We Ride Suzuki's All New 2009 QuadSport LT-Z400 ATV
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The LTZ400 was first released in 2002. With its only competition being the Honda TRX400EX and the Yamaha Warrior 350, it was instantly considered a class leader. With a peppy liquid cooled engine, excellent handling characteristics and styling ahead of its time, the Z400 became a huge hit for Suzuki. The mighty Z400 was such a great machine Kawasaki and Arctic Cat worked a deal with Suzuki which allowed them to use the same design and technology for their new sport 400s. Soon after this the KFX400 and DVX400 were born. As good as the Z400 performed on the trail it did better on the track. In fact Doug Gust proved that the Z400, with a little aftermarket help, was more than track worthy by winning the first Pro Production Grand National Championship in 2003. In 2004 the new Pro Production class merged with the old Pro class. With gates full of Yamaha YFZs and Honda 450Rs Gust certainly had his hands full. In the end Gust and his Z400 annihilated the 450cc competition. He won the championship with 8 overall wins, 12 podiums and won by a massive 110 point lead!
Fast forward to today and every manufacture is on board the ATV race scene with impressive 450cc race machines. It’s obvious, even with Gust’s incredible 2004 season, the Z400 isn’t the race machine of choice anymore. But with the recent updates that Suzuki has made to their strong-running, fun little Z400 -- it’s clearly still capable of all the sport performance recreational riding you can throw at it. With that said, Suzuki decided to have us come out to test their new and improved 2009 Z400 at Vessel’s Stallion Ranch in Sunny Southern California. Here’s what we have to say about the all new Z400…
Obvious Changes
First they started off by overhauling the styling and over all look of the machine. Suzuki looked no further than their sexy LT-R450 racer and incorporated the fenders and all the details right down to the head light from the 450. They also included the T-shaped seat Suzuki is known for. We’re big fans of the T-shaped seat, not just for its sharp looks either. It’s great for positioning your body perfectly and comfortably for high-speed cornering. They also made some ergonomic changes to aid in better handling and comfort. The foot pegs have been lowered 5mm and moved back 2mm, while the
handlebars have been moved forward 10mm and lower 5mm. This gives the rider a totally different feel than they got with the old Z.