Bike Dissected: Chad Reed's 1999 Suzuki RM250

Believe it or not, there was a time when Chad Reed wasn’t a household name. There was a time when the multi-millionaire superstar was just another hopeful putting in the yards and gaining confidence. If we were to try and pinpoint the moment that Reed went from an “Un” to a “Known”, it’d be somewhere in the 1999 season aboard this Suzuki RM250. This was as “factory” as bikes got back then – a stock chassis laden with aftermarket fruit and worked on by some of the best hands in the sport. Though the DNA of this bike hails not from Australia, but from the US and a season earlier. Reed and Suzuki’s Australian Team Manager, Jay Foreman, were in America where Chad was on a steep learning curve as a Pro rider. When they left the States to contest the ’99 Australian MX and SX seasons, Jay brought back the suspension and top-end of the two-banger and assembled a replica of the bike Reed had raced in the US. Pro Circuit’s Mitch Payton had personally carried out the engine and suspension work and it was his expertise that went some way towards making the Oz Suzuki into a championship-winning machine.

Tyres

The front tyre is a prototype unit that never saw production. It’s a Dunlop 739F, the last letter being the difference between it and a production hoop. It was used at the bike’s last outing at Melbourne’s season-closer. There were a handful of tyre technicians at the event that hung on every word Reed told them after the race. But the 739 that came out the following year wasn’t quite the same as the prototype, making this tyre unique. The rear wasn’t so exotic, being an off-the-shelf 739 hoop.

Gearbox And Clutch

Although standard, the gearbox’s Achilles’ heel was its third gear. As there was no upgraded cog available at the time, the team had to strip and inspect the gearbox after every race and replace the item at various times during the season. A Hinson basket, plates and springs replaced the standard bike’s clutch assembly, offering a more progressive feel and increased durability, especially to the fingers of the clutch basket. A stronger clutch cover added to the security of the unit.

Engine

This was a time before the widespread use of adjustable ignition systems, so the majority of work carried out on this stroker is purely mechanical. Pro Circuit machined the cylinder head and ported the barrel, matching it to the company’s steel expansion chamber and alloy silencer. The stock carb was jetted to suit, and fed the engine a diet of BP Racing 100 fuel – commonly known as Avgas. Aktive carbon reeds were chosen over the standard bike’s fibreglass items.

Suspension And Wheels

The 1999 year-model year saw the standard bike upgraded to USD forks (over the 1998’s conventional units). As with the engine mods, Pro Circuit stripped and revalved the front and rear suspension to suit Reed’s riding style and weight. Acerbis fork protectors got the call up to guard the chrome stanchions. The wheels are production items, colour changed to make the race bike stand out. They were stripped so the rims could be annodised gold and then reassembled with standard spokes.

Cockpit

The standard triple clamps gave way to billet alloy (Jeff) Emig Racing items that, while retaining the stocker’s offset, disposed of the rubber bars mounts that the production bike came with. The Pro Taper handlbars are in a Honda High-bend and look like ape-hangers in comparison to what Chad have runs. At the time, they were Chad’s ideals, with the height coming from their construction rather than being rolled forward in the clamps.

Brakes

Oversized (remember, this was back in ’99), the front 260mm Braking disc was of a circular (the only “wave” back then was from the winner’s podium) design. Beside the bracket needed to re-space the stock caliper, the only other mod was to the front brakeline – the stocker’s rubber hose replaced by a braided Fastline part. At the rear, it’s standard all the way, from tip of the pedal to the caliper. It even retained the thick rubber brakeline. The rear master cylinder benefitted from a carbon heel guard.

Extras

To help keep the bike looking fresh, carbon frame guards prevented boot wear on the painted steel frame, while the bodywork wears Slik graphics and a matching seat cover. In the standard airbox (as well as 13-year-old Melbournian dirt from the last time this bike was raced and run) lives a Moto Air filter that keeps the engine happy. A DID chain runs over alloy PBR sprockets; the standard final drive ratio kept for the MX events, but increased by one tooth on the rear for the indoor races that season.

Owner/Team Manager – Jay Foreman

“I’ve been watching and helping Chad out since he was a 14-year-old privateer, back when he was one of the fast, next-generation riders. Before he turned Senior at 16, he bucked the trend of the other riders and wanted to ride a 250. As all of the other soon-to-be-Pros of the time were going on to race 125s, I was a bit unsure of this move and decided to take him to New Zealand, where he could race as a Senior while still 15. It was a good try-out as he finished second to the emerging star, Josh Coppins. His first year as a Pro saw him learn speed and take some race wins. Then for 1998, we headed to America where he found more speed and the desire to win. When we came back to Australia in 1999, the Chad we know today had already been formed. He won (and was then disqualified from) the Newcastle round of the SX championship (see Ripping Yarn in Transmoto #18), before dominating the rest of the season. This RM250X is exactly as it was put away after the last SX of 1999 – it was washed but has never been run since … and probably never will be. The bike was always more suited to SX than MX, as Chad was really happy with the power for the Indoors, but we always seemed to be chasing a fuller top-end at the MX events. For ’99, we ran a two-man team (with Danny Ham as the second rider) and Chad won us our first SX championship. The bike has a much easier life now, as it sits in my boardroom, alongside other bikes that have won championships under my team managerial position. There’s the RM-Z250 that Matt Moss rode, Daryl Hurley’s RM-Z450 and Glenn Allerton’s supemoto championship winner. There’s even the RM that Travis Pastrana rode when he toured Australia. But the first championship is the sweetest, especially as the rider has gone on to be one of the world’s best and most recognisable MX and SX superstars.”

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