Exclusive: We ride the 2010 FI Suzuki RM-Z250

Rumors have been floating around lately about Suzuki not offering a 2010 RM-Z next year, or would eventually show up as a 2011, skipping 2010 altogether, but we can officially squelch that bit of gossip after having just finished spending the day riding the all-new fuel-injected 2010 Suzuki RM-Z250 at Milestone MX Park in California.

Basically, everything on the bike has been changed; pretty much the only major part that is interchangeable with the previous RM-Z is the front fender.

"It's all new for 2010," said Suzuki rep Mike Webb. "We looked closely at what was said about our previous units and how we could improve it. The main thing was suspension settings - we got beat up a little on the lighter settings we had previously. It was set up for lighter riders. We addressed that with spring rates and valving changes.

"As far as the motor, we had great bottom-end and roll-on - everybody loved the bike for that, but we were lacking top-end for faster riders and the serious competitors. We addressed that with a new motor, it's brand new from the ground up."

The most significant change is going to a fuel-injection fuel system, which is nearly identical to the system found in the 2009 RM-Z450.

"The main thing for a 250 four-stroke is that fuel-injection eliminates the bog factor, which was the big fear factor with 250s in the past," Webb said. "When you do a jump and have to jump out again, there was that scary bog there, that hesitation, but that's now gone. Plus, with fuel-injection, you have easier starting and you have the ability for compensation for the altitude and different atmospheric conditions."

We had our number-one tester, expert motocrosser Jason Abbott, who actually owns a 2007 RM-Z250, come out to the track, and we made him (yeah right, he was the first one at the track this morning!) ride the bike until he just couldn't take another lap, and for Abbott, that's a lot of laps.

He was overall quite impressed with the RM-Z after his first day on the bike.

"I think Suzuki made big improvements over previous years," he said. "The first thing that I noticed over the previous years was the stiffer suspension. They made it better for bigger riders. I believe it is set up for about 175 pounds, which is about right. It's not too stiff, but stiff enough. A beginner through expert can ride this bike stock with no problems. I'm about 190 pounds but had no problems getting it dialed in for my weight.

"Overall, the suspension felt really balanced," he said. "On the clickers, I did go in two (clicks) stiffer on the forks, and had the forks positioned even in the triple clamps. We went two slower on the rebound in the rear and turned the high-speed compression in a quarter turn to raise the back end to prevent the front from feeling choppered out when exiting and entering the corners. It has a little bit of a chopper feeling at first."