A few years ago the 450 sports quad was rarely heard of, and then came the YFZ 450 followed by the TRX 450R, and before you know it 450 sport qauds start poping up all over the place. 2006 may have a total of nine or more 450 race quads to choose from. There will for sure be the YFZ 450, the TRX 450R, the LTZ 450, the ATK 450 MX, the Gas Gas 450, and the Dinli DMX 450. There may also be a 450 from Bombardier, and Kawasaki, but that has yet to be determined. And Dinli is also still developing a more racey model than there own DMX 450. Then there is also a chance that unexpected 450's pop up in 2006 that have been kept well under wraps. So this is basically a nine or more qaud shootout. My money is on the Suzuki LTZ 450 being the best. The reason I say this is:

Superior Chassis and suspension design- It will be around three inches wider than the yfz, or the trx 450, it is very low to the ground with
a very low center of gravity. The chassis and suspension is so good that Doug Gust, and
Jeremiah Jones will race it with stock A-arms, swing-arm, and shocks. Doug Gust said: "the
suspension is better than all aftermarket suspension he has used in the past."

The Z 450 has fuel injection- The first 450 with fuel injection, no more rejetting for alltitude or temp.
It should have a very advanced exhaust system, and a heavy duty clutch to handle the 450's power.

I get all of this information on the Suzuki LTZ 450 straight from the premiere issue of Quad magizine page 24-25, and the July issue of Dirt Wheels. Just so you Know I'm not making all this great stuff up.

 

Yes indeed, the future of the sport market is booming....as it has been fortold. The main key to it all is patience, and understanding that quads aren't developed in a month.
Here's to the glorious return to the golden era of the 80's and hopes for the continued growth of the sport market segment.


TPR

 

My money is on the Suzuki LTZ 450 being the best. yep i think so too [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Who would you put your money on the Z450 if you don't even know how it performs or if it even exist? You're a easy bet....

 

Anybody coming out with a new model, had darn well better make it better than anything else out there if they expect to sell any. The wild card will be that manufacturers are catching on to the fact that they are going to have to make YEARLY UPDATES, just like with the MX dirt bikes, if they are going to stay on top.

 

cannondale had their 440's out for a couple of years before all the other 450's...but then they went under...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Don't leave out the KTM450. That one should be sweet, but expensive I'm sure!!!

 

LTZ evil 400 I did not know KTM was getting into quads. Where can I get info on this KTM 450?

 

I don't know if there is any info on it yet. I do know that they were looking for and hiring an engineer to design a quad frame about 2 months ago. All the speculation and rumors are that it's for a 450. Some others here may know what I'm talking about (blackbird, TPR, Recon, anything?)

 

Yeah, there was a press release looking for designers and engineers to work on ATV development. Now with Polaris in the mix, they may be able to step up R&D time.

TPR