PROJECT ATV: Walsh Race Craft Honda/Suzuki 450

A funny thing goes on at the doorway of Walsh Race Craft in Live Oak, Florida. Used, mostly stock ATVs and dirt bikes roll inside but never come back out. Some have missing fenders, others have flat tires—junkers, you might say. What does roll back out, however, is one of the lightest, most powerful and best-handling race quads we have ever thrown a leg over.

Here it is; 2012 and Honda has yet to release a new 450 sport quad with a wide stance, an aluminum frame or a fuel-injected engine. An announcement like this just might give the motocross racing world the shot of adrenaline it needs in this economy. Unfortunately, the bean counters at corporate probably will not allow this to happen until things in the financial world do a U-turn.

There is a long list of people that still wonder how good a new machine from Honda might be. Walsh Race Craft is not sitting around wondering; they are doing something about it. Walsh built a new racer from the ground up, and at this time we can only hope Honda comes up with something this good. Power for the Walsh machine comes from the current (2009 or newer) EFI-equipped Honda CRF dirt bike. While the race-width chassis is made of steel, the complete package is lighter than anything on the track today. Walsh Race Craft frontman Mike Walsh claims his machine is ready to race; full of fuel, it weighs 350 pounds. According to Walsh, most MX quads on the track range from 375 to over 400 pounds.

RETURN OF THE HYBRID
Prior to Yamaha’s introduction of the YFZ450 and Honda’s TRX450R, top-level race ATVs were built from the ground up using aftermarket frames and engines stripped from four-stroke dirt bikes of the day. There were a few frame companies to choose from, and engine supplies came from all of the major Japanese brands. These machines were called hybrids and bridged the time and technology gap between the era of racing Honda 250R two-stroke-based machines to modern four-stoke production racers.
Walsh’s creations are not cheap, but they are much stronger than using production components, according to Walsh. Most serious racers have to do major frame gusseting to their quads so they can withstand the race abuse. Each Walsh race quad starts with a strong chromoly frame that sells for $3000 alone. Then, $1500 Walsh A-arms are hung up front and connected to a $300 Walsh steering stem, and a $1500 Walsh linkage-equipped swingarm gets installed in the rear. The back end features more of Walsh’s signature products, such as the $600 lowered-rear subframe. Walsh’s lowered subframes have been used to win races by names such as Josh Upperman and Jeremy Lawson. Another Walsh product hiding under the plastic of many race quads is a custom aluminum fuel tank. This handbuilt $600 piece keeps the fuel low in the frame and also stores an electronic fuel pump inside.

If you are looking for a dollar amount so you can start saving, Walsh sets the kit price at $8000. Other small components are included in the price, such as a handlebar clamp, chainguide, intake, pivot bolt, kickstarter extension and cooling-system mods.

PARTS SOURCING
The Honda motor that gets mounted in this quad is as light as they come. It is a kickstart only. There is no battery needed to run the EFI system, and all of the electrical components would fit in your back pocket. Best of all, this engine makes well over 50 horsepower in stock trim. Walsh also uses the stock clutch lever, perch and cable, countershaft sprocket, and motor mounts. That basically leaves you with a frame, suspension components, wheels and bodywork to part out.

For the quad components (i.e., brakes, steering, bodywork, hubs, spindles, bearings), Walsh prefers to use Suzuki LT-R450 parts for several reasons: After fielding Jeremy Lawson’s Suzuki MX effort over the last few years, Walsh knows the components are strong. Another good reason is that there are tons of used machines available for very little money. We see hardly used Suzukis for sale in California for around $3000. That’s about $1000 less than it would cost to buy the Suzuki components needed for this project. After getting your parts off the donor Suzuki, you still have a frame, suspension, and engine to sell off and recoup some of your investment.

When sourcing shocks for this project, Walsh, again, had weight savings in mind. The lightest race-quality shocks available just so happened to be the same Fox Evol components that John Natalie used to win last year’s MX championship. Instead of the heavier coil springs, these are the shocks that use air chambers to keep the quad from hitting the ground, plus they have all the adjustments you can ask for. Chris Borich also won a pro championship using Fox shocks and Walsh suspension components.

HONDA TEST RIDE
When we do 450cc shootouts, there are always little nitpicks that we have about each machine—some need to be lighter, some need better suspension and others more power. We know only a little customizing can make any one of them near perfect for certain riding conditions. This Walsh quad has been developed and perfected over many years and is flawless for the track. The Honda kickstarter fires the racer up instantly. Gone are the days of hard-starting four-strokes. Honda has it figured out even without the extra weight of an electric starter.

For our 6-foot-tall test rider, the ergos were perfect. The relationship between the 1 1/8-inch handlebars equipped with Spider grips and the oversized Pro Armor footpegs was great, as was the T-shaped Quad Tech seat. This quad had an LT-R450 thumb throttle operating Honda’s latest fuel-injected throttle body with very little effort. No complaints there.

Our test ride took place on the sands of Bithlo MX track in Orlando, Florida. We know sand robs power, but someone forgot to tell this Honda. It clawed like a tractor through the turns, then rocketed down the straight like a missile. The stock Suzuki brake components slowed the lightweight machine precisely. The Honda engine in this racer was bone stock, and there wasn’t another quad on the track that could even come close to keeping up with it.

The roughest whoop section on the track was again no match for the Walsh Honda. No matter how you attacked the section, the Fox shocks took the beating without abusing the rider. You could ride lightly with the front end over the bumps, or plow through them head on and the chassis did not disappoint. This definitely was an area where you could make passes on other quads and they would struggle.

More positives were found in the air. You could launch the quad over big and small jumps with complete control. In the air you could tap the brakes to bring the front end down, or pull up on the bars to keep the wheels up. Side-to-side maneuvers are easy on this light ride too.

RACE RESULTS
We can’t guarantee you will win any races on this machine, but we can say, racing a machine that works as good as this Walsh Honda will help. In the long run, if all of the components are working well and maintained (e.g., the suspension, steering geometry and drivetrain), they will last longer—even on the pro level.

There are only a handful of classes in all of ATV racing that won’t allow an exotic machine such as this. If you are serious about racing one of the many other classes, then the Walsh Honda should be considered. It would be our first choice. If you are interested in building your own 2012 Walsh Honda, give Walsh Race Craft a call at (386) 364-4942, or visit them online at www.walshrc.com.