Motocross Feature

Just as the 2019 Australian Supercross was getting started, we received an email from the team at Suzuki Australia asking if instead of flying us over to Melbourne to ride the 2020 RM-Z250, which now comes with the option of using a tuneable WIFI app, would it be possible to ship one down to South Australia so that we could have a play.

Obviously, we jumped on the idea, and a week later we had a brand-new Suzuki sitting in the shed; the only problem, with the Supercross championship getting underway, our weekends were a little full, so after having the bike on display at the second round of the championship held in Adelaide we took full advantage of the small break between rounds two and three, to spend some time familiarising ourselves with how exactly WIFI component of the RM-Z250 worked.

Now the 2020 Suzuki RM-Z250 is pretty much all but unchanged for this year after receiving a considerable makeover for 2019, which you can read about here.

It was while we were at the Australian media launch for the 2019, we first heard about the Wifi App that would become available, and apart from a slight graphics update, the big change for 2020 is the Suzuki MX-Tuner 2.0

With this in mind, before we get into part 2 of the review where we hit the track on the bike, we wanted to focus on the Wifi App and how it works.

I actually spent an afternoon in the shed prior to hitting the track playing around and seeing how the basics of the Suzuki MX-Tuner 2.0 worked.

Now the Suzuki MX-Tuner 2.0, is actually a GET device and has been developed with Suzuki specifically for the RM-Z250 and 2020 RM-Z450, so when you go looking for the Suzuki MX-Tuner 2.0 App either on IOS or Android, what you need to search for and find is the GET WiGet App, pictured further down in this article.

With the App downloaded, it was time to unpack the box containing the MX Tuner 2.0 Control Module along with the lead that connects to the data connector on the bike.

WHERE IS THE DATA CONNECTOR YOU ASK?

The connector sits on the throttle side of the bike just in line with the top of the engine as seen in the image below. It took us a little time to work out exactly where we needed to connected the Tuner to at first as the images that come printed inside the box in the instructions are a little small while the pictures that come once opening the App are also a little hard to see exactly where to connect to as well, so hopefully, the close-up image above helps you out.

As the Suzuki does not have its own battery onboard, you will also need to have a fully charged 12V Battery on hand, along with a Suzuki power lead that connects to another connection point located on the opposite side of the bike, situated between the back of the radiator and frame. It is a little awkward to get to at first, but after doing it once or twice, it is a pretty simple task.

With the battery connected, the control module will light up, and it is as simple as opening up the App, connecting to the Suzuki WIFI that should automatically show up in your WIFI settings on your phone.

Once you select the Suzuki WIFI, it will ask for a WIFI password that is conveniently on the backside of the Suzuki MX-Tuner 2.0 module.

WE ARE CONNECTED!

Now while it is a little fiddly to connect to at first, and you will need to carry a basic 12V battery with you either at the track or at home in the shed if you want to update your maps, but once you are connected the interface on the App could not be any simpler to use. The App also offers a lot more than just being able to change what Map you want to run.

The first thing you will do once opening up the App is enter the necessary details of your bike via the Vehicle Creation Wizard, entering the Brand, Model, Year, Displacement and give it a name, and if you want to add an image of the bike, all pretty basic.

The App has storage space for multiple bikes, so if you are lucky enough to own a RM-Z250 and an RM-Z450 or multiples of either bike, you can record and track the information on each motorcycle separately.

Once you select the bike you want to view, not only can you proceed to playing with changing MAPS, you can also jump into the service section of the App and set service intervals for anything you like, be it oil changes, air filter changes, rebuilds, or add notes including setting up notes for various tracks and conditions, putting in suspension settings, what Map you were using or any other usual for information that might help you out in the future.

Or check out useful information about your bike, including running hours, and time since the last service of anything you want to monitor.

Once you are finished having a look around the App, it is time to get into the real advantage of the Suzuki MX-Tuner, and that is the ability to play around with both the ignition and fuel maps, giving you the option to really dial in how you like your power to hit the dirt beneath you when on track.

When selecting a new map for the first time you will have two options, Factory Maps or Custom Maps, at this stage we have only played around with the pre-loaded Factory Maps that come loaded with the App.

Like the old choice of couplers, the Factory Maps come with a choice of Standard, Aggressive or Smooth.

Changing between the pre-loaded Factory maps is a simple process of merely selecting the map you want to run, once selected; it will take you to the next screen that allows you to view both the Ignition Map and Fuel Maps.

The map shows the increase or decrease of both the amount of fuel or ignition compared to the standard-setting at each RPM and Throttle opening percentage with RPM increments at, 3000, 4000, 6000, 8000, 10,000 and 12,000 RPM and at throttle opening percentage at 10, 20,30,40,60 and 80 percent openings.

From this screen, you simply press the upload Icon on the top right-hand side of the screen which will open up a pop-up screen asking you to make sure you have the 12V Power connected and the engine is not running, and if all good, press OK

You will then see an orange circle spinning as the MAP uploads and once uploaded a confirmation screen that simply states – Maps Updated.

At that point, it is as simple as disconnecting the Power Cord, and the Power Tuner and hitting the track for a ride.

DIVING A LITTLE DEEPER.

With a little research into the MX Tuner 2.0, we realised that when you power up the tuner, it recognises, which of the couplers that you have in the bike at that point in time.

While the coupler itself does not store any data, the ECM (electric control module) recognises which coupler is on the bike, and will load up the map associated with that coupler.

At this point in time we only have the single coupler, which means, while we can save multiple maps within the App itself, we do have to power up the MX Tuner each time we want to put a new map in.

With all three couplers in hand, you can allocate a separate map to each coupler. This does require to switch each coupler out in order to allocate the individual map you would like to associate with each coupler. However once this is done, you have three different maps you can then switch between at the track, by simply swapping between, the Black, White and Grey couplers.

It is a neat little way to have a variety of maps ready to go, saving you the need to get the phone out at the track, with the couplers literally taking less than a couple of seconds to swap over.

STILL, A TON TO PLAY WITH

Now while we have played around with the Factory Maps and will speak a little about the differences, we felt on track in a future ride review in the next few weeks.

We have not made our own custom map as of yet but will be getting to that shortly and go into some more detail at that point on how to create your own personalised map and find out for ourselves if it is an easy or difficult task.

With all this in mind, there is still the most important thing, getting out and riding! check back in over the next day or two for our first ride review of the 2020 Suzuki RM-Z450