iShock your Suzuki LT-R450

Project 2006 Suzuki LT-R450 ATV

Jun. 05, 2007 By Dean Waters

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We have spent many hours on our long-term 2006 Suzuki LT-R450 and we have come to the conclusion that the Suzuki suspension is NOT satisfactory for the amateur/expert or even casual off-road rider. The stock suspension seems to work okay for the expert or pro rider who can push the bike hard enough to make it work. But for the amateur off-road rider, which I consider myself, the stock setup is too harsh. We tried all the factory adjustments and could not come up with a workable suspension that did not beat us to death.

One of the reasons many of our readers may have selected the Suzuki 450 is so they could avoid buying an expensive aftermarket suspension system. Just like you, we wanted to make the Suzuki work without spending all of our savings or maxing out our credit card.

We discovered the S2 Suspension Center by iShock. The S2 Suspension Center could rework both our front shocks and our rear shock for $399.90. After talking to several other satisfied customers, we decided to iShock our Suzuki LT-R450.

These are our Suzuki shocks fresh from the S2 Suspension Center.

The S2 Suspension Center revalved the rear shock to help take out the harshness that is felt on small bumps. The shaft and piston are resurfaced and everything tuned. In the front the shocks are lengthened by 3/4" and the "vertical" wheel travel is increased from a stock 8.94" to 10.55". Sag and pre-load are changed to work with the longer shocks and internal dampening is also changed. This gives you a true long travel setup on your Suzuki LTR.

Testing

We had talked to other iShock customers who were happy, but we were still skeptical but optimistic about the outcome. We had ridden the LTR in many different environments, including WORCS competitive events. The last WORCS event was really what prompted us to find a solution for the lousy suspension on the Suzuki. By the end of my 60 minute race the Suzuki was on my sh** list and all I wanted was to get off as soon as possible.

After bolting the new iShock 'ed shocks on the Suzuki we headed off to a local off-road park for some photos and riding. There was not a lot of rough terrain but we were pleasantly surprised and happy with the new suspension. It was soft on the small bumps yet seemed to still soak up the larger hits. I decided on the ultimate test.

We headed off for a weekend of racing with two one-hour grand prix events on the schedule. The events were at two different kinds of tracks with a variety of terrain - some of it very rough.

Riding at the Xmas Hills Recreation Area in Idaho.

The iShock Suzuki passed with flying colors. It was like I was on a completely different bike from the one I had ridden at that WORCS event. I did not feel like someone had thrashed on me for the last 60 minutes, but more like I could ride this bike all day. The suspension was working 10 times better than it did like it came from the factory. Remember this is coming from an amateur level rider and not a pro or expert. If you are a expert rider I don't believe you will feel as big of an improvement, because you are able to push the stock setup hard enough to make it work. But if you are an amateur rider I suggest you get your shocks shipped to the iShock S2 Suspension Center as soon as physically possible. It really does make that big of a difference.