Suzuki Rm50

SUZUKI RM50

Suzuki's Smallest Motocrosser Isn't Just for the Track.

Suzuki's RM50 is the answer to the question, How small can a genuine motocrosser be?

Very small. With half a tank of fuel, the usual way we weigh test bikes, the RM50 tips the scales at 130 lb. It has its own scaled-down frame, a 14 in. front wheel and a 12 in. rear, and the result is a seat height of only 24 in., lowest of the true dirt bikes.

And it is a true dirt bike. The RM designation is fair, because the smallest of the line comes with all the usual features like humped tank, rearset side number plates, high pipe, canted shocks, knobby tires and all, so it looks the part.

It will live up to its looks, too. There are clubs with mini-mini races, usually with a 50cc limit, and the RM fits in and performs well.

But because most kid riders won’t be racing, the tiny two-stroke has reed valve induction and is ported to perform well at low revs. It starts easily at the prod of a size-2 boot, and it will pull from idle. Not highly tuned or stressed, so it can be a playbike in the backyard as well as a terror on the track.

The RM50 is also a racing bike in fuel usage. It has no oil injection, and requires mixing of oil and gas in the tank, in correct proportion. Dad might better do this or have it done under his supervision, unless the new math is teaching better than we think it is.

A nice machine. When the kids first hit the dirt they didn't have toys like this. We went through the small-wheel era, although Honda is still there for at least one model, and we had kid bikes that came with solid suspension and undamped front ends and industrial engines masquerading at motocross. They were good enough for their era.

Suzuki has gone beyond that. The RM50 isn’t a toy. There are no training wheels, no restrictors. The RM50 is a specialized motorcycle, as it will work well for a child of a certain size and age. under proper conditions.

The practical age bracket covers several years. The RM50 was too big for the 4year-old who tried the smaller playbike JR50. He wasn't tall enough for the seat and we were glad he didn't need to tackle the clutch and gearshift. A 9-vear-old girl from the track’s neighborhood, a girl with not much riding time behind her. fitted the RM50 perfectly, although she was too shy to tell us about powerband and braking on downhills and how the rear kicked out over the whoops.

The 12-year-old novice thought it was super, a real racer that he could ride wide open, and the 14-year-old became sophisticated: “A fun bike. I can throw it around.”

What more could a pee-wee want?

SUZUKI

RM50

SPECIFICATIONS

$589

DIMENSIONS