And just an amazing looking
02:22 bike and got our scar foot pegs that we recycled from last year as well. Got those vapor blasted
02:27 from Sano metal finishing and we got those back on here. So we've recycled a few parts
02:31 and I think you're really going to like this thing on the track. Yeah, as you mentioned,
02:35 it looks great. And, and again, you mentioned earlier about the suspension. These are great
02:39 components. Yeah, just a little softer. I'm really looking forward to that FMF pipe twisted
02:44 development to DCU. Should be a fun time. So we'll go spend some laps and get back to
02:50 you guys here in a little bit. Stay tuned.
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05:34 All right. So we just finished up a day on Jays 2024 Suzuki RMZ 250 and man, what a fun
05:41 day it was. Starting with the engine, twisted development with this ECU. Jamie really got
05:47 this thing dialed in. The main thing I noticed was snappier throttle response, a little quicker
05:52 than stock. This bike does kind of have a heavier feeling engine character, but with
05:56 Jamie's twisted development tuned ECU, it gave it a bit more of a lively feel. So that
06:03 was appreciated. Very linear and a great bottom end power as the stock RMZ 250 has. And along
06:10 with the ECU, Jay also installed a full FMF exhaust system here. And not only does this
06:16 thing sound great and look great, but it just really allows the engine to breathe. And with
06:21 this titanium silencer, I wouldn't be surprised if it saved a pound or two over stock. So
06:26 that's, again, all awesome stuff. Moving on to the suspension, these are great components
06:31 to begin with. KYB 48 millimeter coil spring fork and KYB shock here with a triple adjuster
06:37 body up top. The problem is, is in stock trim, especially for a lighter rider like myself,
06:43 it's just way too stiff. The fork spring rate stock is five Newton meters, which is what
06:47 most 450s have in stock trim. So Jay had Racetech go through it, kind of soften it up and definitely
06:55 noticed that familiar KYB plush feel that we're used to on say like a Yamaha YZ250F
07:01 or YZ450F, which they always nail on the stock settings. And Jay, again, with Racetech, knocked
07:08 it out there. So that plusher feel, but still a good bottoming resistance. There was a time
07:12 or two where I went a little long on some jumps and it just soaked it up no problem,
07:17 but maintained that plush feel and was still very progressive. So props to Racetech on
07:22 a great job there. And as far as the ergonomics, I mean, Jay, he usually does a gripper seat,
07:28 which was awesome, my moto seat here. The works connection clutch perch just has a nice
07:32 feel for your clutch finger. So that's appreciated. Plus it has a quick adjuster that's, again,
07:38 easier to tune than stock. You can just twist it real easily. So that was appreciated as
07:43 well. And then these titanium foot pegs Jay installed, man, you can perform a play on
07:47 those things. They're nice, large, grippy, and a really nice platform to put your feet
07:52 on when you're out there motoing. As far as tires, Jay left the stock Dunlop Geomax MX33s
08:00 on there, which a quick fun fact, the RMZ250 back in 2019 was the first production bike
08:05 to come with those tires. So very cool to see that, what, five years later now, same
08:10 bike and same great tires. So those were awesome. And of course, what's a great project bike
08:16 without an awesome appearance? And again, Jay knocked it out of the park there. Decal
08:20 works crushed it, a lot of yellow here in true Suzuki fashion. So very cool there as
08:25 well. So that wraps up for testing Jay Clark's 2024 Suzuki RMZ250. And man, what a fun build
08:31 it was. Thanks so much to him for having us out to test it. I had a really great time.
08:35 Thanks to Glen Helen Raceway for having us. The track was amazing, great conditions, great
08:39 weather. And again, that'll wrap it up. So thank you all for tuning in. If you enjoyed
08:43 watching this video, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe, and we'll see you in the next
08:47 one.
08:48 Transcribed by https://otter.ai