anybody believe in upgrading as you get better?

[Out_Sider]

i've been thinking alot lately about what i should do about modifying my 450 when i get it. should i go w/ standard travel arms and have my stock shocks rebuilt along w/ a +1 1/4 swing arm and gt thunder linkage? or just go ahead and go LT front and rear with it and forget it? cuz if i go the cheap way to start once my riding improves and im in the A class im goin to go to LT.

so should i go standard for now, and then go LT when i've improved, or just go LT to start with?

[Gabriel Racing]

to me id go with long travel


from reading some of your race reports your a good rider and it will save you money in the long run.


but its truly your own opinion.

[Pappy]

ride it as is until you can outride the stock suspension. then buy the best parts you can possibly afford.

[400exracer08]

if you can afford go with long travel you will become a great rider with lt it was the best thing i put on my 450r. I had standard on my 400ex and i always wished i went with with lt. So go with long

Originally posted by Out_Sider
i've been thinking alot lately about what i should do about modifying my 450 when i get it. should i go w/ standard travel arms and have my stock shocks rebuilt along w/ a +1 1/4 swing arm and gt thunder linkage? or just go ahead and go LT front and rear with it and forget it? cuz if i go the cheap way to start once my riding improves and im in the A class im goin to go to LT.

so should i go standard for now, and then go LT when i've improved, or just go LT to start with?

Not that many people run LT setups when racing, but if thats what your wanting, get the best setup you can from the start, that way you got more time on the good stuff and know what to expect as you get better, me myself i run stock length a-arms with elkas and 4-1 hipers, some people use that setup and go with 1/2inch lt setup, but that wasnt for me, didnt think i needed it, and after 4 races, i know i dont need it :macho

[trick450r]

my line of thinking...it would be better for me to learn to hang with guys with LT with my standard travel then when i upgrade to LT i should be way faster...and with my standard travel i can hang beat guys in my class with LT...so im just going to keep going with standard untill i cant progress anymore and jump up...

[stonerider250x]

just go all out man cuz i wanna be able to smoke you with my done up dvx next year when we move up :p

[eddings]

That is a good question. I know a guy that races mx in the TQRA. He is in the B class which is very competetive (18-24 riders every race). He is on a totally stock YFZ and is in 1st Place after 3 rounds of racing. He also is about 6'3 and I would guess about 230-240lbs. He is amazing on the machine. He is competing against well built YFZ's, 450r's, and Z450's. So I can tell you from watching him, you don't have to have a LT front end to hang, you just have to ride harder and faster. I hope he never gets the LT and shocks, cause then he might really clean up. Good luck to Matt Holmes, Chance, and all the Oklahoma boys in TQRA this year.

[Jersey450R]

I like up-grading as i get better. it just makes sense. you will find out you will need aftermarket's after a while to make your quad cope with your riding style (if that makes sense, lol) i'm almost ready for shocks and arms but i like the width stock. i may go with just +1's, a nice LT set-up, and a dominator.

[CdaleXtreme]

I personally build my quads for the rider I want to be, that way all I have to to is hold it on, to get faster, instead of being limited by my equipment. :D

I mean if your kids go hungry because you got an LT front end dont do it. But if you have the money dont waste your time with the cheap stuff.

[Out_Sider]

Originally posted by CdaleXtreme
I personally build my quads for the rider I want to be, that way all I have to to is hold it on, to get faster, instead of being limited by my equipment. :D

I mean if your kids go hungry because you got an LT front end dont do it. But if you have the money dont waste your time with the cheap stuff.

heh, i'll be 16 next year, no kids :p

[chris450R]

Originally posted by Out_Sider
heh, i'll be 16 next year, no kids :p

that you know of! right?

[ThumPIN_450R]

my way of thinking is buy the best and buy it once why waste the money on something you will get rid of as you progress when you could just have the good stuff the first time and not worry about it

[Honda]

Bottom line is this,

If you can afford it, and you are able to ride competitively, you should go ahead and buy the best equipment you can afford. A good rider needs good equipment to be competitive, good equipment will also help you be more competitive than the guy who doesn't have it. Also, as you ride on the equipment you have purchased, you learn its limitations more effectively than if you are constantly changing your set-up.

I have lost races because I just didn't have the proper modifications to be competitive. An example of this was a cross country race I ran one time, I clipped a tree with the back wheel, I was running a set of Douglas 190 wall aluminum wheels without bead locks or reinforcement rings. The wheel was demolished; I ran a lap and a half on a flat tire before it started to come off the wheel. I would have won that race, as I was several minutes ahead of the 2nd place rider. I was disappointed to say the least. Now I run Hiper Bead locks, and I have not had a flat since, they simply will take almost anything you can throw at them, including trees.

Also, if you had two riders, with equal riding skills, and one had a highly modified machine, and the other was riding his near stock, who do you think is going to take first place?

I realize that not everyone can afford to have the best set-up available, I am no different, but I am also not going to spend the money on something that I know eventually I am going to change, it saves money in the long run to just buy the proper set-up now, rather than spend the money twice trying to get it right.

Hope this helps you out!;)

[Cody_300ex]

Originally posted by Pappy
ride it as is until you can outride the stock suspension. then buy the best parts you can possibly afford.

That what I did. Darrel I say go with some +3 arms of your choice, get your stock shocks with a triple rate zps set-up, And a +1 swinger of your choice and have the rear shock rebuilt with dual rate zps. Not saying that you a bad rider, but at your level you dont really need the best of the best chit ya know? Its all about the rider.:cool:

[Out_Sider]

well at a local level next season im gonna be in ATV AM and in the nationals im gonna be in 4 stroke B, but i dont have the sponsors or the cash to go all out and i really dont wanna be on a stock bike racing b class cuz b class nationals are fast

[450rboy]

well this is me and my 450r is completly stock. excepet i toke the baffle out and i need new tires. i also race in A class but it is just it is the closest track to me so i got to it. and there are like 10 quads usually in the class. this is my idea. i try to get best at what my 4 wheeler can do and i am winning this years A class so far but it is really hard but i can still improve and push my 4 wheeler even more. so when i get all i can out of it and i can't get any better than what i am. i will probably upgrade it. and most of all the other 4 wheelers have a lot done to them

but i don't think i am gonna when this year because i got first the first race of the year and then the i got second the second race because he is really good lol. if he is the all year i don't think i will win lol. but the guy is cool so i don't really care

thanks for letting me say what i wanted lol

c ya