About to buy one of these...so got some questions for you guys

[FourFiftyFour]

Had some general questions for you guys as I have owned my Dale for so long that I have become a one quad person.

First off my main concern is the shocks...im 115 lbs and Im worried that they are going to be way too stiff for someone like me....are these shocks adjustable enough for my small amount of weight?

Any issues with the frames cracking that I should be worried about...Im in general I guess you could say a B level rider. I ride on mx tracks and on very rare occassions, the dunes. Should I consider getting it gussetted right away?

What are the typical simple mods you guys are doing to these quads? Nerfs, handlebars, cherry bomb, killswitch, tires??

Any other issues that I should look into before racing it?
Right now im winning my series and such and I am looking for it to be competive enough to finish out the series (will probably keep it closer to stock for now until Im done with the season this yr)

[450r51]

this might be of concern to you, but my friend has had his ltr for about 3 months, and two weeks ago his tranny blew. and it almost cost him his life.

well hes better now but the tranny is shot

had to get all new gears, and the shifter shaft, basically a whole new transmission and suzuki wont cover it

[scott89gt]

That's a lie, the machine is still under warranty at this point in time.

[Baracudaaa]

The shocks might be a little stiff for someone your weight, but its nothing a revalve cant fix. I hear quotes of around the 400 range for all 3 shocks.
The frame issues are already fixed, it was just the rear linkage weld that was the issue, and really, only if you are a pro rider. I have raced mine in everything from Enduros to G/Ps' and not 1 problem with the weld. They dont need gussetting, but if you do get a first gen quad, have the rear link welded all the way around, easy easy fix.
People are fibbing a lot about the trannys. Seems like everyone has a friend of a friend that had some tranny issue that was so terrible it almost cost them their life. I say its all B/S, it is always second hand info from someone else. Their is an issue of a whining noise from the gear box, but no explosive tranny cases have been listed on any of the LTR only web sites. I would go to one of the LTR web sites and read up there for more info, there are a lot of x-can dale riders on the forums.
You will also find tons of other info on go fast mods and add on parts.

[450r51]

Originally posted by scott89gt
That's a lie, the machine is still under warranty at this point in time.


how would u know? he said suzuki wont cover it. y would u even say something newb. that u know nothing about.

[450r51]

Originally posted by Baracudaaa
The shocks might be a little stiff for someone your weight, but its nothing a revalve cant fix. I hear quotes of around the 400 range for all 3 shocks.
The frame issues are already fixed, it was just the rear linkage weld that was the issue, and really, only if you are a pro rider. I have raced mine in everything from Enduros to G/Ps' and not 1 problem with the weld. They dont need gussetting, but if you do get a first gen quad, have the rear link welded all the way around, easy easy fix.
People are fibbing a lot about the trannys. Seems like everyone has a friend of a friend that had some tranny issue that was so terrible it almost cost them their life. I say its all B/S, it is always second hand info from someone else. Their is an issue of a whining noise from the gear box, but no explosive tranny cases have been listed on any of the LTR only web sites. I would go to one of the LTR web sites and read up there for more info, there are a lot of x-can dale riders on the forums.
You will also find tons of other info on go fast mods and add on parts.


quote once again y must u say im lieing, the tranny problems are real. my friend juicey55 on here is who im talking about, he did blow every gear and the shift shaft. y must u ppl not think its real, is it because u havent seen it first hand or what.

[AceLtz]

Originally posted by 450r51
how would u know? he said suzuki wont cover it. y would u even say something newb. that u know nothing about.

Im not trying to be ignorant or anything but i do not believe that. The quad is still under warrenty and the transmission is definetly covered. If he blew every single gear and shift shaft, which is very strange, then Suzuki will cover it. Even if they say they wont thats a huge part of the bike.

[jfarrar30]

suspension may be stiff for you but a respring and or revalve is all you will need.ditch the dale you will not regret it!!!i never realized after riding the dale so long how bad it really was till i spent some time on my zuk.some nerfs tires a pipe and cherry bomb and you wont be happier

[Baracudaaa]

Originally posted by 450r51
quote once again y must u say im lieing, the tranny problems are real. my friend juicey55 on here is who im talking about, he did blow every gear and the shift shaft. y must u ppl not think its real, is it because u havent seen it first hand or what.

OK, so even if your invisable 'friend' had a problem, and somehow blew every gear, not 1, maybe 2, but all 5 at 1 time proves he is as lame as you are.
So lets say you are for real, ok, then we have a grand total of 1, that would be 1, singular, guy with the most explosive gear box ever to have existed. I still say F/U, its B/S, go snap some shots of it to prove me wrong. Its not an occuring problem, get your facts straight before you start claiming its a big issue.:scary:

[Derno24]

Originally posted by jfarrar30
suspension may be stiff for you but a respring and or revalve is all you will need.ditch the dale you will not regret it!!!i never realized after riding the dale so long how bad it really was till i spent some time on my zuk.some nerfs tires a pipe and cherry bomb and you wont be happier

Jeez Farrar, you getting money from Suzuki?

I like both machines for different reasons, but I would definitely say you need to get the shocks revalved no matter what. They are stiff for me and I am double your weight.

[Ohtu02]

I've owned a Gas Gas 300 that was stolen, great quad by the way. The YFZ450, The TRX450 and now the LT-R450. I won't go into how this all occured but I can tell you this, you'll spend less money to make it competitive, it handles like a dream, you can get the shocks revalve (we actually have a guy who does a great job using a Nascar Dyno to match them all). I've only put nerfs on, a kill switch, shock revalve, cherry bomb mod and it rips. I've been riding since the 80's and am an A level rider. Check out our website if you like www.atvskills.com or www.atv-world.com. Oh, I did happen to be one of the few to bust the rear shock and linkage weld. Suzuki took care of the weld no problem and the newer ones are suppose to be stronger. Hope this helps. If you have any question and want honest answers, feel free to give us a call. Cheers, Daniel

TIP: For those running the stock shock and have noticed it to seem real stiff, check out how tall the bottom out bumper is. It's freakin' huge. Believe it or not, it makes the shock about 30% stiffer and adds rebound. Cut the bumper at the middle groove and you'll notice a BIG difference, at least I did. No more kicking on heavy compression!

[TampaBoy813]

Originally posted by scott89gt
That's a lie, the machine is still under warranty at this point in time. yamaha would not cover my YFZ after 3days...i was told that if there wa some thing wrong with it...it was from abuse...:ermm:

[elbine69]

Originally posted by 450r51
this might be of concern to you, but my friend has had his ltr for about 3 months, and two weeks ago his tranny blew. and it almost cost him his life.

well hes better now but the tranny is shot

had to get all new gears, and the shifter shaft, basically a whole new transmission and suzuki wont cover it

what he says is true. the tranny blew as he was going to do a jump and he fell off and was about landed on by 5 or 6 other riders, including me. everything in that tranny was completely broken.

LOOK Guys, stop chew people's azzes that are tellin us about thier problems. When I first came on here and told about the broken frames, everyone said it was BS, it was the shock or linkage not the frame.. WELL NOW YOU KNOW THE TRUTH. Suzuki did not even put the clamps on my throttle body and my bike died 20 minutes into the first ride. My tranny made a horrible whine/grind, people said it was BS. MY quad is getting harder and harder to shift now. I have heard of a COUPLE of credible people "blowing" their gearbox. Stop being overly proud/blind and realize some LTR's have some major gearbox issues. Other than a few flaws its a great quad. Suzuki warranty WILL COVER LITTLE, they will do everything they can to avoid paying warranty work-"normal wear and tear is not covered". Don't call these people liars and stop the bashin on people sharing their experience positive or negative. You are going to runoff the knowledgable members on this site, and be left with a bunch of 15 year old know it all's.

[Baracudaaa]

Whats wrong with a little heated debate? No visabe curse words, or threats of retalitation have been made, & I would assume that Senior Members (yes, i used capitals out of respect) would be comfortable with that? I didnt call anyone a liar, I simply asked for proof for an invalid claim. If I were to believe all stated claims without some sort of validation, i.e. pix, or from a reputable source, were true, then I would consider myself crazy.

[Baracudaaa]

Whats wrong with a little heated debate? No visabe curse words, or threats of retalitation have been made, & I would assume that Senior Members (yes, i used capitals out of respect) would be comfortable with that? I didnt call anyone a liar, I simply asked for proof of an invalid claim. If I were to believe all stated claims without some sort of validation, i.e. pix, or from a reputable source, were true, then I would consider myself crazy.

[PrarieWolf]

I wouldn't get any info on this site thats for sure. way too much flaming going on. All anybody cares about a drag race, and who really cares about that. I read a lot of post but never really post anything unless i can be helpfull.
As far as the gearbox goes, I personally have not had one problem, and I run 4th into a long sandy woop section. as far as the gussets go, newer models have been reported to be updated. you'll have to check.
ACEOUTDOOR- Have you tried to go to a diffrent dealer? In my experence with dealers the smaller the dealer the better as far a warrarty work goes. smaller shops need work and if you find the right one they will badger the factory so they can get paid for the work they do. I've seen some stuff like plastic get replaced under warrarty (after the guy rolled it!). the gearbox is a major item and should be covered.

[AceLtz]

i agree. Smaller shops need the work more than big motorports outlets. They will be on Suzuki until they get it fixed. The bigger shops will just blow you off becuase they have bigger things to do.

[FourFiftyFour]

I got to race on one of these bad boys yesterday (with a broken wrist!) and took both holeshots and won both motos...I am hooked!!! Totally love the quad... it is truly amazing for being stock.

Yesterday I won a free exhaust from DG for contigency yesterday.... so I already have parts lined up for it ;)

[spanky101]

congrats on the win... it makes it hard for me... ltr or 450r.... so tough

[jfarrar30]

Originally posted by Derno24
Jeez Farrar, you getting money from Suzuki?

I like both machines for different reasons, but I would definitely say you need to get the shocks revalved no matter what. They are stiff for me and I am double your weight.


the suspension works good for me.it has taking some dialing in but i got it pretty close to where i need it.still working on the rear a little but its not far off.mine have loosened up a lot since they were new.get out and ride the darn thing derno and break them shocks in

[Derno24]

Originally posted by jfarrar30
the suspension works good for me.it has taking some dialing in but i got it pretty close to where i need it.still working on the rear a little but its not far off.mine have loosened up a lot since they were new.get out and ride the darn thing derno and break them shocks in

And it takes you ten weeks to respond. I am not saying I don't like it, but I am an XC guy and narrowing it up is what is taking so long. When she is finished it will rock. Stock shocks will not be in my future as I have -1 arms already.

[armysig]

About the suspension, yes it can be tuned for you, but it takes time.

The first thing my buddy and I did to his quad was lower the ride height to his specs.

He likes to have the front at about 8inchs and the rear about 7 5/8th inches with him on it.

Once we did that we then adjusted the compression and the rebound on the shocks. We started out with max compression and rebound.

We went to the track and he rode the whoops, hit the jumps etc etc, all while I was video taping his ride.

We then went the other way on the compression and rebound. Again I taped the ride.

After that ride we then viewed the taps. He was able to see what was happening to his shocks and started to tune them to what he felt and saw on the video.

So, after the tune he went out for a ride and I taped him again. At this point it was just fine tuning for that track we were on.

We were able to get his suspension to his ride style. It was very easy to make adjustments to the shocks and they are very responsive to the imput and adjustments you make.