 |
The
new gripper seat is a great addition as
the original seat became extremely slick
in muddy conditions, but this isn't an
issue with the new gripper seat cover |
As the end of the day drew near, raindrops
began to fall. As it had been forecast earlier,
a thunderstorm came rumbling through the area,
bringing with it a deluge of rain. Normally
rain would put a damper on things, but with
out test riders still out on the track, it gave
us the opportunity to see just how well the
new gripper seat cover worked before calling
it a day. “Even when the seat got wet,
I was able to stick in there going into the
corners. You can really plant yourself in there
in the corners and not worry about sliding off,
which is a big improvement over the ‘07.”
Said Davis.
While most quads range in width from 46-47
inches, the Suzuki stands at an impressive 49.5
inches, which pretty much eliminates the need
for aftermarket a-arms for the MX track. Lopusnak
explained Suzuki’s race ready philosophy
and why they chose to build the Quadracer the
way they did. “What we tried to bring
to the table was something that the common customer
can go out and spend $7,000 on and have something
that they can race and be competitive with and
not have durability issues and not have to go
out and buy a bunch of parts to improve performance
or make costly repairs.” He said. “Hopefully
we can bring the cost of racing down to get
more people involved in the future.”
Suzuki’s commitment to racing and performance
not only shows in their product, but also shows
in their efforts and support out on the track.
“We wanted to go out there with a full
factory effort to hopefully evolve the sport.”
Stated Lopusnak. “We’re a very competitive
company. We want to go out there and we want
to win. We see that ATV racing as a whole has
a great opportunity to explode into something
big. We are going to do everything we can to
make the sport bigger and better for everyone.”
He said determinedly.
| |
|
| The
2008 Suzuki LT-R450 is still available
in both white & yellow, but there
is also a new Limited Edition black version
featuring black wheels, black frame and
new black bodywork with aggressive red
graphics package |
Even though the 2008 Quadracer is an incredible
machine in stock form, and Suzuki has done so
much to improve performance, as with any quad,
it needs to be uncorked to see the real power
this machine is capable of. Since power and
performance are major issues for most racers,
Suzuki also brought along a “Cherry Bomb”
to install on the ’08 for us to try. Once
the Cherry Bomb was installed, the muffler core
was removed and the airbox lid removed. “It
pulled a whole lot harder. Those few modifications
really opened it up!” Said Davis enthusiastically.
 |
Doug
Gust's playground was the perfect location
for testing the updated LTR450 & everyone
left smiling ear to ear |
We have to agree that with the addition of
the Cherry Bomb, which is reasonably priced,
you can definitely get more bang for your buck
with the ‘08 Suzuki and have a machine
that is competitive on the track for a lot less
money than any of the competition. We think
the 2008 LT450r Quadracer is a fantastic machine
and with the improvements that have been made
to the ’08 model, it is well suited for
just about any style of riding right out of
the box.
