A suzuki dealer posted this on another forum site:
From the topic title, you notice it being called an LT-R450 instead of LT-Z450 like everyone, including me has been calling it for the last 2 months.
The “Z” is no where implemented into the name of this quad at all. Just found that out a few days ago.
Suzuki began shipping DVDs of the 450 in action…along with Gust footage on the Z and old Denton footage on the LT250R included on the disc, a couple weeks ago. I got to sit down this evening and really dig deep into what was being shown and what was being told. It wasn’t but a few minutes long, but there were a couple things that stood out. The video is under contract from all dealers to not be shown to customers. It’s even warned to the dealers clearly written on the disc. For those of you who aren’t dealers or have friends in the industry with access to it to watch for yourself…..here is what I came away with after several slow motions and still frames……..LOL
The exhaust is pretty much in the exact location as the new Polaris Outlaw other than it is not exactly centered in the frame and is very close to the grab bar compared to the Outlaw. This is very evident with a good up close shot of Gust slinging the backend around. : )
I am not so sure that this engine is related to the RMZ450 dirt bike engine like everyone, including myself has been ranting about. It could be, but I have doubts now, and here’s why….. The engine area was a bit blurred out so that no fine details could be seen. But from after disecting the best shot of it myself, it is just hard to find anything similar between the two engines. There are more differences than there are similarities.
Another thing to note about the engine is that there does APPEAR to be an electric starter on that thing. I would be able to tell for sure if I had seen a kick starter….but the only clear (if you want to call it that) engine picture was taken from the left side of the engine and a rider was onboard……so still hard to tell for sure either way.
It DOES have EFI like blackbird first mentioned here several weeks before any magazine mentioned the machine’s existence. His insider tip was dead on the money.
The plastic design is very much like that of the old LT250R QuadRacer. The T shaped seat is wider in the rear than on the Z400 but a bit narrower in the front portion. There really wasn't a good enough frame shot to get a close up the front, but there was a good still frame from the rear that left a bit of the front portion of the seat exposed when Gust was hanging off of it. it appears narrower in the front.
The 450 in the video had the headlight located in a separate pod from the hood and was mounted right below the handlebars much like the older 400EX models.
The front shocks have monsterous rezzies…piggy back style like the 450R and YFZ.
Finally,....Gust was really putting in a wild ride on that thing. I have seen him race many times and he was blitzing corners with absolutely no body roll whatsoever. The one in the video could have been an altered version of the production model, but if it wasn't...that thing has got the suspension that everyone has wanted off the showroom for years now.
The official launch will be at the show in October. No official word on when it will arrive at dealers yet. That will be announced when the quad is unveiled at the show.
Any questions pertaining to this would be nice, but I have nothing to respond with. I know nothing more than what I have said here.
I can't burn copies of that video for you to see, but I did nothing illegal by telling you what I saw myself. If you are in pretty good with your dealer, stop by and ask him if you can see it because a copy of it was sent to every Suzuki dealer in the U.S.
I have been patiently awaiting all the dealer shows this year to pick out what I will race next year.
Unless Honda and Kawasaki pull something out of their bag of tricks during their shows in September....the R450 may just very well appear in my garage because nothing has impressed me more thus far this year.
