ASK THE MXPERTS: (01/04/10)

On Jan 4, 2010

Dear MXA,
I just got the February 2010 issue of MXA. It has the 2010 450 Shootout and a recap of the 250 Shootout, but neither test includes a Suzuki. Why? I remember that Suzuki wouldn’t give bikes to MXA a couple of times in the past because they didn’t like criticism of their bikes. Is this the case? What’s the deal?

You can’t test a bike that isn’t available. Suzuki, for their own sale’s reasons, does not want to release the 2010 RM-Z250 or RM-Z450 at this time. When the majority of the motorcycle magazines were preparing their shootouts, Suzuki was unwilling to give test bikes to magazines.

Every magazine had to make a decision about what to do. None felt that it was in the consumer’s best interest to wait for Suzuki to release bikes…which Suzuki told us would be in February of 2010. So, we proceeded with the tests (sans Suzuki).

Once the “Shootouts” began to appear (but after they were completed) Suzuki called and asked if we would do a “one-day test” of the 2010 RM-Z250. We said,”No.” If you see any tests of 2010 Suzukis in other publications it is because they agreed to ride the bike for a couple hours at a track chosen by Suzuki. We don’t do that. We won’t do that.

It isn’t in the best interest of our readers to test bikes on a smooth track for two hours and then write a test. Read an MXA test (there are plenty on our home page and even more in the magazine) and you will see that it wouldn’t be possible to discover all the facts about the bike in a few hours. Nor, could we try different springs rates, settings, track conditions, rider weights, skill levels or gearing in such a short time.

It also isn’t in the best interest of Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM or Husqvarna…who had their bikes thoroughly tested over a long period of time (a test period that is rigorous enough to not only reveal flaws, but also find fixes for them). We test every possible configuration (even ones that we know won’t work) in order to find the true character of the machines. The mechanics and engineers that we dealt with at Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM and Husqvarna for the 2010 model year will tell you that we are very intense about testing everything (from offset to ignition mapping to exhaust systems to gearing to spring rates to tires) in the search of knowledge.

Additionally, it wouldn’t be fair to Suzuki to test a bike for a few hours and come away with an impression that could be misleading (and not subject the bike to dyno tests, tear-downs and a reasonable amount of time spending working on it). The MXA test riders take their jobs seriously–we don’t want to do slap-dash work. When, and if Suzuki, wants their bikes tested in MXA (and it is their right to choose what they do or don’t do with their machines), they will give us the bikes for the same long-term tests that the red, green, orange, white and blue brands do.

It is true that Suzuki has banned MXA more than once in the past when we wrote bike tests that they didn’t like (even though they were, in our opinion, completely and totally accurate). Even during these periods, when they weren’t talking to us, we still tested Suzukis. This is not the case in 2010. Suzuki did not want to give the bikes out and since they are in sole possession of all 2010 RM-Z’s, it was impossible to include them.

You might as well write a letter to Road & Track and ask why they didn’t include Packard in their 2010 automobile shootouts–you can’t test what doesn’t exist. We assume that Suzuki will work to fix this issue in the near future.