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I’m going to be really honest here, people: I was damn nervous leading up to what would be the
most exciting day of the trip for me at Fujisawa Sports Land. Let’s figure this out...I’m a photographer,
specifically the photo editor of this magazine, I ride at an intermediate level, not nearly as much as
I’d like, and Suzuki was going to let me ride a true “works” race bike? Did someone make a mistake?
All jokes aside, let’s dive into the process of how a test like this goes and touch on the amount of
pressure I created and put on myself.
MONDAY, JUNE 5 – 2018 RM-Z450WS TEST, FUJISAWA SPORTS LAND
said, “Keep the shiny side up!” Solid, RC, solid.
Now if I could only go out there and do five per-
cent of the whip he just cranked out off of the
table in front of the entire RCU class and Suzuki
staff on hand.
It was a weird experience because all of the
nerves disappeared with the confidence that
the bike inspired via its amazing setup. Surpris-
ingly, once I clicked the bike into gear, I didn’t
hold back at all. Equipped with a full-works
race engine, hydraulic clutch, Showa spring
forks with air-assist chambers, and a four-speed
transmission, this thing was way more than any
average rider or I need, but it was also insanely
user-friendly. The power seemed to go on for-
ever, and third gear was plenty around the entire
track. The Suzuki had bottom-end to pull out of
corners and endless top-end power that basi-
cally never signed off. The elevation of Fujisawa
brought a few high-speed singles that sent you
uphill, and the would-be harsh landings were
made laughable by the works fork and Showa
BFRC rear shock. I jumped everything on the first
lap and actually felt like I got a good moto in be-
fore they flagged me off...Wait, I survived?! Epic.
It was after I hopped back on the stock 2017
model that I could really appreciate the magical
bike I had just ridden, and it wasn’t until hours
later that the events of the day really hit me. I
had just ridden a factory bike, in the country that
birthed that very motorcycle, with a solid group
of people, at a beautiful racetrack. A post-ride
celebratory dinner was in order, mostly because
nobody crashed a factory bike, and it featured
Japanese pizza, along with a few extracurricular
rounds of sake with the crew to put the icing on
the cake that night. None of us could have pre-
dicted what was in store for us next, though.Step one: Arrive and successfully find your
gear bag that Suzuki shipped over.
Step two: Gearing up (with completely brand-
new everything, boots and all) and understand-
ing the day’s itinerary. We were all to ride the
stock 2017 RM-Z450 they had on hand first. We
had three laps to learn the track, and then one by
one we would all hop on the works bike for our
photo session.
Step three: Acclimate. Let’s be honest, three
laps on a brand-new track in preparation to ride
a $100,000-plus motorcycle is not enough, but
I made it work and sent the relatively steep/big
tabletop on the last lap. Phew!
Step four: Photo time! Suzuki was kind enough
to provide a photographer to shoot everyone, and
as I sat on the bike when it was my turn, I realized
I was entering territory most people never get the
chance to enter and it was time to send it. Kidding,
but all of the nerves actually quickly lessened as
I pulled away from the notably nervous-looking
race team technician who adjusted my levers. I im-
mediately noticed my feet stuck to the razor-sharp
foot pegs and headed to the selected corner for
my photo. A few passes and I knew that my “test”
ride to come would be a good one—this bike was
insane. The group headed to lunch after the ses-
sions were done, and all I could think about while
I ate was how excited and nervous I was to spin
some complete laps on the all-new machine.
Step five: The official RM-Z450WS test. With
each editor to be given five total laps on the bike,
I knew that would be plenty to gain a solid im-
pression. Carmichael was nearby conducting a
special all-Suzuki RCU School, and he happened
to be under the awning with me as I set the le-
vers and sag with the technicians. “Hey Ricky, it’s
RCU—you got any tips for me?” Ricky smiled and