Long Travel Front End

[Big - D Racing]

I am thinking about one of these new suzuki's, I know they have basically a plus 2 front end on them stock for the 50" width, but I have heard that the front end is stock long travel, meaning 19" shocks? Does anyone know if the front end comes stock with 19"
s or the standard stock 16 3/4" shocks? Any info would be appreciated. I really like the idea of having a stock long travel front end.

[LTR450_#67]

Being as it has it 10inches of travel I am guessing it is long travel.

[Jersey450R]

Originally posted by LTR450_#67
Being as it has it 10inches of travel I am guessing it is long travel.
NOOB!


nah, just kidding. it could have 12 inches of travel and still be standard. not really sure if its long or reg travel. long travel just means the wheel can drop further, thats all. up travel is not affected. imo, the shocks and arms are great for what you want to do with them. afterall, isnt this the real "race ready" bike?!

[Racing Rice]

I read somewhere that an owner said the shocks were 19 inches long with no load on the bike. No clue if they are long travel or not though.:confused:

[bwamos]

They are most definatly a "long travel" front end. Aka: Long Shock.

If you lok at the front end the shock lower mount is very close to the ball joint on th lower a-arm giving it about a 1-1/4:1 wheel travel to shock travel ratio as opposed to a standard setup where the shock is about 1/2 way up the arm, giving it a 2:1 travel ratio.

[Racing Rice]

It appears that they are. This is from the press release.


It’s equipped with a track-holding wide stance and long-travel, competition-ready suspension that’s fully adjustable.

http://www.atvriders.com/atvnews/2006_suzuki_ltr450_quadracer_release.html

[Blindkaeta]

the shocks are 17 eye to eye

[bradley300]

Originally posted by Racing Rice
It appears that they are. This is from the press release.



http://www.atvriders.com/atvnews/2006_suzuki_ltr450_quadracer_release.html
dont let a press release fool you, ymaha also says a blaster has long travel suspension. the stock suzuki is not LT, notice how much lower the shock mount is on the race team quads? there are only 3 quads that have a bonafide LT front end stock. the cannondale/ATK Moto and the polaris predator/outlaw. aftermarket a-arms wont get a longer shock on them

[bwamos]

Houser LT a-arms vs. LT-R450 a-arms.

As you can see the leverage ratio is very close to the same. The percentage difference from the povit point to the lower shock conn, then from the lower shock conn to the ball joint is about the same.

Therefore for every inch of wheel travel, the shocks shafts travel about the same on one arm as it does the other. Therefore, if the Houser arms are for a Long Shock Shaft Travel then the Suzuki's arms are for a Long Shock Shaft Travel. In fact the Suzuki may have a longer shaft travel across the same distance of wheel travel.
http://www.houser-racing.com/sites_pages/PRODUCT_PAGES/HONDA/TRX450R_2004-05/images/Trx_LT_Blk_Arms.jpg

http://www.suzukicycles.com/images/gallery/LTR450K6/photos/LTR450_Front.jpg

[bradley300]

"long travel" has nothing to do with the levearge ratio. all "long travel" means is the a-arms usea longer shock than the stockers

[ltrracer]

I talked to a dealer the other day about this stock long travel question and this is what he said. He told me that the LTR's stock shocks are longer than other stockers but not as long as regular long travel, he called it medium travel. But you can put long travel shocks on the ltr's stock a-arms.:devil:

[bwamos]

Originally posted by bradley300
"long travel" has nothing to do with the levearge ratio. all "long travel" means is the a-arms usea longer shock than the stockers

I don't mean to be argumentative or disrespectful, but it has everything to do with leverage ratio, in my opinion.

The term "Long Travel" came about because moving the shock out further toward the wheel causes the shaft to travel further when the suspension is moving. Aka a Long Travel shock. As a result of moving the shock out, and the incresed shaft travel a longer shock body is required.. but that is a result, not the cause.

An 18" long shock with 3" of shaft travel is not a LT shock. However, an 15" shock with 6" of shaft travel is a LT shock.

For example.. if you have a 300ex. and you put a set of shock on it that are 18" long (much longer than stock), raise the upper mount to accomidate and use the stock a-arm mountling locations it is not an LT system. It is just a big arse fugly shock doing nothing more than a stock length shock does. Full shaft travel of about 3 inches.

Now if you take a shorter length shock, say 15 inches and drop the upper mounts back down closer to the stock mounting locations, and move the lower shock mount out closer to the wheels, your shock shafts travel can increase (to about 6"), thus a long travel shock.

That's what a LT system is supposed to be. Simply moving the lower mount closer to the ground only reduces ground clearance. You have to move it closer to the wheels to make it an LT system.

Droping the mounting point on many of the arms like Leagers, Walsh, etc.. is for ease of fabrication and design. They bend the tubes, place a mounting tube on the bottom of the tubes, and weld them together using a pair of gussets. It's quicker, cheaper, and stronger than drilling a hole through the arms, and inserting the mounts there. It's also stronger than putting them in top since tesnile strength of steel is MUCH stronger than crush resistance. It's good sound engineering and manufacturing, but that alone is not what makes it a Long Travel system.

[Airik79mx]

the shocks are not 20.5in eye to eye and thats what they need to be.. and thats what gust/jones fox shocks are with walsh arms.

[370kingR]

Originally posted by bwamos
I don't mean to be argumentative or disrespectful, but it has everything to do with leverage ratio, in my opinion.

The term "Long Travel" came about because moving the shock out further toward the wheel causes the shaft to travel further when the suspension is moving. Aka a Long Travel shock. As a result of moving the shock out, and the incresed shaft travel a longer shock body is required.. but that is a result, not the cause.

An 18" long shock with 3" of shaft travel is not a LT shock. However, an 15" shock with 6" of shaft travel is a LT shock.

For example.. if you have a 300ex. and you put a set of shock on it that are 18" long (much longer than stock), raise the upper mount to accomidate and use the stock a-arm mountling locations it is not an LT system. It is just a big arse fugly shock doing nothing more than a stock length shock does. Full shaft travel of about 3 inches.

Now if you take a shorter length shock, say 15 inches and drop the upper mounts back down closer to the stock mounting locations, and move the lower shock mount out closer to the wheels, your shock shafts travel can increase (to about 6"), thus a long travel shock.

That's what a LT system is supposed to be. Simply moving the lower mount closer to the ground only reduces ground clearance. You have to move it closer to the wheels to make it an LT system.

Droping the mounting point on many of the arms like Leagers, Walsh, etc.. is for ease of fabrication and design. They bend the tubes, place a mounting tube on the bottom of the tubes, and weld them together using a pair of gussets. It's quicker, cheaper, and stronger than drilling a hole through the arms, and inserting the mounts there. It's also stronger than putting them in top since tesnile strength of steel is MUCH stronger than crush resistance. It's good sound engineering and manufacturing, but that alone is not what makes it a Long Travel system.

That was a really good example. I can honestly say that i feel like i learned something right there. I had no idea what LT really meant i guess. Nicely done bwamos. If no one else believes you i sure do!

[TBD]

bwamos definetly hit it pretty much right on. Long travel is meant for the shock travel not wheel travel. By increasing the velocity of the shaft it makes the valving more adjustable.
The difference with the LTR450 front end and true long travel front ends is that the LTR shock mount on the lower arm is above the center of the arm when most other long travel set ups are below center requiring a longer shock. The actual length of the shock isn't as critical as the amount of shaft travel you're able to get.
That was a really good post bwamos.

[MXRACER86]

Awesome Post bwamos!