Hinson's clutch kit improved...
Hinson's clutch kit improved performance while Yoshimura's kick-start kit saved weight.
There are many options for transferring power to the ground, but we looked to DWT Racing for both our wheel and tire setup. DWT Racing offers the "Champion in a Box" kit which contains two ULTIMATE ROCK-OUT or ROK'N LOCK front wheels, two ULTIMATE G2 beadlock rear wheels, two mud covers and a DWT hat. The wheel rings that come in the kit are shot-peened and are extremely durable, and you can add color rings for an additional charge. DWT also allowed us to kill two birds with one stone since they recently began distributing the GoldSpeed line of tires, which we've been dying to try. They suggested the MXR/F tires and promised that they would impress. From a visual standpoint these new meats look sick. The rubber compound is super soft, and we felt that they were sure to shine on tracks where hard to intermediate conditions were at play.
Pro-Armor's Pro-Am front bumper...
Pro-Armor's Pro-Am front bumper is not only protective but looks incredible.
Lonestar's aluminum rear wheel...
Lonestar's aluminum rear wheel hubs were lightweight and looked trick.
Keith Little floated our LT-R450...
Keith Little floated our LT-R450 over even the largest of jumps with ease.
After the numerous get-offs and crashes I've seen and experienced over the years, protection is one area that will not get short changed. We needed a nerf bar with large netted heel guards, which was necessary to give our Yoshimura kick-start lever proper clearance. There are only a few players with a netted-style heel guard, and one of the newest is Pro Armor with their new Revolution setup. We coupled the nerfs with the PRO-AM Series front MX bumper and rear grab bar. To help prevent our quad from digging into the ground or being pounded by rocks, we mounted up a Pro Armor chassis skidplate. The skidplate will help the bike slide across the ground when making contact and protect the underside from rocks and debris. Considering the high RPMs these quads run, a jumped chain could be disasterous. To help keep the chain from slapping around, we installed a TM Design Slide-n-Glide kit and a Pro Armor case saver. Streamline was called upon for their steel-braided brake lines to reduce the spongy feel that you get with stock brake lines as well as their pads up front and out back for assurance of a quick stop. To round out our safety gear, we also installed a Pro Armor kill switch and PowerMadd hand guards to protect our hands just in case we were not up front.
Yoshimura offers several trick...
Yoshimura offers several trick billet aluminum plugs for the LT-R450.
Adding to the final touches, we chose a handful of great mods such as a QuadTech seat with rear hump which features a gripper surface, is color customizable and has thicker foam that really soaks up the bumps through rough terrain. Various other QuadTech carbon-fiber guards were used to protect the fuel and electrical components. Next we contacted Renthal for a set of Fat Bars and capped them off with a pair of Renthals new Kevlar grips, providing increased wear resistance. We then turned to ASV for a set of unbreakable F3 series forged levers, which have a three-year guarantee and look great on this machine. To protect our newly powdercoated frame from unwanted scratches, we mounted up Suzuki's true carbon-fiber frame guard set backed with 3M adhesive, which will keep our frame looking fresh after hard abuse. We polished off the look of our new racer with a trick custom graphic kit by G4 Graphics, QuadTech beak and some anodized billet plugs from Yoshimura.
TM Designworks offers must...
TM Designworks offers must have matching chain guides for the LTR.
After three months of tearing this thing down to the frame and then building it back up, we were ready to see her in action. What better way to put our newly built factory-level racer to the test than to hook up with someone who has several years under his belt as a factory-supported Pro racer! Pro ATVA MX racer Keith Little invited us out to his personal practice facility for a weekend of riding and testing so that we could find out once and for all if we'd accomplished our goal for this build. Custom Axis technician Mica Macdonough also joined us to help dial in our new suspension properly.
With stunning weather and Keith Little's practice track at our disposal, this was no doubt going to be an amazing weekend of riding and testing! As we turned our hats around and got to work, the first item on our agenda would be setting up the caster, camber and suspension. Working alongside both Keith Little and his years of race experience combined with the knowledge Micha from Axis, we set our caster and camber on the front end and dialed in our ride height. With the sparkling LT-R450 prepped and ready for its first-ever time in dirt, Little geared up and took the honors. A few laps later, we dialed in the pressure on the upper and lower chambers and tweaked the high- and low-speed compression and rebound to get the suspension to work for us instead of against us. By lunch, Custom Axis had the suspension on our project quad dialed in to perfection for Little's hard-packed red clay track.
Renthal offers stronger and...
Renthal offers stronger and lighter sprockets in a variety of sizes.
"I was pretty stoked to have ATV Rider magazine out to my personal track for a weekend of testing and more so to see if these guys could really pull off the task of building a Pro Class winner. I was extremely impressed with the ergonomics of the Suzuki. I can say with ease that this quad is one of the most comfortable and rider-friendly quads I've ridden. I loved the T-shaped seat that allowed me to move around with ease and the fact that my boots never got hung up in funky positions between the foot pegs and plastics was nice as well. Pro Armors netted heel guards were probably some of the best I've ridden on as they were comfortable and reliable. Overall, everything just seemed tailored to make the rider comfortable.
Renthal handlebars allowed...
Renthal handlebars allowed us added strength and the bend we needed.
"I felt that ATP did an excellent job at unlocking the LTR's hidden power as it pulled surprisingly strong from the mid-range up into the top end. It accelerated fast and it was apparent that it had great potential for pulling holeshots. One strong advantage that stood out about the motor was how easily it pulled over the bigger jumps. For example, one of the long triples on my track which requires every ounce of available power on stock quads was handled with ease. I can say with confidence that this ATP motor had everything it needed and more, allowing me to huck this bird up and over that triple without worry. I honestly feel that the dry conditions worked to this motor's advantage. The only negative I found is that it had a tendency to be a little lazy on the bottom, which could be remedied by going up a tooth or two on the rear sprocket. Overall, even though this motor was built to run on pump gas, it definitely produced the type of power to be worthy of racing at the Pro level. ATP even has the ability to step it up to even higher levels if that were necessary, but the cost for race fuel is hardly worth it.
Yoshimura's kick-start kit...
Yoshimura's kick-start kit sheds nearly 8 pounds and starts our motor with ease.
"One of the most important factors on a race machine is its handling, and ATV Rider hit the bullseye with the JB arms and Axis Air Shock setup. There is a lot to be said for a good suspension that is set up correctly-a must for any race bike as it offers the comfort and confidence when hammered down through rough straights. In the corners they held the proper amount of stiffness so that body roll was not much of a factor, allowing both quick entrances and exits into and out of the corners, and it kept its composure even through the gnarliest of whoops. I could also feel the Fastway System 5 stabilizer taking care of business up front. Once set up, the stabilizer allowed me to keep it pinned in uncertain terrains while maintaining stability and confidence. I was certainly beginning to feel as if I could not only be fast on this quad, but likely compete at the MX Nationals against the top factory riders.
"Another huge surprise for me was how well the new Goldspeed MXR/F tires worked for me. These tires really stood out as great performers with their extremely soft compound and aggressive-style lug pattern. The rear tires were easy to break loose and slide through corners, and possessed extreme amounts of traction to keep you moving forward. The front tires had a real solid feel, allowing me to push hard both in and around the corners with great braking abilities. They also held up to a weekend of extreme abuse on my hard-pack track with very little wear, which is always a bonus. Overall, I was really impressed as ATV Rider has transformed this stock LTR into a factory-level racing masterpiece. There is no doubt in my mind that they not only met their objective, but even surpassed it. It was extremely comfortable and rider-friendly, and I'm confident that I could be competitive on this quad, even in the Pro ranks! And don't laugh, I've already started hitting them up to sponsor me for 2010!"