MXMag built the ultimate fun bike: a Suzuki RM125
Yes, your favorite site left the laptop behind for a while and got its hands dirty on a project for the first time. We left our office and went into the workshop for a lot of tinkering. The choice fell on a Suzuki RM125 from 2006.
We have never built a motorcycle before, but the desire has been there for a while. The Suzuki RM125, together with the RM250, is the brand's last two-stroke. The RM was marketed in 2007 and 2008, but apart from some stickers the machine is the same as the 2006 one. The RM125 was a solid motocross bike in 2006, but due to the rise of the four-stroke cycle it no longer received the updates it deserved. . And that is exactly what we wanted to respond to with this project. The Suzuki was very reliable but still lacked some power compared to the KTM SX125 of the time.
Where did we want to go with this project? Well, the goal was to emphasize the qualities of this Soos. With its RM series, Suzuki has always built dirt bikes that steer very tightly when cornering. We certainly wanted to maintain that and improve it slightly. To make the power a bit more usable and the powerband a bit wider we opened the traditional bag of tricks by installing an aftermarket reed valve and exhaust but we wanted more, much more! The intention was for our readers to see what is possible to improve a standard dirt bike in many areas without having to take studies at the engineering level. In other words: we wanted to build the ultimate fun bike without extensive engine tuning.
So any “greasmonkey” with a toolbox can complete a similar project in the shed at the back of the garden. And we show you what is possible. We didn't spend a cent on this project, but we advise you to select the updates that are important to you. Some are purely visual and therefore do not contribute anything to the characteristics of the engine, but hey, it is up to you to decide what is important. We just wanted to show you what is possible with a 2006 engine.
And so it happened. The search for a suitable engine was short. After a few visits to potential candidates, we chose an RM125 that was in the collection of Outlaw Racing in Leeuwarden. You know them from them beautiful webshop. We had the machine shipped via transport because it was not possible to cross the border due to the corona rules. The 125 RM2006 turned out to be a very good example because when unpacked the engine appeared to have suffered little damage. There was a lot of compression, the engine started immediately and the footpegs were still hanging neatly in the frame without any play. With a worn-out crosser, they always hang at "half past six" and then you know it. Visually, the RM also suffered little. Some stone chips on the outer fork legs were about the only signs of use. That was a great start to this project.
The dirt bike is not ready yet and still needs a few things such as a sticker set, saddle and some adjustment work. You will hear from us again as soon as it is completely finished because we are happy to share all the details about this project. Moreover, we will give the bike to Nick Kouwenberg for an afternoon, who will put it to work on a motocross track. We are very curious what his verdict will be. Braaaaaaaap!
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