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."

The RM-Z has always been known for its razor-sharp turning, and it hasn't lost any of its cornering prowess.

"It turns excellent," said Abbott. "I'm almost getting to the point where I'm almost leaning over too far and getting too comfortable with leaning the bike over in the corners. I'm catching my leg in the ruts - I can't get my leg up any more because it's already touching the bars. I'm really comfortable with the cornering on the Suzuki.

"I'm not really pumped on the front tire, however. I kind of feels a little skatey - about a quarter to midway through the corners it seems kind of like it has a mind of its own."

Abbott had plenty of good things to say about the new motor.

"The power is excellent. It's typical Suzuki power - real easy to use, real user-friendly. But it snaps really hard off the bottom and pulls really quick into the midrange. It has really good bottom-to-mid pull, which in previous years, I thought, kind of fell on its face on the bottom even though it had okay low end. The transmission ratios, they changed it up a little better. I'm riding the whole track in third and fourth gear. All corners I'm in third, carrying speed through the corners, and the straight-aways wide open in fourth."

"My bike has (aftermarket) pipes and cams on it right now, so it has more aggressive pull on the top, but getting to the top, the '10 is a lot better. Not so much getting there quicker, but the power delivery getting to the mid-to-top is a lot better. But it does get there a little quicker, too. It's a little hard to explain, but it's all good.

"The top end doesn't rev out really, really fast, but it's in the middle where you want to be. Once you get to the mid, you're good, but still, overall, the power is really good, too. You can short-shift it, leave it wide open, you can do whatever you want and the power is always there."

As mentioned, the FI system is nearly identical to the '09 RM-Z450, except for three plugs that come with the bike now that changes the three pre-programmed mapping settings. The plug is located behind the left radiator and can be easily changed in seconds. There's a "standard" plug for average conditions, there's a "thin" (lean) plug for high humidity and such, and a "rich" plug for "constant high-rpm" riding. Each plug is colored differently. We ran the bike with the rich plug.

"The fuel-injection is awesome," Abbott said. "It's everything I think that the bike needed. It woke the bottom-end up, and it helps you get to the meat of the power - in the middle - better. Throttle response is great and there is no bog whatsoever. Even if I was coming out of a corner and shifting up to fourth off a jump, then landing, I couldn't get it to bog at all."

About the only complaint Abbott had with the bike was shifting.

"The tranny is still notchy, like Suzukis are," he said. "Hopefully that will get better once you break it in a little bit. I feel it all the way through the tranny. Even if you're cruising, shifting in second or third, you can feel it - it just doesn't have a positive feel. It's like there is a notch somewhere in the shifting mechanism, something isn't working exactly smooth. The bike wouldn't want to shift into third a couple of times under power. It's kind of irritating. However, it did seem to loosen up a bit at the end of the day."

Suzuki's are also known for their neutral ergonomics and comfortable riding position, these traditions continue.

"Overall, it feels like all the other Suzukis - it's real comfortable," Abbott said. "I don't know if they lowered the footpegs or something, but it feels like there might be a little bit more leg room from top to bottom, from the peg to the top of the seat, compared to my bike. It doesn't feel small or cramped. I'm 5'11", about 190 pounds and I feel right at home on it."

Controls and braking feel is good, too. "The front brake is a little spongy, but I adjusted the lever out forward, so I could get to the sweet spot in the middle, before it felt too spongy. The rear brake is good. Clutch pull and action is really, really butter."

Abbott summed up his first day on the 2010 RM-Z250: "Overall, it's definitely an improvement over previous years. Power is awesome, it's definitely competitive with the other (2010) 250Fs and I've ridden them all now. As far as the overall package - the suspension, chassis and the motor - it's going to be really competitive this year. It's not going to be the bike no one wants to ride at the shootouts; it's definitely going to be one of the bikes. The RM-Z has always been good in the corners, but this year, it's good everywhere else. I believe it's going to give everyone a run for their money."

The RM-Z250, however, won't be released to dealers until February or March of next year, so the wait is still on. Suzuki has not yet announced a suggested retail price.

Specifications

2010 Suzuki RM-Z250

ENGINE TYPE:       Four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, single

BORE x STROKE:      77.0mm x 53.6mm

DISPLACEMENT:      249cc

COMPRESSION RATIO:       13.5:1

FUEL SYSTEM:          Fuel-injection

AIR CLEANER:          Polyurethane foam element

STARTER SYSTEM:  Primary kick

LUBRICATION SYSTEM:     Semi-dry sump

TRANSMISSION:      5-speed constant mesh

CLUTCH:        Wet multi disc

FINAL DRIVE:           D.I.D #520 Chain 49/13

IGNITION:      Electronic CDI

FRAME:          Aluminum, perimeter

RAKE/TRAIL: 30-degree/5.5 in.

HANDLEBARS:          Aluminum Renthal tapered Fatbar

FRONT SUSPENSION:         Showa

REAR SUSPENSION:            Single shock, Showa

FRONT BRAKE:        Single, dual-piston disc

REAR BRAKE:           Single, single-piston disc

FRONT TIRE: Dunlop 742FA 80/100-21 in.

REAR TIRE:    Dunlop 756 100/90-19

O/A LENGTH:            85.4 in.

O/A WIDTH:   32.7 in.

O/A HEIGHT:  50 in.

WHEELBASE:            58.1 in.

GROUND CLEARANCE:      13.6 in.

SEAT HEIGHT:           37.6 in.

CLAIMED CURB WEIGHT:  231 lbs.

FUEL CAPACITY:     1.7 gal.