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The Suzuki LT-R450 is a race ready sport ATV just waiting for some action. The high-performance LT-R450 was the first ATV model to come ready to race right out of the box. From its Introduction in 2006, Suzuki's LT-R450 continues to be one of the most successful fuel injected sport quads ever built. Suzuki's fuel-injected 450cc engine offers astounding top-end performance, with a technically advanced chassis and responsive, long-travel suspension so you can conquer the toughest tracks.
K&N has released a power gaining air intake system (63-1128) specially designed for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Suzuki LT-R450 ATV driven by a 340 cc motor which delivers adequate power and performance. The 63-1128 will fit into the LT-R450 factory airbox assembly.
Most ATV Sport enthusiasts would agree that Suzuki's LT-R450 could use a
little more power and torque. K&N ATV air intake systems are guaranteed to increase horsepower and torque. The 63-1128
air intake system was tested on a 2008 Suzuki LT-R450 and shows an increase of
2.74 horsepower at 6600 rpm.
K&N's high-flow cotton air filter RC-5182XD is a huge reason for the increased in horsepower. This washable and reusable air filter allows for a higher airflow rate than the OE filter. The large media surface of the RC-5182XD traps harmful contaminants from entering your engine while letting it breath easier.
The 63-1128 comes equipped with a unique heat shield that
helps block heat from your engine compartment and directs cooler outside air toward your engine.
Installation of the 63-1128
is easy with K&N's detailed instruction sheets. They are designed to guide you through the process of installation in 90 minutes or less.
Reed finding the familiar groove at the Toyota Speedway
Austin Reed, the Bakersfield, California native, pilots the number 14 Approved Memory, Kalgard, K&N Filters, Ringers Gloves, (RBP) Rolling Big Power, Vitamin Water Legend car. Whew. With that out of the way let's talk about race-swagger shall we. Reed, the 16 year-old, straight-A high school student has enough to fill a speedway, Toyota Speedway at Irwindale to be exact.
Reed and his father Dave are all smiles after winning the Hard Charger Award
"I ran the full season at the Toyota Speedway," says Reed. We took home three Hard Charger Awards, I think that's more than any other team racing there. So that was big for us." If you want to see what swagger looks like check out Reed's picture on his totally stylish website. Race-swagger, in Reed's case, refers to a very positive, cool confidence, the kind that's an absolute requirement for success in motorsports.
Last season was a learning year for Reed in Legend Cars. "I came from short course, off-road racing, so moving over to pavement cars and running ovals was a lot different than what I have been used to," explains Reed. "Our goal was to get me up to speed and comfortable in the race car. I was really focusing on being smooth and changing my driving style to adjust to pavement. Our season started out with a few top 20's and got better the more races I raced."
"We ran the last two races of the season at The Bullring in Las Vegas. I got fifth in one and ninth in the open race. So I really feel like we are getting a handle on what it takes to get around the track and make good aggressive changes to the racecar. With Legend Cars you have to be very consistent and smooth."
For this season Reed will be totally focused on racing for the SRL Legends Car Championship. It is a new touring series that will take Austin Reed Racing to Roseville, Stockton, Madera, the Orange Show, and of course Irwindale Speedway. "We are racing in a few National events at Blythe and Lake Havasu Speedways in March too," adds Reed.
"My Dad also is the spotter for the number 22 car in the K&N Pro Series West, with driver Jonathon Gomez out of Idaho, and we plan on going up to the northwest and run some Legends races when the West cars are racing. I would like to head back to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Million Dollar Race, but we will have to see if that fits into our budget this year."
"We have a great relationship going with K&N and continue to use the best air, fuel and oil filters on the market. Not to mention we also use the Air Intake kit in our tow vehicle. We noticed that we get way more power going up the Grapevine every weekend in our Chevy Tow vehicle. We know K&N products give us an advantage over the competition. I guess that's no secret. So we want to continue to help promote such a great product."
"I am scheduled to test a NASCAR Super Late Model of Ron Esau's later this year at Irwindale. If that all goes well, and we can fit it in our schedule, I might race one or two Super Late Model races at the end of the year. We really just want to run well and have a chance at winning a race and the SRL Legends Championship. I understand there will be a lot of Legend Cars racing for it, so we have to be prepared for sure," concludes Reed.
Traversing Mars-like terrain lined with spectators
Left to our own devices we will unravel the secrets and concoct a vehicle to race over pretty much any surface, even something otherworldly, say Mars-like in appearance. Save the billions of dollars projected on a Mars rover and send Brad Lovell instead, he'll traverse that desolate rock in record time.
At the finish line of the King of Hammers race it’s Lovell, his twin three-year-old boys Adam and Byam, and Bill Kunz (left to right)
Lovell is one of the very best rock-crawlers on this planet, Dirt Sports Magazine crowned him '09 Rock Racer of the Year. And, in the opening event of this season, the 2010 running of King of the Hammers, Lovell picked up right where he left off last season. Lovell coaxed his number 232 AMSOIL Ranger over 135 miles of arguably the roughest off-road race ever run. At the finish, Lovell came up a mere, tough-to-make-peace-with, 28 seconds out of first place.
"Everyone that races faces challenges. For me, the hardest part is the balancing family and racing," says Lovell. "It takes a lot of time and dedication and it is easy to get completely wrapped up in it. I want things right when I get to the track and that means a lot of hours at home. Lucky for me, I have a shop at my house and my boys are getting old enough to help in the shop. The honor (Rock Racer of the Year) means more to me than winning any event. It is way bigger than that. I have always aspired to be driver of the year. Andy McMillin got that and deserves it more than I do. Winning Rock Racer of the Year surprisingly feels just as good. It is amazing to be distinguished in a group of such great people."
This is Lovell's seventh season of rock racing, three years ago he quit his day job to comment fulltime to the sport. He admits there are days he regrets that decision, but ultimately racing is far more rewarding in the end he says. "Good or bad, it is an adventure," adds Lovell.
The number 232 AMSOIL Ranger negotiating 135 of the toughest miles ever
"Nobody in my family ever raced before my brother (Roger) and I. We used to go camping as a family in the Colorado backcountry, once we were old enough, we got trucks and started modifying them for the rough terrain. Finally, we took the plunge and converted my daily driver into a competition rig. We won every event that season and never looked back. It is really important to me that future generations can access the same remote areas we did to get us to this point."
Lovell feels strongly about that last point, keeping the access to remote areas open to everyone is important to him. "The Marines are trying to acquire the valley that hosts King of the Hammers," he says. "We have watched for years as other areas have been closed. Please be responsible while in the backcountry and join the fight through the Blue Ribbon Coalition http://www.sharetrails.org/ or other land use organizations."
So if all goes to plan for Lovell, what are his ultimate racing goals for the future? "That's a tough question. Right now we are building a new AMSOIL sponsored Pro-Light for the Traxxas TORC Short Course Series. I remember watching these races as a kid. I told myself I would never have a chance to race short course or Baja. I was wrong. I am really excited about having a chance to race short course and want to focus on that for the coming years. I will never leave the rocks or desert though."
"K&N was our first sponsor," explains Lovell when asked how that relationship started. "We used K&N products for years before we ever competed and all I knew is that I wanted to work with the best. We have never used anything else. Right now we are running both 14" round and conical air cleaners on our race trucks. We have also used the 14" round on the Torchmate Class 7 truck running in Baja."
The race season has already started for Lovell and the epic King of the Hammers race is already in the bag. "I started 88th and was only 28 seconds short of the win. That one is going to take a while to digest. Either way, it was a great race and adventure of a lifetime," says Lovell. "For the next couple months I will be stuck in the shop building the AMSOIL Pro-Light and the season will really take off in May. We are going to do a little bit of everything this year – dessert, rocks, short course, hill climbs, everything we can get our hands on." NASA are you listening, Lovell may well be open to that Mars exploration thing.
"I'm a cowboy - on the steel horse I ride." J. Bon Jovi
Indian Chief Classic Motorcycle
During the turn of the century, not this last one, but the one a hundred years before that, cowboys were known to actually ride Indians. Yeah, weird, but historically accurate. In 1901, Indian motorcycle riders, some of them cowboys by vocation, could be seen roaming the dirt trails and rolling along the wagon-wheel ruts of Americas' roads. You only get to be first once and Indian Motorcycles owns that slice of history outright.
Ten years after those initial sightings, in January 9, 1910 the New York Times reported - "While the 2 3/4 horsepower single and the five horsepower twin have been retained, two new models will be presented and a seven horsepower twin. The radical changes of the Indian, however, will consist in a mechanical oiling device, free engine and two-speed gear, and a new spring fork."
The Indian Motorcycle Company, or the "Wigwam" as the factory would later be called, was started in 1901 by two bicycle racers, George Hendee and Oscar Hedstrom. Their first motorcycle was a bicycle that housed a small engine capable of reaching a top speed of 30 mph.
Indian Chief Vintage Motorcycle
Indian motorcycles experienced instantaneous engineering and racing success, thrusting the company forward at a tremendous pace during the early 1900s. By 1920 Indian claimed the title of the largest motorcycle manufacturer on the planet. But, the most popular models were still two years away. In 1922 the most famous model debuted - the "Chief." Together with the "Scout" these two models would become the icons of the Indian brand.
Indian Chief Roadmaster Motorcycle
"The most important aspects for Indian Motorcycle Company are our Heritage, our attention to detail, and our fit and finish," says Marc Pomerantz, Marketing Manager for Indian Motorcycle Company. "The finished product that the Indian Motorcycle Company has developed has to encompass the thought provoking images of our past, the quality one would come to expect of the brand, and the performance that the motorcycle deserves."
That kind of meticulous craftsmanship and painstaking attention to every nut and bolt and paint finish can only be achieved through persist patience. In 2009 Indian Motorcycles produced fewer than 500 bikes. For this year they project they might get out somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 motorcycles. It is what it is. The company uses a "team build" concept, where two builders work on the bike along a slow creeping assembly line. The same two people build the bike start to finish, ensuring the highest possible quality fit and finish.
We asked Pomerantz how he viewed his place in the American and worldwide motorcycle market. "We view ourselves as the Bentley of motorcycles. Indian Motorcycles have always been the motorcycle that everyone wants. We feel that we have the highest quality motorcycle on the market. The care and precision that goes into each and every bike imbues the major difference between us, and the rest of the industry. One look will entrance you, one ride and you will want one."
With so much love and devotion poured into every fiber of every motorcycle, nothing, not one single nuance is dismissed or ignored. Only the very best of the best goes into making the most excellent motorcycle on the market. "When the new leadership at Indian Motorcycle Company decided to build the best motorcycles in the business, we spared no expense in cosmetics and performance. K&N has always been the leading company in air filters and performance. The choice was easy," says Pomerantz.
"As far as future projects are concerned," reveals Pomerantz, "I can't comment on the exact projects or their names, but, what I can say is that we are constantly working on new models within and outside of the Chief Platform. Look for some new models again in 2011."
Springer, his car and his trophy, enjoying victory lane
Sometimes you just feel it, you can't put your finger on it, but you know something good is gonna go down. That's how things rolled for Modified racer Brad Springer at Speedfest 2010 held at Lanier Speedway in Braselton, Georgia. Springer's car was fast right from the get-go during Friday's open practice, and when murky weather pushed Saturday's events forward until Sunday, it was no worries for Springer Racing. Springer's number 61 Modified just had to wait another day to set the fast time, start on the pole, and lead all 40 laps to victory lane. Oh, and he also got to meet Super Late Model winner Kyle Busch.
"It was an honor to meet someone that has achieved all that he has in racing," commented Springer about his meeting with Kyle Busch.
"We work really hard as a family racing team and it feels really good to achieve fast time and the feature win," says Springer. "My wife and I are the ones that work on the car, so winning against teams with a lot of mechanical help, is always a good feeling. I couldn't be as successful in racing without the support of my great sponsors, K&N Filters, RaceStatus.com and Conely Engines though."
So how was it for Springer to go face-to-face with Kyle Busch? "It was an honor to meet someone that has achieved all that he has in racing. I look up to him in the way that he races in all types of cars and tracks just for the love of racing."
"We have a great relationship with K&N Filters and use their products on the racecar along with the truck that pulls the car to the track," explains Springer. "We use their oil filters, air filters and breathers on the racecar and also the oil filters and air intake system on our truck. Those products provide us with extra horsepower and performance that keeps us in the winners' circle."
Plans for Springer Racing this season include competing with the USA Modified Series that runs primarily in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, along with some select "bigger paying shows," such as The Rattler in Alabama and the North/South Shootout in North Carolina. "We love to race and be competitive so we will continue that long into the future," adds Springer.
