{"id":5325,"date":"2014-09-29T19:44:05","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T19:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/?page_id=5325"},"modified":"2025-09-17T19:12:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T02:12:29","slug":"ltz453-duner","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/media-galleries\/featured-articles\/atv-and-sxs-illustrated\/ltz453-duner\/","title":{"rendered":"LTZ453 Duner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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2011<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n2012<\/td>\n2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30 captures<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
11 Jul 04 – 1 Dec 12<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Close<\/a>
\nHelp<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n
THIS ARTICLE IS FROM 2006 ISSUE OF ATV ILLUSTRATED
\n<\/span><\/span>\"logo19ss\"<\/span><\/span>\"CT-graphics-LTZ400-YEL-02\"<\/span><\/span>
\nSUZUKI Z453 DUNER <\/span><\/b>Screaming Yellow <\/span><\/i><\/b>sand machine!<\/p>\n
\n

By Bill “WBGO” Lanphier<\/i><\/p>\n

We’ve ridden Suzuki’s Z400 performance quad in the dirt–a lot.
\nThere’s no question it’s one of the best in that element–it may not be
\nthe fastest, but it handles great and puts out more power than Honda’s
\n400EX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n<\/a>\"1b\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Suzuki’s Z400 is a
\ngreat woods quad. With some mods, it makes a very serious duner, too.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Dunes, though, are another thing altogether. The wide-open spaces
\ngive the illusion that you’re not going as fast as you actually are and
\nthe sand itself robs the machine of some power. The high speeds favor
\nlarger-displacement quads with longer wheelbases, like Bombardier’s DS650.
\nIn short, the sand is a great equalizer. What can be done to the Z400 to
\nmake it more competitive in the dunes? We asked Southern California-based
\nCT Racing, which came up with some darn good ideas.<\/p>\n

The first thing CT suggested is to get a little more out of the
\nmotor–not a difficult task for the Z400, as it responds well to mods.
\nCT’s 453 kit includes a resleeved cylinder, high-rev cams,
\nhigh-compression (12:1) piston, head porting, exhaust and a Keihin 41mm
\ncarb kit. To help modulate the extra power that our Z400 now had, a Hinson
\nRacing clutch basket was added. Just how much power can be gained? Dyno
\nruns at CT showed the modified machne now pumping out 48 horses–up from
\nthe stock 28.4. Now that’s a decent gain!<\/p>\n


\n<\/a>\"1c\"
\n“Everyone who’s ridden it falls in love with it,” CT’s Allen Knowles
\ntold us. “Though a fully built 250R will beat it, the 453 kit is a good
\nmatch for a Banshee with pipes and high compression. The kit would blow
\noff a Raptor with a pipe.”<\/p>\n

To widen and lengthen the Z, we went with a Durablue rear axle, as
\nwell as a +2″ swingarm and +2″ A-arms from Laeger’s. Shocks from TCS allow
\nmore wheel travel, but the quad actually rides lower for better cornering
\nstability and tracking through whoops. Skat-Trak eight-paddle Haulers in
\nthe rear get the power to the ground and Skat-Trak Mohawks up front
\nimprove steering precision.<\/p>\n

\u00a0TO THE SAND!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n<\/a>\"4\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Every quad should have
\na super-light Works Connection clutch lever! Powerslides are possible
\nwith the straight paddles (here), but our choice for the Z would be
\nV-paddles for overall duning.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Our test day at the Pismo Dunes (on California’s central coast)
\nwas overcast and gloomy, but once we got a look at the Z, we forgot all
\nabout that. Like all the recent CT machines we’ve tested, it was set up
\nmeticulously by Kevin Avina. Everything feels comfortable and looks solid,
\nand the CT graphics kit works wonders at improving the Z’s appearance.<\/p>\n

Pismo’s Comp Hill is puny, but provides a good test through a few
\ngears. Here, just as Knowles predicted, the 453 smoked many moderately
\nmodified Banshees (although in the flats the Banshees would eventually
\nmove ahead). Still, the Z pulls hard and hauls. Though the rev cams raise
\nthe power curve by 300 rpm, bottom end is still good.<\/p>\n

Out in the dunes, the straight paddles make turning a little more
\ndifficult, and carving a nice turn requires a little more body english.
\nThe Mohawk fronts do a great job of improving steering precision, though,
\nand with a little practice, massive powerslides are possible.<\/p>\n

The longer Laeger’s swingarm helps loosen up the back end for slides
\nand keeps the front planted, but the machine still wheelies easily enough.
\nAs we expected, the wider axle and A-arms dramatically improve turning
\nstability. Jumping fanatics will love the TCS shocks; they provide cush
\nlandings and great tracking through whoops and chewed-up sand.<\/p>\n

MORE HORSEPOWER?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n<\/a>\"3\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Even with the lower
\nride height, the TCS shocks do a great job of soaking up hard hits
\nlike this small, steep-faced jump.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

After our trip to Pismo, Knowles added two more goodies to the Z.
\nWe had problems bumping the stock rev limiter only when we made a mistake.
\nThe new Dyna programmable ignition, however, allows setting the rev
\nlimiter to any point, so overrevving now and then isn’t a problem
\n(ignition curves can even be tailored for running pump gas with a
\nhigh-compression piston!).<\/p>\n

On the intake side of things, CT switched to a Honda 400EX intake
\nboot, which required some trimming at the front of the stock Suzuki airbox.
\nHow much good do this and the Dyna ignition do? How about an additional
\nfour horsepower! Now, at 52 horses, the Z is rapidly approaching twice the
\nstock output!<\/p>\n

Yes, the Z400 is a great machine to start with, and with some
\nwell-thought-out mods it’s really a screamer in the sand (by the way, all
\nthese mods can be performed with identical gains from the Z400’s twin,
\nKawasaki’s KFX400).<\/p>\n

For more info contact CT Racing at 562\/945-2453;<\/p>\n

email: info@ctracing.com<\/a> website: www.ctracing.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
\"6\"<\/td>\n\"7\"<\/td>\n\"8\"<\/td>\n\"9\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The CT Sonic exhaust is
\navailable with the 453 kit, or separately for $529.00<\/span><\/td>\n		Yes, it looks fairly
\nstock, but this motor makes way more horsepower than stock. After
\nour test, CT installed a Dyna ignition, which allows, via mini
\nswitches, writing up to four different ignition curves.<\/span><\/td>\n		A wider rear axle and
\nlonger swingarm are the hot setup for duning the Z. The Skat-Trak
\npaddles provide more than enough hookup for the quad.<\/span><\/td>\n		Check out Laeger’s new
\nupper A-arm ball joints, which have a greater range of movement,
\nallow more shock travel and are more durable. The lower ball joints
\nare also more durable. We really liked the steering geometry of the
\nTag bars, which give you more room to move around and work the quad.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0CT RACING\/SUZUKI Z453 DUNER SETUP<\/p>\n

\u00a0MOTOR<\/p>\n

    \n
  • CT 453 Kit: Resleeved cylinder, cams, 12:1 piston, gaskets, valve stem
    \nseals, head porting, complete exhaust, Keihin 41mm FCR carb kit 400EX
    \nintake boot<\/li>\n
  • K&N filter<\/li>\n
  • Hinson clutch basket<\/li>\n
  • Sunstar sprockets (14 x 34)<\/li>\n
  • Tsubaki Alfa Gold O-ring chainCHASSIS<\/li>\n
  • Durablue 2+2 rear axle<\/li>\n
  • Fastline brake lines<\/li>\n
  • CT brake line guides<\/li>\n
  • Skat-Trak Mohawk fronts 21×7-10<\/li>\n
  • Skat-Trak 8-paddle Hauler rears 20×10-10<\/li>\n
  • Golden West Cycle steering stem +1″<\/li>\n
  • Tag CR hi handlebars<\/li>\n
  • Works Connection clutch lever<\/li>\n
  • Tag grips<\/li>\n
  • CT graphics kit and seat cover<\/li>\n
  • Ricky Stator lighting<\/li>\n
  • Braking brake pads<\/li>\n
  • Douglas Blue Label wheels<\/li>\n
  • Motion Pro twist throttle kit (push\/pull)<\/li>\n
  • CT front bumperSUSPENSION, SWINGARM, A-ARMS<\/li>\n
  • Laeger’s round housing swingarm +2″<\/li>\n
  • TCS SGS shocks<\/li>\n
  • Laeger’s A-arms +2″<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
    \n\n\n\n
    \n
      \n
    • These materials (including without limitation all articles, text,
      \nimages, logos, compilation, and design) are Copyright \u00a9 Tamarack
      \nPublications (ATV Illustrated.com) — All rights reserved.<\/li>\n
    • ATV Illustrated materials may be copied and distributed on a limited
      \nbasis for noncommercial purposes, provided that any material copied
      \nremains intact and that all copies include the following notice in a
      \nclearly visible position: “Copyright \u00a9 Tamarack Publications (ATV
      \nIllustrated.com) — All rights reserved.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      DEC DEC Jan 1 2011 2012 2013 30 captures 11 Jul 04 – 1 Dec 12 Close Help THIS ARTICLE IS FROM 2006 ISSUE OF ATV ILLUSTRATED SUZUKI Z453 DUNER Screaming Yellow sand machine! By Bill “WBGO” Lanphier We’ve ridden Suzuki’s Z400 performance quad in the dirt–a lot. There’s no question it’s one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5383,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5325","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5325"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15430,"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5325\/revisions\/15430"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ctracing.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}