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By Dallas Dunn:
I’ve been helping out Keefer with photography content for some time now, but I’ve been wanting to get more into the testing side of things so Kris has gave me the opportunity to ride the 2020 Suzuki RM-Z450 test bike for the year, so the first mod for this bike was going to be the Ride Engineering 1mm longer lowering link. I wanted to give you a normal everyday blue collar perspective. I am by no means a professional test rider, in fact I am a heavy equipment operator that likes to ride his dirt bike. So if you can relate to that and have a RM-Z450, maybe you can relate to this test as well.
Simply installing the Ride Engineering link helped balance the RM-Z out on de-cel. If you’re running the stock suspension (valving/springs) this simple mod will help the RM-Z from wanting to transfer its weight towards the front end. The RM-Z450’s BFRC shock is known for unloading on de-cel (or riding high off throttle) and that can cause oversteer (knifing) on entrances of corners. Once you install the longer Ride Engineering link arms on the Suzuki it will settle down on de-cel and not pitch towards the front end as much. I noticed right away the bike felt more predictable and compliant coming into choppy braking bumps while keeping the rear end planted with less diving on de-cel. It gave me more sense of predictability and control when entering corners compared to the stock setup. Having comfort and predictability are things I look for when trying to improve my speed and technique. Running the sag at 107mm (fork height 4-5mm) with the link arm will alleviate some of your balance issues on the #RMaRMy.
This Ride Engineering link Retails for $219.99 at www.ride-engineering.com.
You can use the code Keefer-20 to save some dough as well.
