Team Thompson Racing

🔧🏁 NEXT CUSTOMER BIKE ON THE BENCH — 2012 SUZUKI RM-Z250! 🏁🔧

This RM-Z250 has come in for an inspection after the customer reported little to no compression after fitting new piston rings. 👀

We’ve worked through the usual checks so far:

✅ Top end pulled down and inspected
✅ Piston installation checked
✅ New piston rings fitted
✅ New top-end gasket installed
✅ General assembly checked over

We’re now narrowing it down to a couple of areas.

First is the cylinder head and valves — making sure everything is seating and sealing correctly. The customer has advised that another mechanic has already checked the head and believes everything is OK.

Our next check is to get an internal bore gauge into the cylinder and confirm the bore size, taper and out-of-round are all within specification.

The customer has also advised that this has previously been checked and was within spec.

So… what do you reckon? 🤔

If the piston, rings, bore and valves all supposedly check out, where would you look next?

💬 Ring orientation or end gap?
💬 Valve timing?
💬 Auto-decompression system?
💬 Valve clearances?
💬 Head or cylinder sealing?
💬 Something else?

👇 Drop your thoughts in the comments!

We’ll keep working through it and post an update once we find the actual cause. 🔧🔥

And if you need work done on your own bike, send us a DM! 📩

We can help with mechanical repairs, diagnostics, race engine work, custom race bike builds, wiring, fabrication and race preparation.

🏁 Team Thompson Racing