Ask any MX or XC racer and he will confirm that arm-pump can be your worst enemy in a race. Modern innovations help combat this nemesis, and I take advantage of this technology every chance I get. Steering stabilizers have come a long way over the last few years and are, in my opinion, one of the most effective parts you can install. These black-coated Precision stabilizers, which are tucked away in the front of the machine, might be easily overlooked, but if you peer closely at the machinery lining the front row of the next national you attend, you will certainly find them bolted on a fair share of the pro machines. To further contend with arm-pump, I installed a Fasst Company Flexx bar, which has nylon elastomers to absorb vibration and harsh impacts. Hopefully, this combination would permit me to keep on the gas without having to contend with the pump.
The Suzuki already has some serious power on tap, so I wasn't looking to build a massive, ground-shaking engine. Rather, I just wanted to increase the airflow with a Pro-Tec vented airbox lid and an LRD pipe. To optimize the fuel map to this boosted flow, I simply plugged in a Yoshimura Cherry Bomb. This gave the LT-R quite a boost without sacrificing reliability.
I couldn't get this monster loaded and to the woods fast enough. But first I had to operate the shutter while my test rider, John Jovanovic, got to christen my LT-Z project. It was painful, like seeing your girlfriend with another man, but I had to make this sacrifice so you could see this beauty in her full glory. I just kept reminding myself that there would be plenty of time to get in the saddle before the sun dropped over the horizon.
Happily, I soon had my shots in the bag and it was my turn to see if the Suzi would perform as I expected. To give it a full shakedown, I ran a 9-mile course that I had raced on only a couple of weeks earlier. From the initial rumble of the fast-revving engine, my heart began to pound fiercely, and with the release of the clutch, I launched off and into the dense Georgian forest. As I passed through the trees at an increasingly faster pace, my confidence in the machine quickly grew. It was extremely predictable, and the narrower track erased my fear of clipping a tree and doing my Superman imitation. Decreasing the width by 4 inches may not seem like much to some, but when you're pinned in third gear with only inches of clearance between your tire and a tree that's not likely to budge, it doesn't go unnoticed.
Already a good choice, the modifications simply raised the bar and the Suzuki now handled like an expensive European sports car. The smooth suspension and its superb ergonomics, polished off by the raised bar height, combine to make prolonged rides-such as a two-hour cross-country race-less brutal. And best of all, crawling out of bed the following morning is a less-grueling task.
It may not come as a surprise to racers, but the faster I rode, the better the LT-Z performed-typical of a setup for racing or aggressive trail-riding. High speeds on narrow trails or fire roads are a good place to make up time on the competition, and the LSR/MotoWoz combo kept the Suzuki on the straight and narrow; I hardly noticed the extremely rough and choppy track. The Maxxis tires kept the front end tracking straight and the rears hooking up and pushing the 450 forward. Power slides were easily controlled, so I could stay on the gas and exit turns without losing momentum. Stock width would be better suited for these high-speed maneuvers, but this is the trade-off for easy navigation through the wooded maze.