I am getting a new bike this summer. I have narrowed it down between these two bikes. I wanted to know who tried the ltr. How does the power compare. Does it rev as fast as a yfz? Also is the wider a arms and axle on the ltr help you guys who have tried it have better handling? I will mostly be dune riding

 

i dont know really as i havent ridden both, but i have seen both on a track, and i would have the ltr. and with it being widened from stock, well that just further seels the deal. however they're both great and will both do the job perfectly, but i would say get the ltr 450 [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

On paper the LTR sounds pretty nice. The wide stance and EFI are nice features. Ive heard that the clutch and tranny are not holding up very well on them, and the powerband is pretty mellow.

The YFZ is proven. It has a harder hitting motor. Its carbed instead of EFI and does not have the wide stance.

Out of those 2 bikes, id take the YFZ, make it wider and jet the carb for the mods I make.

At any rate, im enjoying my 700 in the dunes, beating YFZs in the drag races. Havent seen a LTR in the dunes this season yet.

 

the ltr may be a better handeling bike due to ex a arms etc, but in the proformance dept. not so, no better then the yfz unless you count fuel inj. i remember when the suzuki guys were saying 5 or 6 bike lenths in a drag definitly b.s...

 

ATV RIDER magazine (June 2006) did a 450 shootout. The 06 Honda TRX450R came in 3rd (out of 3) Its the Narrowest bike, and the weakest in the trails, also said it was very stong out of the trails. 2nd was the new 06 Suzuki LT-R450, the article said it had the best turning and also said its shocks were awesome. "The LT-R's engine didnt have the wallop of the YFZ, or high-end surge of the TRX. Not that it was slow- we have lap times to prove that it does haul butt- but it was just in a deceptive, plain-Jane manner." The went on to say it was awesome in the trails due to its wide stance and small tires. The #1 bike was the 06 YFZ450. All 3 pro riders picked the YFZ to be the best overall, Steve Valli, Dustin Nelson and Steve Beilman.

 

I would also suggest the YFZ between these two machines. The engine puts out more power, and despit the Suzuki having lower gearing and smaller rear tires, the Yamaha still out accelerates it. That tells me the Suzuki is a bit underpowered by comparison, which is NOT GOOD in the dunes, where sand eats up every HP you have! Good luck w/ your purchase whatever you decide.

 

Power goes to yfz, ltr has better handling...but yfz has insanely good handling itself so you cant bash that. imo both bikes would work fine...BUT, the ltr does have a messed up rear shock linkage and will break off the frame under serious pressure, has happened so many times to other people, just check the zuki threads about it.

 

Bone stock for stock I can't tell you what bike is better in a strait line.

What I can say is the the ltr I saw running this weekend with yoshi pipe, UNI filter, EFI controller, and paddles made very quick work of piped/filtered/paddled/cam modded yfz's and HRC 450R's with paddles. Heck, it was beating good 686 raptors with extended swingarms that had given me trouble in the past.

I didn't get to ride it or race against it (oil leak) but I know that I have a new found sense of respect for this machine and until I can get on the seat myself I have to respect what I've seen.