The Suzuki RGV250 was a

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

high performance

sport bike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

which had a great number of its features and design cues based on Grand Prix technologies and ideas. It is a race-replica based on

's GP bikes from 1987 to 1998, the RGV V-2 racer. This motorcycle replaced the

RG250 Gamma The Suzuki RG250 Gamma was a two-cylinder parallel, water-cooled 250 cc two-stroke motorcycle produced by Suzuki from 1983 to 1987. One of the major features of the RG250 Gamma was its large power-to-weight ratio. Able to produce up to 45 ...

, which employed an alloy frame with a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

parallel twin engine. The bike produced over 60 bhp in a narrow power band between 8,000 and 11,000

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

. The dry weight ranged between (1989) to (later models) dry weight. The top speed of a standard RGV250 is around . It has a 0- time of around 3.7 seconds. This motorcycle's engine performance is not very inspiring at engine speeds under 7,000 rpm, due to the

engine power delivery of a relatively narrow

power band The power band of an internal combustion engine or electric motor is the range of operating speeds under which the engine or motor is able to output the most power, that is, the maximum energy per unit of time. This usually means that maximum a ...

. However, once the engine is revved over 8,000 rpm, the power delivery characteristics effectively doubles, as is expected of a two-stroke racing motorcycle. Due to its light weight, engine characteristics and cornering capabilities, it is particularly suited to the track, compared to other motorcycles of similar engine capacity.

Model designation and power

All RGV250 models, with the exception of the Japanese domestic market's version (restricted to 45 hp), make 50+ hp. The model designations are: *VJ21:1988-1991: quoted power; 1988=58 hp, 1989=59 hp (90°

V-Twin A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longit ...

) *VJ22:1991-1996: quoted power; 1990=62 hp (revised engine, still 90° V-Twin) *VJ23:1997-1998: quoted power; 1997=70 hp ('SP' (sports production) model with new 70° V-Twin engine)

Technical

The VJ21 was the first RGV250 production

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

available in Japan in 1988. Technical aspects were:- *Alloy Beam frame *90-degree, water-cooled two-cylinder

V-Twin style

V engine A V engine, sometimes called a Vee engine, is a common configuration for internal combustion engines. It consists of two cylinder banks—usually with the same number of cylinders in each bank—connected to a common crankshaft. These cylinder b ...

(separate crankcases, single in-line

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

) *2 piece, blade style, exhaust valves which have two positions - open and closed *Dual

Reed valve Reed valves are a type of check valve which restrict the flow of fluids to a single direction, opening and closing under changing pressure on each face. Modern versions often consist of flexible metal or composite materials (fiberglass or carbon f ...

s, with Suzuki Intake Pulse Control system (SIPC), similar to Yamaha Energy Induction System (YEIS) but avoids patent issues *32 mm Mikuni

Carburettor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...

s on 88/89 models, replaced with 34 mm models with single air bleed on 1990 model *17" front, 18" rear three spoke alloy wheels with twin 296 mm front

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...

s and single rear *Front suspension is conventional 41 mm damper type telescopic

motorcycle fork A motorcycle fork connects a motorcycle's front wheel and axle to its frame, typically via a yoke, also known as a triple clamp, which consists of an upper yoke joined to a lower yoke via a steering stem, a shaft that runs through the steering h ...

s (not cartridge) *Suzuki Pointless Electronic Ignition (PEI) analogue

ignition system An ignition system generates a spark or heats an electrode to a high temperature to ignite a fuel-air mixture in spark ignition internal combustion engines, oil-fired and gas-fired boilers, rocket engines, etc. The widest application for spark ig ...

on 1988 models, replaced with digital system on 1989/90 models which was a predecessor to the SAPC as fitted on the VJ22 *Dual, side-by-side expansion chambers The VJ22 machine relied heavily on the VJ21, but had the following improvements:- *Suzuki Advanced Power Control (SAPC) Electronic power valve and ignition timing control *3 piece, blade style, exhaust valves with three positions - closed, half open and fully open *34 mm Mikuni

carburettor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...

s with dual air bleed system *41 mm inverted cartridge type telescopic

s *modified swing arm fitted to permit both expansion chambers to be routed on the right hand side *17" rear wheel *310 mm front discs In addition, a restricted VJ22 model was available in Japan as Sports Production (SP) model, which came with

dry clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

and

close-ratio A close-ratio transmission describes a motor vehicle transmission with a smaller than average difference between the gear ratios. They are most often used on sports cars in order to keep the engine in the power band. There is no industry standard a ...

gearbox as standard. A later SPII model reverted to standard wide-ratio gearbox. The VJ23 uses a totally redesigned

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

with few interchangeable parts with the early models.

Reception

In the UK, the motorcycle press responded favourably to the VJ21. However, the initial VJ22 models had a design flaw in the 'improved' 3 piece exhaust valves in which they crack likely due to carbon build up from boiling oil within the mechanism and failed to open from the idle/low power position. This was corrected on later VJ22 models, but still needs to be inspected regularly. The VJ23 is not known to have powervalve issues.

Riding experience

These motorcycles are not particularly suited to carrying pillion passengers on long rides, due to its race-orientated design, detracting from comfort. Hence, touring is also not a strong point of this model. In straight line acceleration, the RGV250 is faster than most other 250 cc two-stroke and four-stroke motorcycles. The

Aprilia RS250 The Aprilia RS250 is a two-stroke sport bike made by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia. The Aprilia RS250 is a race oriented motorcycle with technology derived from Aprilia's racing experience. It is inspired by the Aprilia RSW250 Gra ...

is related and uses a modified RGV250 VJ22 (90° 2-Stroke V-Twin) engine.

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

bought engines from Suzuki (which were fitted with Aprilia branded castings on the timing and clutch covers), then fit their own expansion chambers, barrels and ECU. They also redesigned the heads to have larger cooling passages and a slightly different combustion chamber shape.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki Rgv250 RGV250 Sport bikes Motorcycles introduced in 1988 Two-stroke motorcycles