Suzuki LT-R750

The sport-quad market needs a kick in the pants. Things have become stagnant in the world of 450s. There just hasn’t been much in the way of new and improved, except for Yamaha’s YFZ450. Fortunately, it continues to see upgrades and refinements each year. Thank you for that, Yamaha. Another Yamaha that gets refurbished regularly is their Raptor 700. As the biggest sport quad, it’s still very popular and sells well. Perhaps that’s because it has no competition in its stand-alone category. If there were to be a new quad introduced to excite the sport ATV enthusiast, then it stands to reason that it should provide an alternative to the big Raptor. Which ATV manufacturer is most likely to do that? Probably not Honda
any time soon, because it wasn’t that long ago when they came out with their 700XX and then put it back on the shelf. A big sport quad wouldn’t be new for Kawasaki, either, since they had their V-twin KFX700 for a while as well. The one ATV manufacturer that would be a good fit for a new sport quad is Suzuki. Why? Well, besides the rumors, there are several reasons why a big yellow Raptor competitor would be smart for them.

WHY IT’S A GOOD IDEA
First of all, they don’t have a 450 sport quad anymore. When the LT-R450 was in their lineup, it was one of the best quads on the track as well as on the trails. It might still be here if not for a government emissions agency that slapped Suzuki with a big fine for incorporating a second EFI mapping that was a little richer than the stock one. The only way anyone could access that mapping is if they bought a special part from an aftermarket racing company. That should have been within the rules, but the EPA likes to throw its weight around.

Suzuki has a right to be mad about the harsh punishment they got for such an insignificant and minor thing. However, it shouldn’t cause them to give up on making another version of the LT-R. The engineering of the chassis and suspension is already taken care. There would be no development cost for the engine if the basic design was utilized from an existing engine in Suzuki’s warehouse. The Kingquad 750 has the largest single-cylinder engine you can get in a 4×4. It makes good power from its double-overhead-cam design and four valves. Of course, the engine is mounted up to a CVT, but it wouldn’t cost that much to cast new cases for the crank to sit into with a manual clutch and gearbox. The cylinder and head design could be left as is. With just some hotter cams and a larger throttle body for the fuel injection, the engine would make even more power than it does in the KingQuad. It would also fit in the LT-R450 chassis with a tweak here and there, along with bodywork adjustments.

OKAY, LET’S HAVE IT
The Dirt Wheels spies have indeed heard anonymous sources at Suzuki mention that a big LT-R prototype does exist and it has been tested. Based on their descriptions, we put together this visual image of a Quadracer 750 to see what it might look like. We could see ourselves roosting around the track and trails on a machine like this. How about you? How soon will we get that chance? It would be great if Suzuki already has it scheduled to be included in their 2018 lineup.