This project was started with one thing in mind, SAND. It has been transformed from it’s showroom stock condition into a machine well suited for carving bowls, side-hilling, wide open running on the flats, or shooting up the hill. The purpose of this was to make a very capable dune quad, but also with enough muscle to be respectable when lined up wheel to wheel with others. So, let’s start off with a picture of the quad as it came home from the dealer, and then get into the modifications that were made………

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Suspension
One of the most overlooked areas is the suspension. You can’t go fast if you don’t have control, so the stock suspension, while very good, was discarded in favor of components tailored for the needs at hand. A good dune quad needs to be wide and long with soft suspension to soak up rough terrain and whoops. To gain a wider stance, a set of JD Performance +3” a-arms were installed and a Lonestar +3.5” Axcaliber axle was used in the rear to get the quad just under 50” overall. A JD Performance +2” swingarm was also used to lengthen the wheelbase to increase stability and to help keep the front end down.

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For shocks, the stock units were retained but were thoroughly worked over by GT Thunder. The fronts had new valving and internals installed to increase the shaft travel, and new progressive rate springs were wound. The rear shock was also revalved to work with the longer swinger as well as a redesigned GT Thunder linkage. This set up gives the quad approximately 11” of travel (as measured at the frame), has a bottomed out height right around 2” and a ride height of 9”.

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Streamline braided brake lines and line clamps were used to replace the stock rubber lines. A DID X-ring chain on stock sprockets and a TM Design banshee chain roller round out the suspension package.

20x10x10 8-paddle Haulers on 10x8 Douglas .160 wheels are on the back, and 21x8x10 GBC Dune Trackers on 10x6 Douglas .160 wheels on the front. However, the 2-4 offset of the front wheels put the stance right at 53.5”, so they will be switched out for a narrower offset to bring it closer to 50”.

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Engine
Sand robs power like no other terrain, so the engine is something that could not go untouched. The cylinder was sent out to be re-bored to 99mm and then re-nikasiled. The piston is a JE 13.5:1 2-ring design that brings the displacement up to 499cc. A 40mm FCR carb with a K&N filter in the stock open airbox feeds the engine. A HRC cam was used with the stock size valves, but the exhaust ports were smoothed out and the intake side of the head was filled in and reshaped to capitalize on the increased vacuum signal and scavenging produce by the Pulse Charger exhaust. The combination of the Pulse Charger, high velocity porting and overlap of the HRC cam should make for a wide power band with plenty of torque. Soon the quad will be on the dyno for tuning and to see what kind of power delivery it is capable of.

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Appearance
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that bling! The frame and miscellaneous components were stripped and powder coated with Candy Brandywine over a metallic silver base. The metal flake under the transparent red gives off a shimmer of colors in the sunlight ranging from orange to purple.

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The shifter, rear brake lever, kick-starter, rear linkage, and spindles were all sanded down and polished.

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An IMS Classic front bumper, PRM Desert grab bar, and AC standard nerfs help protect things. TrailTech X bars and riser with Spider grips make the riding position more comfortable. A carbon fiber hood was installed on the front and the 50watt TrailTech lights are still yet to be mounted. Finally, a custom seat cover was made to add just a bit of flash to things.

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Due to the weather and time constraints, I have not been able to thoroughly wring the quad out yet. The engine and suspension both need tuned and dialed in. As soon as I get the opportunity to start shaking things out, I’ll be reporting back.


A HUGE thanks go out to the following who helped me with this by either finding parts that I was looking for, gave me advise, or told me that I was doing something wrong .

Vicious Cycle - John is nothing but helpful.

McCracken Motorsports - Luke is the man.

Merrill Stone Racing - Tyler is goofy, but he found the parts I was after.

JD Performance - The "Double D's" gave great recommendations.

KGB - Kam the piston pusher for the power junkies.

Thanks again guys!

Simply amazing! One of the BEST so far IMO B)

WOW, looking great Dan. It surely is one of the finest R's in the land!
Thanks for taking the time to do such a quality write up, to match the time spent on the quality build up.
I can't wait to get together at the dunes and ride!

Holy cr@p!!! if i saw that in the sand, i would rush out of the way! That R looks bad!( in a good way lol). i like the BAD HABIT emblem on the seat cover.

Any other mods you thinking of? like you havnt done it all already :D

...UFO

Absolutely awesome, BUT there one thing that just dosnt work for me on your bikee dan, The stock clutch and valve cover, Pc it black or the same as the frame or get some strippers and polish it up. Other then that amazing.


Ryan

AWESOME!!!that is very nice.what kind of seat cover is that?

DAMN Dan

Looks SWEET!!!!

That thing is sweet!! Everything goes together just awesome... looks amazing and I bet it will rip and handle very good as well. Good work!

Without a doubt that IS the most awesome looking 450R I have ever seen. I love everything about that 450R. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

I agree with what every has been saying this bye far is one of the nicest dune/sand 450r I've seen!

Very nice quad Bad Habit. That is out standing PC job. I wish i could get mine done but no one around these parts have ever heard of powder coat lol!!!

In person, the bronze color of the covers actually compliments the red very well. But I do like the suggestion of having some strippers to polish it up for me

Kam, I'm so embarrassed. I totally forgot to thank you for the hook up on the custom piston. I'll get that corrected.

The seat cover was made by Xtreme Quad Covers. I gotta thank Oldsandman for hooking me up with them.

As far as other mods....probably just continue polishing things. The subframe will get polished one of these days, as well as the side cases of the engine. Well, and I'm sure I'll never totally be done with the engine internals. Always gotta keep looking to squeeze out that last bit of power.


Thanks for the kind words guys. I had alot of fun putting it together and I'm sure I'll have more fun riding it.

looks good dan...that frame sets it off....i knew i should have done mine...bet ya cant wait to ride it...

mike

Nice quad Dan, love the frame!...rip it up!! :)

Dan...I am so jealous...that is incredible. I've decided...I do not like you anymore!!! :D :D :D j/k!

Dan no worries man, I did not even think of it.
But I do like being the "Piston Pusher" lol.. My wife is going to get a kick out of that ( she accuses me of being addicted to power like its crack). I showed her your ride, and her first comment was, "Bad Habit, thats what yours should be called!"
LOL Too much damn fun!

Dan,
That thing is sweet dude. If I still had my quad your quad would be nothing but inspiring to me...

I love the seat cover, and the color choice was awesome. Only thing left are a set of graphics to set everything off nicely.

Good work man, and definitely let us know how it rides when you get a chance to tear it up.

Dave

everyone forgets about the nephew. not only was i there for moral support i was pretty much the whole brain behind this agenda. :lol: just kiding, but seriously.

I love that quad. It all looks real good. The seat is nuts and I like the tire choice. What dunes you tear up? Where are your lights

VERY nice quad

I must say, that is one of the nicest R's i have ever seen. Lots of hard work went into that thing and it looks like it paid off . Congrats.

That is one sweet R B) However, it looks like your wheels need some shinning. They look a little dull. Just trying to help you make that R one of the best around.

Also, I love the custom seat cover with your name in it.

that is one bad a$$ R

haha, those wheels are sand blasted for good. he spent some time on them just to get them to look that good, but i dont think they will ever be the same. doesnt the sand suck! oh wait, nevermind i love it.

Wow Dan it looks awesome! You want to trade?

VERY NICE.... i gues you got that maxxis sticker and scratchs off the bumper.... :D


VERY NICE.....



i feel kinda outta place with no PC on mine now....

Not only the nicest R I've seen, but it's the nicest quad I've seen.
Gimmie a ball park on how much time and money you got in to that beauty. Man, I don't know if I'd dare ride that thing....just way to sweeet. Big ups.

make that double! i guess we now have a new club forming

Thanks again for all the words guys. I built this one from the mental image of what I thought would look nice. It's cool to see that others share the same outlook.

PADZZ, time spent......about 2 1/2 months, but I have no idea of how many man hours. As far as money......ouch, don't ask that. I don't want to know :ph34r:

Tyler, yes those scratches buffed out rather nicely. But what was that rainbow colored sticker on the back of it? Something you need to share with the rest of the class?

And to the "Bad Habit anti-fan club".........Yo dawg, hate the game, not the playa. Just keepin' it real and representin' the (mid)west coast.

OK, I'm too old to talk like that, so what I meant to say was

Hey it happens...

the sticker was for you.... :lol:

Great bike, who did the work on the front shocks and what did you have done?

Hope this helps. If you're asking what exactly was done internally, I have no clue. I just let Laz do his magic.

Dan, badass man! I can't wait to ride it :D

so does this mean your going to oklahoma the 18-21???? :D

Actually...it's looking promising :D

I've been itching to hit the dunes, and we'll be unemployed by that time, so yep, probably so! Chalk up another 2 people to the list!:) A bunch of guys from the HQ are going down too!

bad ass quad dan, but it cant be a true dunequad without lights.

hey preston where are you guys going to camp at.

What's up man? I'm not exactly sure yet...I know Brandon (ledofthezep) is making arrangements with some of the dudes off the HQ who have rented spaces, so I'm really not sure yet. Where are you camping at? Is Shaun going?

I heard on the radio the other day that the mayor of Waynoka was arrested for possession of marijuana and few other charges, haha!

shaun is going the next weekend. i dont know where im going to camp, some cuzns might be down and ill prob camp with them if they go

Amazing, I want extended A arms and a swingarrm so badly. In time

THEY THING IS SO AWESOME-I WOULD BE SCARED TO CRASH IT.
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE IN IT?

I will answer the money thing for Bad Habit......
Not enough to get a divorce, and more than enough to have a wonderful time on it!

Yes, exactly what he said. :D

really nice lookking bike!!! insanely wide

hey I was just wondering hoe the bike performed and did you get it dynoed. Iwant to see the curve with the velocity porting

The 500 13.5:1 performed absolutely great, for a short time. It let loose before I was able to get it on the dyno. It was then changed over to a 13:1 stock bore.

Here's the one and only graph of it ran on a dyno.....>click

I just installed a 13.75:1 HammerHed piston this week and I'll have it on the same dyno next week for a comparison. The HammerHed, high velocity porting, and Pulse Charger exhaust should be a match made in heaven for those looking for an extremely broad power band.