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By: Jason Giacchino
2009 Suzuki LTZ400 Quadsport
The Z Gets its
First Full Makeover
Continued from
page 1...
Now that you know what's different, perhaps
we should take a moment to reflect upon what's
the same. A big portion of the appeal and
popularity of the LTZ400 was the simple fact
that its powerband was such that it could do
just about everything well. It made power pulses
way down low and pulled steadily until the rider
grew tired of straining his thumb and decided to
up shift into the next gear. Missing was the
brunt hit of the race 450s or the
shoulder-yanking bottom-end torque of the LTR.
As a result of this versatility, nearly as many
LTZ400s found themselves tackling motocross and
cross-country race courses as did those used in
backwoods exploration. This year Suzuki removed
a bit of the machine's jack-of-all-trades appeal
in favor of a more purpose-built agenda. Racers
are going to delight trail riders and
recreational warriors may not be quite as
thrilled.
The Ride
The 2009 Suzuki LTZ400 fired up with the
slightest touch of the bar-mounted button as is
becoming standard fair among fuel-injected ATVs
of late. The exhaust note is slightly more
baritone this time, however, sounding more like
the rumble of a stock LTR450 than last year's Z.
Clutch pull and shifting, as always with the Z,
are spot-on and effortless and easing out the
clutch provided us with a bit of a surprise.
While the Z400 was never known for lacking
low-end, the new version absolutely claws down
low. It was often remarked that it felt like the
new Z could tackle a hill by simply letting out
the clutch (without touching the throttle). That
may be a bit of an exaggeration, but every rider
agreed that the low end felt exceptionally
snappy and popping wheelies is even more
effortless than before!
After being satisfied with burnouts and
wheelies, we decided to find the throttle stop
to ascertain the rest of the power spread. As we
suspected, the new curve does manage to lessen
the Z's old trait of linear pull anywhere in any
gear. Instead the power curve comes on hard down
low and right through the mid range (with a much
more defined punch a la the R450) then tops out
rather than continuing to pull and pull. In
other words, to keep the new Z at optimal
output, the rider has to be willing to shift a
little more. We suspect this newfound reserve of
low-end juice will go a long way with trail
riders who enjoy slippery stones, rocks, and
mud.
We mentioned the chassis had also benefited
from some reworking, and it is in this regard
that suddenly the trail rider may find himself
getting the short end of the stick. Yes, the
frame feels more rigid, the seat slightly
stiffer, the stance a bit more aggressive
(forward), and the suspension near unmovable.
Riders who regularly campaign their Z400s were
simply enamored with these changes, and we can
certainly attest to the fact that they do make
the LTZ more track-worthy out of the box. On the
flip side, we took all of the compression out of
the suspension and backed the preload off and
still found the ride unforgiving and jarring for
anyone under 185 pounds. We mentioned that
Suzuki's LTR450 was the inspiration for the new
Z400, and it is apparently so--right on down to
the mistakes they made with the LTR's debut.
Not surprising, however, is that when a bone
stock 2009 happened to find itself in a drag
race with a bone stock 2008, the 08 ended up
pulling ahead time and time again. While many of
our colleagues were baffled by this phenomenon,
we simply chalk it up to the spread of the power
(not the final output numbers). After all,
torque often comes at the expense of top-speed
and the first generation Z400s were graced with
much farther breadth in the gearing department.
When it comes to sticking a line in a tacky
corner or exploding out of a berm, the new Z
takes the cake.
Conclusion
When compared to many of the glowing reviews
of the new LTZ400 out there, ours may appear a
bit harsh; but make no mistake, this is about as
close to the definition of fun on four wheels as
we've yet to encounter. The machine looks great,
handles like a dream, is plenty quick, and
reliable as a bucket of nails. In fact, we were
reluctant to hand the key back to our local
dealer once we burned through our fuel supply.
Our major criticism with the new model is that
the LTZ400 has given up some of its much praised
user-friendliness and comfort for 2009 in favor
of mimicking the LTR450. In truth, the gap
separating these two models has been vastly
narrowed to the point that some riders are
questioning why bother to have both? They argue
that if it is a more-track-friendly Suzuki you
want, simply get the 450 and leave the 400 for
the woods. To some extent we understand this
criticism and counter by saying that because of
its new abundance of usable low-end, the Z may
actually be even better suited for woods-work
than the old spread. The chassis is a bit rigid
and the rider-stance a bit more uncomfortable
compared to yesteryear but these are small
prices to pay for the grin we found plastered on
the face of each test rider as he handed over
the key. With a suspension revalve (or a set of
aftermarket shocks) the new Z400 could easily
become one of the greatest trail machines of all
time. In the meantime, those who do take their
400s to the track are going to have to do a lot
less modifying to hang with the big boys.
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