I had a 83 RM 80 & 125, both were exciting, well suspended, and quite reliable. The So Cal area where I grew up offered many trails, tracks, dunes, and desert riding to ride on,,brrrrapp!!
I was such a tiny kid when I was 8 but my older brother put me in front of him of his 73 TM 250! He knew I was hooked after that! MOTOCROSS RULES Finished as a pro at 21 on a YZ 250!
thnx chris @ thumbs 51: always been a huge rm fan - the twin shock alloy tanked models. my favorite , the 370 was a fantastic mxer;. the best mix of motor, handling, durability and damn affordable 'works' ride.
Wish I had one of these beasts to race back in the early 70s instead of my old TMs..I might have won a lot more races..When these old RMs came out in the mid 70s you could tell they evolved from the TMs..but believe me the RMs where everything the old TMs only wished they could be.
What made MX racing so fun was the 2 strokes, when they went to the 'NASCAR' engine 4 strokes cost sky-rocketed and them horrid aluminum frames are TOP-heavy tanks. *KTM/Husky* is where it is at today in 2 strokes.
78 was the aluminum swing are debut. The 250 hit was brutal. The 1976 had a pint sized silencer, the ‘77 and ‘78 had a longer silencer. The 370 was much easier to ride. Early 76 250 frames had the RN brake stay hanger welded in place, just behind the right foot peg. The stock brake stay was attached to the swing arm. Floating the backing plate using that hanger vastly improved rear braking.
76 rm A with the 78 C2 swing arm different pipe and shocks, I still have and vintage race my 76 A in Australia, that I bough it new in Berkeley Cal. in 76
JOSE BELISMELIS That was my first new bike after my 250 Elsinore , I think I paid 1200 bucks . I was living in some backwoods town in Texas and the old people would call it a play pretty.
Have Paul check the intake manifold. They were horrendous for splitting and causing an air leak. Also check the float bowl doesn't touch the engine case. If the bowl hits them the fuel foams and leans out. Those bikes were horrific for stator failure. If your 79/80 rm is a dog or doesn't run its the stator.
I had a 72 rm250. Before suspensions changed. The rear was stiff, a real kicker, 3or 4 inches of travel. I always find Suzuki’s tall, stiff, and awkward, and so was that one. I didn’t ride it much, as I got a Honda Elsinore cr250 first year it came out.
Guessing Suzuki is going to pull out of the USA eventually they are really almost not making any bikes. RM's were my favorite but seems like they will most likely go out of the bike business (hoping they don't) but sure seems that way.