2021 Suzuki RM-Z450 Project Bike Riding Impression

Dirt Rider

The 2018–2021 Suzuki RM-Z450 is a diamond in the rough. We polish it up with some calculated engine and suspension modifications to see what it is capable of.  Read more from Dirt Rider: https://www.dirtrider.com/

Transcript

00:00 What's up everyone, Andrew Laird with Dirt Rider here, and today we are shooting and

00:10 testing our 2021 Suzuki RMZ450 project bike.

00:15 For the past few years, since this model was all new in 2018, we've kind of discussed after

00:20 the shootout, it's like, hey, this bike has a lot of potential in stock trim, it's lacking

00:25 in some areas, but you know, through the help of the aftermarket, the bike can be a lot

00:29 better and especially with its slightly lower retail price than some of the other bikes.

00:33 So anyway, we just want to see if we could coax a little more power out of this bike,

00:37 increase the suspension performance, and who better to help us with that than project bike

00:41 builder Jay Clark.

00:42 Yeah, yeah, thanks man.

00:44 It's a fun bike.

00:46 It is behind a lot of the other bikes with not having electric start or hydraulic clutch,

00:50 but it's still a good bike.

00:52 Like, you know, years ago we would have been happy to have something this good.

00:55 I'm not a big 450 guy, but since we got Brian Wallace is going to ride this thing, we went

00:59 ahead and added a high compression piston to it.

01:02 Unfortunately, the stock ECU is locked where a lot of the other bikes like Jamie at Twisted

01:06 and different engine builders can actually remap the stock ECU.

01:10 On this bike, you can't.

01:11 So you have to get like a Vortex aftermarket ECU to map it, which is kind of unfortunate.

01:17 So we didn't do any mapping changes.

01:18 It still seems pretty good with this, with the FMF pipe.

01:23 We put a fresh clutch in it, a Henson clutch with a cover.

01:26 And then we got the suspension done by Factory Connections.

01:28 Those are the main bulk of our mods that we wanted to do performance wise and kind of

01:32 keep it simple and just kind of improve what's here.

01:36 Absolutely.

01:37 And to kind of add to what you said about Brian Wallace.

01:39 So he's been a test rider of ours for a number of years now.

01:43 He's about 195 pounds pro level.

01:45 He's qualified for several nationals in years past.

01:48 And he's a huge fan of this bike and stock trim.

01:52 He really tells me each year, he's like, "Hey man, this bike is awesome.

01:54 I just really want to see if we could improve the suspension a little bit for my weight

02:00 and my riding ability and just get a little bit extra out of the engine."

02:04 So I think that's what Jay was able to accomplish here.

02:08 And it's really cool too.

02:09 Brian is the track manager here at Fox Raceway and he's an incredible track builder too.

02:15 So we're going to be able to ride the fresh track today right here before the national

02:18 and put it through its paces and get a good test out of it.

02:22 So thank you guys for tuning in.

02:23 It's time to go ride now and we'll get back to you a little later today.

02:26 (upbeat hip hop music)

02:29 (engine revving)

02:32 (engine revving)

02:35 (engine revving)

02:38 - All right, so we just finished up a ride

03:03 on our 2021 Suzuki RMZ450 project bike.

03:07 We had Brian Wallace here at the controls.

03:09 He, as I mentioned earlier,

03:10 has plenty of time on the stock bike

03:13 and he got a chance to ride his fresh track here

03:15 at Fox Raceway.

03:17 So Brian, talk a bit about this project bike here.

03:19 What were your thoughts on, obviously,

03:21 I'm sure the pipe made the difference

03:23 and as we mentioned earlier, the suspension,

03:25 especially for someone like you,

03:26 you're a little heavier than the recommended weight

03:29 or the standard weight for a 450 rider at 170

03:31 and you're obviously a pro rider.

03:33 So talk a bit about those aspects.

03:35 - Yeah, FMF pipe definitely opened up the power band

03:39 a lot more up on top and a little even down low

03:44 before with the stock pipe,

03:47 kind of gives it that there's a smaller

03:50 power band gap in there.

03:52 So I think the FMF pipe opens it up a lot more

03:54 and gives it a lot better feel in it for sure.

04:01 - Yeah, and factory connection, dialed in suspension.

04:03 What were your thoughts on the differences

04:05 between this factory connection setup and the stock setup?

04:08 - Yeah, so factory connection did a great job

04:10 with setting this bike up.

04:12 You know, I got to do a couple little clickers

04:13 to make it a little bit more comfortable for me,

04:15 but between the stock shock and what they've done,

04:19 the stock shock just never is,

04:22 the adjustability on the stock shock

04:23 was always the downfall of this bike.

04:27 So like I said, I'm kind of excited to get into it

04:29 and start doing some clickers on the rear shock

04:31 and try and get that a little bit more comfortable with me.

04:34 So, and then obviously the forks too,

04:38 the forks were, you know, they're decent when they're stock,

04:40 but you know, can't wait to get dive into these

04:42 and kind of get something going with them for sure.

04:45 - Yeah, absolutely.

04:46 And to your point too, I mean, this is the same fork

04:48 that comes stock on the Honda CR450R

04:51 and the Kawasaki KX450.

04:52 Obviously the coatings are a bit different.

04:54 So yeah, to your point,

04:55 there's definitely a lot of potential in the fork,

04:57 but as one of our other test riders,

04:59 Alan Brown and I talked about,

05:01 the shock does kind of inhibit the fork a little bit

05:03 just because it kind of overpowers it

05:04 and you know, getting the balance dialed in.

05:06 So speaking of Alan Brown,

05:08 we're actually gonna have him ride the bike

05:09 a little bit later today.

05:10 So he'll be handling the written portion of his feedback.

05:13 He's about 170 pounds and he's a vet rider.

05:18 So he's a little older and perhaps a different demographic

05:21 that we can speak to.

05:22 So yeah, thanks so much for coming out

05:24 and riding this bike for us today.

05:26 The track was awesome.

05:28 Like I said earlier, we kind of got a bit of a preview

05:30 of what the National's gonna look like here next month

05:32 at the end of May.

05:33 So yeah, and thanks again to Jay Clark

05:35 for building this bike for us.

05:37 He is an absolute wizard at building project bikes

05:40 and this wasn't anything too crazy.

05:42 So to Brian's point earlier too,

05:44 this bike retails for $8,999.

05:47 So it's quite a bit cheaper than some of the other bikes

05:50 and who knows, maybe you can find it

05:52 for even a little less expensive at your local dealer.

05:54 So there's plenty of room in the budget if you have it

05:57 for suspension work,

05:58 for possibly a full titanium exhaust system

06:00 to not only broaden the power band as Brian said,

06:03 but also save some weight.

06:04 So again, thanks to everyone involved here

06:07 and we look forward to seeing you next time.

06:09 (wind whooshing)

06:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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