[MXQuadRacer]

I made this thread to try and better understand what some believe may be a problem surfacing with their new LTR's. Though the amount of people who have claimed strange transmission noises, isn't overwhelming it has been enough to raise a few eyebrows.

I would appreciate it, if everyone on here who has had any concerns over strange tranny noises would post all details about their specific situation, I.E - Approximated ride time/miles, where your ride time was spent, break-in procedures, what exactly the machine does, when it does it, what gear it whines in and any other machine-specific details you could possibly share please.

As well, for those of you who have numerous hours on yours but are trouble-free, feel free to post information on yours as well.

I'd like to get a count on how many people have had this problem, and if so - what your dealer is doing/has done or said about it. As well, maybe we can see some trends towards what may be causing it.

 

[aceoutdoor]

I purchased mine and didn't even have 20 minuites on it and it shut off. The factory forgot to put the screws in the Throttle body clamps on both sides and the dealer missed it on the PDI. I fixed that and continued to break it in- varied the throttle, never lugged it a gear too high, never bounced it off the rev limiter, always used the clutch when shifting. I only got to ride it for an hour or so and treated it like GOLD as I cannot afford a new quad every year like some people and am lucky to have my LTR. It started whining intermittently in 2nd gear after the quad was hot after 20 minutes of riding. The sound was the same even if you pulled in the clutch, its definetly a gearbox problem. Quad is still at the dealer. I suspect a bent shift fork and maybe it happened on the dealer floor from customers jamming it into gear, if not then they must have made some parts in the tranny out of pot metal. By the way I have heard from quite a few people with the same problem so its not an isolated incident. I don't care what anybody says there is simply no excuse for a new quad with one hour on it to have gearbox problems. If I wouldn't lose my a$$ I would sell it and buy a TRX450R like I should have in the first place.

 

[Luckiduc13]

First off I want to say I am very impressed with my LTR. It is by far the best quad I have ever stratled. I was once an evil enemy of Suzuki, but they have impressed me with this piece. Kudos to them. I have however, had some problems. My choke has started to stick if I use it to aid in starting. I have to manually push the "plunger" back into the throttle body. Very tedious if you have big hands.

Now to the transmission. I was riding Saturday with a buddy who has a 05 trx450r. We pulled several laps around our practice track and pulled to the side (approx. 45 minutes of riding time). Before I came to a stop I heard the whining while in second gear. I pulled the clutch and it continued. I shut the engine off until my friend caught up. I asked him if he had heard the noise and he did not. I started it again but no noise. I rode Sunday without the noise appearing.

I hope this isnt a big problem and if it is Im sure Suzuki will honor the problem! I hope we can all come to a conclusion and possibly troubleshoot the problem.

Ive got the standard mods: airbox lid removed, baffle is out, and the cherry bomb.

 

[jfarrar30]

dang hopefully the whining will not come back.have you changed your oil at all and noticed any metal or anything in the oil or filter?

is you cable sticking or is the plunger?may be able to spray some cable lube down there to take care of that.

did you wax the 450r?

 

[svtjames]

Yeah same with mine all though i haven't taken it to the dealer yet. I didn't notice the noise till i changed the oil. I used KLotz mx4 10w-40 and a k&n oil filter with the exact amount of oil specified. I'm gonna try some motul oil see if that changes anything(doughtful). It is definitly a noise coming from the gearbox though.

 

[LTR450PILOT]

all you guys that are having problems what kind of oil are you using in the gearbox?

 

[Luckiduc13]

As far as the choke goes, its definately the plunger. I had to dissassemble and physically push the plunger back in. The cable would move freely. And for the 450R, he has a cam and white bros full exhaust and I will say it hauls tail. We are right beside each other in a straight. He has a tough bottom end though.

I am using Suzuki Brand 1040 in Engine and gearbox. I tend to be a fanatic about changing oil so it has been done three times already with roughly 15 hours, so i change every 5 hours or so (including oil filter). I will calm down a bit when I feel shes found her groove. I plan on switching to royal purple motorcycle/atv 10w40 soon.

 

[foxman_23]

rode my ltr for first 10 hours or so at half throttle and another 2 or so not going over 3/4 ish throttle. Used clutch in all shifting and used all gears not to stay in one too long at a time. Changed oil and filter at approx 12-13 hrs and no noticeable shavings or anything of the sort. Used Castrol Actevo 10w-40. Rode HS in Keithsburg ,IL on Mar5 and about 40 mins into the race it started to whine. This was not gear specific. Continued to ride and noise went away after appriox 10 mins and hasnt come back since. Total of approx 16 hrs on machine now.

 

[tlronny]

This 'whining' noise seems to be getting quite common ??

 

[ZukiLT-R450]

MMmmmmmMM! Mine has no problems! ?? Go figure! I drained the break in oil and replaced it with trop artic 10w-40 for break in!! fallowed "moto-mans" break in secrets.. BASICALLY drove the crap out of it in short intervals! couldn't be more happy with my choice of the LTR over the YFZ and especially the 450R.. I have about 8 hours on it.. and have the Yoshi rs-5 full exhaust comming.. I have the "cherry bomb" installed! I will admit that there are a couple of things that have me concerned about my LTR.. these being.. Idle, choke, on quick throttle starvation???? HOWEVER it really doesn't worry me.. this quad has a computer.. F.I. and is still NEW!!! it has to fully adjust!!! wouldn't trade it for nothing.. especially a freakin' 450R! SILLY BOY I plan on changing the oil and filter before the next ride.. put another 4-8 hours under its belt then switch over to "royal purple" like one other smart owner I know :wink: good stuff Just be happy if you are riding a LTR you have the best there is to offer.. BAR NONE!

 

[ltrazor]

This may be a stupid post and I don't want to insult anyone's intelligence, but when changing the oil did you add it to t the tank and than the 400ml to the other side of the engine? If this is insulting I'm sorry it's just this is a strange oil changing procedure that I was warned about.

 

[foxman_23]

Good legitimate question ltrazor. And to answer yes I did add oil in both places. On a side note I still havent heard it since the race. 20hrs

 

[SandJunkie]

Now you guys have me scared...hell I might even start hearing things this weekend. Anyways I have about 5 hours or so on mine and I broke it in like the Moto Man said...rode it like I was gonna ride it...in other words drove the crap out of it as much as reasonable. No problems other than short shifting to second. Prollie take you guys advice and discard first altogether. Now as far as the oil change...just did that and had a fair amount of crap in the oil filter so I am glad you guys gave me the Moto Man heads up. Cinched everything down and let her warm up...no sounds so far. Putting sand paddles and razors on it and heading to Glamis for some fun this weekend so I will keep you posted. And your right...WEIRD oil change proceedure :evil:

 

[Luckiduc13]

I usually have to put in an extra 100ML to see it on the stick! Hope that isnt hurting anything!

 

[ltrazor]

I know a guy who is a tech for Suzuki. If you are running the orginal Suzuki oil, it is very "slippy". The thick gears in quads cause oil to break down. Hence why even in the final drives of cars the use a 90 weight oil. Suzuki just released an atv specific 10w-40. I was planning on running a full synthentic that I had great luck with. He said this may be to "slippy". I'm gonna try it when I do my first oil change and then if I get a noise I'm going to switch.

 

[SandJunkie]

Great...nice of them to tell us. BUT...be that as it may I absofreakinglutely LOVE this machine. And I could care less if the tranny BLOWS OUT. I'll just warranty it and get a new one. So much the better and I don't have a problem dealing with the dealers you just need to be assertive Anyways the trade offs are worth it because this is the most techy bike out there and the engineering that went into it...well...I just have to admire it everytime I get more and more into it. Lets face it fellas no bike is perfect and they all have their good and bad points and as long as the good points outweigh the bad ones? Then you have made the right choice for you no matter which bike you ride...And I happen to think these LTR's are the best :? Nuff Said :arrow:

 

[MXQuadRacer]

Cleaned this thread of the oil change procedure, thanks SandJunkie - please PM Taylor your address

 

[Luckiduc13]

Raced this Sat and no problems! Dunno if it will ever do it again, but until then Ill ride it like I stole it!

 

[tophog]

I had mine out this weekend for the first time at Oregon dunes. I opted to following the Motoman break-in. After about 30 minutes of break-in runs I rode it normally the rest of the weekend. The first day I only rode it for about an hour or so ...no problems or noises. About 1/2 way thru the 2nd day with a total of about 5 hours on the bike I got the whine! It does not whine all the time but noticed once the whine started it didn't matter if I was in gear, shifting, etc. It would whine until I came to a complete stop ...then it would be fine until I started getting on it hard or right after I climbed some steep hills. Again, once it started whining it continued to whine until I came to a complete stop. Whenever I stopped and took off again the whine was not there ...but if I went thru the gears hard or climbed a steep dune, etc. it would start whining everytime.

I changed oil after I got home today and will be going back out again in a few weeks. I don't expect the oil change to make any difference though I probably put about 8 hours total on it ...I had very little metallic particles in the oil/filter when I changed it.

 

[SandJunkie]

Originally posted by MXQuadRacer
Cleaned this thread of the oil change procedure, thanks SandJunkie - please PM Taylor your address  

I wish I had thought of that..sorry bro. And hey...which one of ya'll is Taylor? I should prollie order a shirt so if I bump into Fuel out in Glamis we could take a pic of us pimping our HQ gear :?