Brandon
Bender's 2007 Suzuki LTR450 ATV
"This
build has been a progression over
the last two years. The quad is an
'07 that I bought brand new in January
2010. I intended on finding a used
Honda 450R and setting it up for MX,
but stumbled across this on a showroom
floor at a dalership near me and the
rest is history. I justified it by
telling myself "it was MX ready
and I wouldn't need to mod it..."
Well I should have known better, since
Ican't leave -anything- alone. Shortly
after spending a little time on the
forums looking at other LTRs I saw
one with yellow plastics and frame
and new the instant I laid eyes on
it what I wanted to do with mine.
Finally over this past winter I had
the opportunity to tear it down and
make it my own.
For the
sake of reliability (and the fact
that I was pulling 1 out of 3 holeshots
at local races against big builds)
I kept the insides all stock, with
the exception of a BCS shift pin,
for added reliability. For power I
scored a deal with Yoshimura for 2012,
so I'm running a full RS-5 exhaust,
along with a few other small hard
parts from them. On the intake side
I'm running a stock airbox with a
ModQuad intake adapter and a K&N
filter with an Outerwears pre-filter.
Other than that I'm still making due
with the respectable power the LTR
puts down in factory trim.
Suspension-wise
I went with Fox Shocks on all three
corners. All three I picked up used
in the classifieds sub-forums, and
had serviced and/or revalved/resprung.
Other than a KOQ linkage and the shocks,
the suspension components are stock
as well. For a B-class rider, I felt
I had no business upgrading the already-MX
width front end to long travel, and
the rear end is working great with
the Fox/KOQ combo.
I am
running Precision's Shock & Vibe
clamps and their standard steering
stabilizer. I have to mention that
the shock & vibe clamps are probably
the best thing I've done to the bike...
I would recommend them to anyone.
I installed them when I was still
running stock front shocks and it
felt like I put an aftermarket front
end on.
I am
also onboard with DWT this season,
and the G2 rear beadlocks and Rok-Out
fronts are great. I also took a chance
with their V3 front tires and V4 rears,
despite not seeing much in the way
of first-hand reviews from people
on the forums, but they've been great
thus far.
Dirt
Fiend Racing did the graphics, and
they've been a pleasure to work with.
Sam put up with my meticulous custom
details I wanted on the kit, and he
made the vision in my head a reality.
Overall
this thing looks and performs better
than I expected, and I'm honored to
have won quad of the month. After
seeing some of the other quads in
the running this month I wasn't holding
my breath, and I have to say I applaud
the other builds.. well done boys."
- Brandon
Bender
