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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.

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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]