New Suzuki Motocrossers 125 and 250cc

Lately, it seems that when Suzuki redesigns a competition motorcycle, its attention to detail is phenomenal. Well, the same attention to detail has gone into Suzuki’s redesign of its 2001 RM 125 and 250 motocrossers.

With all the buzz about four-stroke motocrossers (and, yes, we think Suzuki is on the way with its own), the two-stroke motocross bikes — the backbone of American and international motocross for many years — are getting pushed to the back of motorcycle publications. For this reason, it is somewhat surprising that Suzuki has completely redesigned (literally from the ground up) its 2001 RM 125 and 250 two-stroke motocross models.

The 250 receives Kayaba forks and shock this year (using Showa components last year). The new forks are nearly two pounds lighter, and feature the air bladder system first used by Kawasaki last year. The detail refinements are so numerous I can only hit the highlights. The brake rotors have been redesigned, both front and rear, and the rear brake master cylinder is redesigned. The fenders and front number plate are new (saving several ounces of weight, believe it or not), the front wheel hub is new (again, contributing nearly 50 grams in weight loss), the chain, rear brake pedal, and several other details have been redesigned for either better performance or lighter weight (or both).

The 125 also has an entirely new frame and redesigned suspension (although the 125 features Showa suspension components). The 125’s engine is also completely new. Displacing 124.8cc (with a bore of 54mm and a stroke of 54.5mm), the engine is roughly 1.7 pounds lighter and 21mm shorter than last year’s unit. Featuring a new 38mm Mikuni carburetor, revised intake tract, exhaust port timing and exhaust pipe, the new RM125 is claimed by Suzuki to be substantially more powerful than last year’s model. Most of the detail changes described for the 250 also apply to the 125. We did not calculate the overall weight loss for the 125, but it should be equally dramatic.