Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2026 SUZUKI RM-Z250 BETTER THAN THE 2025 RM-Z250?

A: Yes and no. No, because the last Suzuki RM-Z250 remodel came in 2019 when the RM-Z250 got an updated frame, Kayaba spring forks, a bigger front brake rotor, dual injectors, new shock, revised cylinder head, updated piston pin, refined gear ratios, a new cam-chain tensioner and new bodywork. The seven-year-old updates made the RM-Z250 significantly better than the previous model, but when you don’t touch your race bike for almost a decade, especially when you keep upping the retail price, you can’t claim that your bike is cutting edge. Back in 2019, the MSRP was $7899. The 2026 RM-Z250 retails for $8299.

Yes, because Suzuki did make small upgrades to the engine, fuel injection, mapping and airbox. It does run a little better than in 2018, but small changes just result in small improvements in the midrange.

The icing on the 2026 RM-Z250 cake is that Suzuki dealers are famous for wheeling and dealing—often lopping $1000 to $2000 off the list price. Plus, if you purchased a 2026 RM-Z250 within its early-offer window, Suzuki will throw in the RM Army Edition components, which include a Pro Circuit T-6 full-system exhaust pipe with a titanium cannister, carbon end cap and a stainless steel head pipe (worth $1100). The Pro Circuit pipe livens up the RM-Z250 powerband and knocks 2 pounds off the RM-Z250’s weight.

Q: HOW DOES THE RM-Z250 ENGINE STACK UP AGAINST THE COMPETITION?

A: The 2026 Suzuki RM-Z250’s horsepower is a far cry from the 45-horsepower engines of Kawasaki, KTM, GasGas and Husqvarna. The RM-Z250 peaks at a hair under 40 horsepower. Yes, you can buy a good exhaust system to liven up the power or drop off the engine with your favorite tuner in search of more excitement, but you will be chasing your tail. The money you will pay to become competitive with the rest of the 250 four-strokes will mean you are no longer riding an affordable bike.

Riders aren’t bothered by the 227-pound weight or the low horsepower; what bothers them most is the harsh forks.

The 2026 RM-Z250 power output is at its best from low to mid, where it actually makes more power than the 2026 Honda CRF250 and 2026 Yamaha YZ250F thanks to its dual-fuel-injection system, which produces an ultra-smooth power delivery. One injector works in the lower rpm range, and a second injector located farther away from the combustion chamber kicks in at 7000 rpm. But, as the rpm climbs into the upper ranges, the RM-Z250 runs afoul of the incredible top-end power of the KTM, Husky, GasGas, Triumph and Kawasaki.

It should be noted that the RM-Z250’s bottom-end grunt makes it easier to ride, with less effort required to get it up on the pipe. It’s a friendly engine that is perfect for riders who aren’t ready for the fire-breathing, 14,000-rpm powerbands of the 2026 KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas. To make the 2026 RM-Z250 equal to the class-leading 250cc Amateur- or AMA-class race engines, it would take at least several thousand dollars in mods. And even then, it would be wasted money. How do we know? MXA sponsored a test rider in the 2023 and 2024 AMA 250 Nationals. He complained that his fully modified RM-Z250 (ported head, Vortex ECU, aftermarket exhaust pipe, aftermarket piston, high-lift cam and race gas) could only match the stock horsepower of a KTM 250SXF.

If you buy the RM-Z250s at your dealership during a limited time frame, you will get a free Pro Circuit T-6 exhaust system.

Q: WHAT IS OUR BIGGEST COMPLAINT ABOUT THE 2026 SUZUKI RM-Z250?

A: On their 2016–2018 RM-Z250s, Suzuki ran Kayaba PSF-2 air forks before spec’ing Kayaba coilspring forks for the 2019 to 2026 models. They use 5.0 N/mm fork springs, but, unfortunately, the 5.0 N/mm springs are way too stiff for a 250. It’s the same spring that Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki run in their 450 forks. In contrast, the Kayaba coil-spring forks on the YZ250F use a 4.7 N/mm spring rate.

Suzuki has done little to nothing in the last seven model years to rectify their overly stiff forks, which are so stiff that many Suzuki RM-Z450 racers run the RM-Z250 suspension components, front and rear, on their big bikes.

Q: WHAT IS THE CHEAPEST FORK FIX FOR THE 2026 RM-Z250?

Before spending money on having the fork revalved, consider lowering the oil height in 10mm increments.

A: The cheapest fix for the stock 2026 Suzuki RM-Z250 forks (and for any fork that is too stiff) is to lower the oil height in the forks by 30mm in both legs. This is not as effective as sending the forks out to be re-valved and re-sprung, but it will make the bike more ridable at zero cost. You can fine-tune the feel of the forks by reducing the fork-oil height in increments of 10mm, 20mm or 30mm. Too low an oil height will allow the forks to bottom, while too high an oil height makes the forks harsh. The goal is to find an oil height that will allow the forks to move more freely through their stroke without bottoming. MXA test riders not only lowered the oil height in both legs, but also switched from 5.0 N/mm springs to softer 4.7 N/mm springs.

Q: HOW DOES THE 2026 RM-Z250 SHOCK WORK?

A: The Suzuki RM-Z250 shock is stiff enough to work on the larger and heavier RM-Z450. In fact, many hardcore RM-Z450 racers use the basic RM-Z250 shock in place of the RM-Z450’s complicated BFRC shock. MXA test riders focused on getting more weight on the forks to help them move. This required testing as many sag settings as possible. Additionally, we dropped the stock 52 N/mm shock spring for a 50 N/mm spring and set the sag at 102mm.

We set the high-speed compression (blue) and low-speed compression (silver) both at 14 clicks out. The RM-Z250’s Kayaba shock has two different rebound settings. We set the low-speed rebound (red) on 14 clicks out and the high-speed rebound (bottom of the shock) 16 clicks out.

Q: HOW DOES THE 2026 RM-Z250 HANDLE?

A: Dating back to the late 1970s, Suzukis have always been the best-cornering bikes made. They excelled at carving tight inside lines, and the frame updates that came in 2019 put even more emphasis on the front end. In fact, most modern Japanese chassis have adopted Suzuki’s turn-at-all-costs frame geometry. They realized that racers want to be able to carve through corners on the inside line.

Of course, the downside of Suzuki handling is that you pay a price for being capable of turning inside everyone on the track—and that price is over-steer on corner entrance and under-steer on fast, rough straights. In short, the Suzuki tucks the front wheel in tight corners and shakes its head at speed. All of this is made worse by the ultra-stiff forks, which means that in stock trim, the Suzuki RM-Z250 is only nice on smooth Supercross-style tracks with lots of traction under braking to help compress the forks. If the track is rough, fast and has a hard base to it, the forks will rattle your teeth out.

Once you lower the spring rate and oil height on the forks, you’ll realize the forks aren’t the only stiff aspect of this bike. The aluminum frame is also rigid. FCP Racing makes engine mounts for $429 that help with this. Although it’s stiff, the RM-Z250 chassis is consistent. Our test riders complain about it being harsh, but they also admit that it is predictable enough to react the same way to the bumps every lap.

Q: HOW DOES SUZUKI’S MX-TUNER 4.0 WORK?

A: The 2026 Suzuki RM-Z250 comes with three pre-programmed, plug-in fuel couplers that change the EFI tuning. The white coupler is the most aggressive off the bottom and gets the rpm to rev through its range faster. The Suzuki MX-Tuner 4.0 comes with every RM-Z250 and provides the ability to adjust the fuel injection and ignition settings through a smartphone application, while the Suzuki Holeshot Assist Control (S-HAC) and advanced traction-management system provide a performance edge.

The RM-Z250 engine is a solid engine with a long lifespan.

Suzuki’s MX Tuner 4.0 app allows you to choose between four pre-programmed maps—aggressive, smooth, richer and leaner—for different riding conditions. You can put these maps into any of the three plug-in couplers. You can also create custom fuel and ignition timing maps with the app.

Unfortunately, because the Suzuki does not have electric starting, it doesn’t have a battery. And, you will need to buy a battery and connecting cable to connect external power to the bike. On the track, the map updates produce a noticeable difference. The Pro Circuit map, designed to work with the RM Army exhaust, is night and day better than the stock map, even if you don’t have the Pro Circuit exhaust.

Q: WHAT IS THE SUZUKI MISSING?

A: Electric starter. Electric starting is standard on all modern four-strokes—except on the Suzuki RM-Z250 and RM-Z450. Yes, it does start within a couple of kicks, which is no problem in the pits, but if you stall or crash in the middle of a race, it won’t start as easily.

Q: WHAT DID WE HATE?

A: The hate list:

(1) Clutch. The cable clutch is easy to pull in, but the clutch tends to slip after a few hard hours of riding. Stiffer aftermarket clutch springs help your clutch last longer.

(2) Brakes. The front brake needs help. It is weak, and it will fade over a long moto of hard use.

(3) Forks. The RM-Z250 forks are far too stiff.

(4) Electric start. In an era when even inexpensive play bikes come standard with electric starters, the 2026 RM-Z250 is a dinosaur.

(5) Weight. At 227 pounds (without fuel in the tank), it is heavy; however, it would be even heavier if they switched out the kickstart lever for a battery and electric starter.

Although the Suzuki technically isn’t fast, it does have some low-end spunk, which our testers appreciate.

(6) Engine. You need to short-shift to keep the RM-Z250 in the middle of the powerband. It gives up 5 horsepower to its high-rpm competition.

(7) Resale value. It’s hard to get good money on a used RM-Z250 when the dealerships have new ones already marked down below MSRP.

Q: WHAT DID WE LIKE?

A: The like list:

(1) RM Army. We’re happy that Suzuki offers an RM Army version of its 250/450 models. Unfortunately, if you didn’t buy a Suzuki before December 31st, you missed out on the free Pro Circuit T-6 exhaust system.

(2) Durability. We have consistently put over 50 hours on our RM-Z250 test bikes every year since 2019 with no serious issues. We even ran the same chain guide and slider last year for all 50 hours with no quibbles.

(3) Cornering. After you fix the forks, the RM-Z250 loves to corner. It’s nimble and doesn’t want to stand up in the middle of the turn.

(4) Tires. We like the MX33 tires front and rear, but if you run them on hard-terrain tracks, the front tire will throw knobs.

(5) Price. The $8299 MSRP looks good in comparison to its high-priced competition, but you get what you pay for.

Q: WHAT DO WE REALLY THINK?

A: Riders who buy a Suzuki either want to save money or to stand out from the pack with Suzuki’s yellow bodywork. It still looks like the sharpest bike on the track. The engine is user-friendly for novice-level riders, and the durability is impressive. With just the addition of softer fork and shock springs, the Suzuki RM-Z250 could be a great bike for many riders.

MXA’S 2026 RM-Z250 SETUP SPECS

This is how we set up our 2026 Suzuki RM-Z250 for racing. We offer it as a guide to help you find your own sweet spot.

KAYABA COIL-SPRING FORK SETTINGS

The stock 5.0 N/mm spring rate is too stiff for any skill level. By dropping the spring rate, we were able to use most of the travel. For hardcore racing, these are MXA’s recommended 2026 Suzuki RM-Z250 fork settings (stock settings are in parentheses):

Spring rate: 4.7 N/mm (5.0 N/mm)
Compression: 14 clicks out (11 clicks out)
Rebound: 13 clicks out
Fork-leg height: Standard

Notes: If you want to make quick and easy shock adjustments, turn the compression clickers all the way out and drop the oil height by 30cc in both fork legs—unless you weigh over 200 pounds.

KAYABA SHOCK SETTINGS

MXA test riders focused on getting more weight on the forks to help them move. This required testing as many sag settings as possible. We dropped the 52 N/mm shock spring for a 50 N/mm and set the sag at 102mm.

For hardcore racing, these are MXA’s recommended 2026 Suzuki RM-Z250 shock settings (stock settings are in parentheses):

Spring rate: 50 N/mm (52 N/mm)
Race sag: 102mm (105mm)
Hi-compression (blue): 14 clicks out
Lo-compression (silver): 14 clicks out
Hi-rebound (bottom of shock): 16 clicks out
Lo-rebound (red): 14 clicks out

Notes: If you opt out of lowering the shock spring rate, then you will want to run the shock’s compression out 3 extra clicks—unless you weigh over 200 pounds.