i have owned my r450 for one month now and i just put elka triple rate shocks on with full adjust ments because the front stockers were to harsh on the choppy ground. so i went to a freinds track for the day and i made some small adjustments the the front suspention and it was working awsome. even over a 70footer. well i was doing he jump hammering in 3rd when i droped the nose in for the landing the front end soaked it right up then rear end hit and i felt the frame hit the ground whitchs was no big deal until i realized it stayed on the ground. so i hit the bracks and get off and where is my rear shock its laying on the ground. well the spring and some other peaces to the shock were any way. well what happend is when i landed the linkeg from the rear shock were it bolts to the frame riped the mounting tabs right off of the frame and then the link ramed into the ground witch made the shock snap the bottom off and there i sat with a band new race quad with a busted frame. i was worned about this from a friend that seen i happen to two other ones at the races out west. also in my new magazine the show a pic of Jeramia Jones with the same problem with his. the linkage mount snaps right off. So beware this is the week point of the suzuki at this point. and just for the record i have never had a poblem with my Yfz or my 450r will doing all the same jumps and racing them at Amatur/Expert level all sesone long. i havent even race the quad racer yet and i already have to take it back. im taking it to the dealer in the moring ill let you know if the are going to fix it or not. im just glad that my elka read didnt come yet or that would be broke and id be realy mad then. well thats all for now.

 

Interesting. I have heard about this problem from a few riders. A member of this forumn (I forgot who it was) said in a post that the LT-R has some of the worst welds on the frame he has ever seen. I wonder if this contributes to the weak frame? I just don't get it...don't the manufacturers abuse the he!! out of these things in tests before they put them on the market? Sounds like the early LT250Rs from the 80s all over again which were notorious for cracking frames.

 

the z also used to have a problem where the engine would drop right out. Thats why you never buy a new model on the first year

 

Suzuki was probably like america was in WWII...In need of combat planes cause they were too lazy to think that they would need some in the future, so right when WWII rolls around, they have to build the death machine b-26 bomber and send it to war without testing and rebuilding. Thats what we are seeing in suzuiki, wanting a 450 so bad to compete with the others, they dont even bother testing it, they send it right out....hmmm...thats...homosexual

 

Exactly what kept me from buying the 450. If I dumped $7K+ on a quad, it better be flawless. Still a great bike though, just needs some refining.

 

yeh they won with it but that was one or two quads, we are the test domies dont feel bad cause the 2smokers bikes have no warranty, my rm was a mess ,dont bye first year

 

Take a picture of it and put it in your pics to show everybody where it cracks.

 

well thats crap. if they are going to make a "race ready" quad, maybe they should make some race ready welds?

 

think about it: they are trying to crank this thing out. they probably turned up the speed on the assembly line, and the welding robots are not doing so great a job. when i stripped my raptor down and sandblasted the frame for a powdercoat a few months ago, I couldn't believe the quality of some of the factory welds. I was amazed my rear shock linkage mount hadn't snapped off my frame. but that's ridiculous. if they claim the machine is race ready, why is this stuff happening?

all their LT quadracers were notorious for cracked and broken frames. this is making me second-guess wanting to sell my raptor to buy an LTR 450.

 

Ill have to see a picture of it before i believe it. BUt there is something people are overlooking. Why would anyone who rides trails buy this machine? This is bike is TOTALY set up for mx. Little cheesy skid plate,tiny rims and tires.its as wide as a ferrari. When they say race ready they mean mx ready not trails. I think suzuki might be shooting themselves in the foot making a quad thats so ready for mx and not trails. like the yfz and the honda 450r you can ride trails or mx right out of the showroom. Why would suzuki make such a one sided quad? I would have to spend 5-600 bucks just to ready it for any trail riding!