quadzilla lt 500!

[keggs17]

been wanting one for awhile. now decided to get one. which year out of the four was the best model. thoughts? comments? what do u fellas think?

[dustrunner]

in my opinion the last year of production are the most advanced and more desireable buy ive only seen 2 of these monsters so hope you have a good quantity in your area...

[deathman53]

you want a 89 or 90, 90 was the last year and the motor issues it had were addressed. But....in all the years it has been around, the bottom end had to have been split and probably updated to '90 standards. 87 made the most power, but had problems with the bottom end and cylinder twisting, it was changed to 7 studs in the head in 88, I think, that address head gasket issues and cylinder porting/bridging changed. I would treat it like a trx250r you buy now, so much monkeying has been done on it over the past 20+ years, if its all original to the model year you are lucky and you know what you got.

[cochran]

I had an 87 that I sold last year. It is a larger reed motor than the later years and made more power than the other years. Blown headgaskets were a problem and I had to upgrade to larger studs. Also as stated above case inserts are needed.
It was a large quad and didnt handle well compared to my trx250R.
Aftermarket parts and motor work is expensive. It takes alot of money to keep these old dinosaurs running.
quadracerhq.com is the place to go for answers

[shawnroy1971]

The 89,90's are more reliable.My 87 was a beast when it ran,but lost 2 head gasket's and finally the crank.

[keggs17]

ok, thanks for the advice fellas i appreciate it.

[brd812]

I had a 88 for couple years during the hayday. goodluck finding one that hasn't been overly played with. I had nothing but problems with mine no matter what we did, I carried heads, gaskets, and stators everywhere we went. I sold that headache and put into my sheee.

[cochran]

If you are looking for a fast quad buy a banshee. Parts are available everywhere and you can build one that would smoke a Zilla.

[Beerside]

I've had everything over the years and I just recently bought this Suzuki LT500R. Wow, I never would of thought!! I remember when these were new back in the day and I laughed and thought they were too big and heavy. But after finally buying one I don't want to ride my 250R's anymore. The power on these is so big and strong!! It has stump pulling grunt down low and all the top end power you need for going down any dirt road or trail you should want. Read all the shootouts and tests from Dirt Wheels from the late '80's between the 'Zilla and Banshee and they pretty much all say what I already know. The Suzuki has more horsepower and makes it over a broader range. Stock vs. stock or lightly modified vs. lightly modified the 'Zilla wins. A lot of people think a Banshee is faster that's only because it's against one of the millions of stupidly over modified extreme Banshee's. You'll get the last laugh when you tow them back to camp with your tractor puller. But for me the best thing about the LT500 is the size and comfort. I can't believe how cramped it is on my '88 TRX 250R after getting off the Suzuki. I don't want to ride anything else anymore. It's a Cadillac!!
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/095.jpg
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/IMG_2992.jpg
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/IMG_1393.jpg

[rodeofan5656]

this was three summers ago. thats my brother in law on his 500. his grandpa bought it brand new in Oklahoma somewhere, while on a trip to Waynoka. the thing is completely stock, tires and everythin. its an '89. he bought it for $1500 off his grandpa. he wasnt really runnin me over :lol:

141963

[keggs17]

hey guys thanks for the pics. i have still yet to get a zilla...unfortunatly, i hear the 87 have main bearing problems is that true??

[shawnroy1971]

Yes,stay away from the 87!!! Any other year is better.

[TatTooL23]

a zilla will stomp a banshee everyday of the year as long as both r equally worked or not worked at all. a banshee is only 2 175's. no torque even with a ton of work. great machine don't get me wrong. super fast and nuts top end but just no comparison to a 500cc single smoker.

ride one and u will c

[Maico]

I bought a new '87 in '87 for $3K right off the dealer floor. That thing was a beast. Here's the scoop on the crank bearing issue. The bearings were fine...it's just that they were walking around in the cases. The fix was to bore the cases and press in bronze bushings to cure the problem....which it did. The '87 also had head gasket issues....of which going to bigger studs cured. Also....you had 2 B careful porting the transfers from case to cylinder on the right rear. Too much and the cylinder would crack near the mounting stud. Other than that..... 'Zilla was a thrilla!! I had a 44mm Mik carb, Klemm Research pipe and silencer, Twin Air air filter and box mods and that thing would haul the mail.

God I miss it. There's nothing like 500cc power.

[Maico]

Yes,stay away from the 87!!! Any other year is better.

I'll take all the '87's you can throw at me. :)

[bkm]

Just look at these bikes from the 80's in this thread. People said nothing good came out of the 80's well I beg to differ. My opinion is that they set the bar so high with these machines they are like works of art.

I will own a lt500 before its all said and done.

[whyzee]

Ditto BKM !
Or at least a Banshee for me

[bkm]

Ditto BKM !
Or at least a Banshee for meThey are a love hate thing for most guys. They are kinda like a Corvette in the sense that a lot of the owners are jack-off's and think they have the baddest thing on the planet and all other bikes should bow down before them. That makes a lot of people resent them because of their owners.

I have owned three and loved every one of them. I practically need a jack hammer to remove the smile from my face after riding mine.

But the LT500 is still one of the coolest looking bikes in my opinion.

[whyzee]

Haha....so true about most of the Banshee owners. Everytime I call on one I get so turned off by the owner it makes question buying it...that, and not having an extra 3g's laying around at the moment .

[jon jon]

i have owned 2 zilla's and did mostly drag racing and my dad back in the late 80's till mid 90's was sand draging his zilla. i say the best year to go with is a 87 in my opinion. i rebuilt a 87 from just a frame and sold it for a pretty 6500$ when i only had about 3000 in it. they are a monster when built and ridin right.

[keggs17]

I've had everything over the years and I just recently bought this Suzuki LT500R. Wow, I never would of thought!! I remember when these were new back in the day and I laughed and thought they were too big and heavy. But after finally buying one I don't want to ride my 250R's anymore. The power on these is so big and strong!! It has stump pulling grunt down low and all the top end power you need for going down any dirt road or trail you should want. Read all the shootouts and tests from Dirt Wheels from the late '80's between the 'Zilla and Banshee and they pretty much all say what I already know. The Suzuki has more horsepower and makes it over a broader range. Stock vs. stock or lightly modified vs. lightly modified the 'Zilla wins. A lot of people think a Banshee is faster that's only because it's against one of the millions of stupidly over modified extreme Banshee's. You'll get the last laugh when you tow them back to camp with your tractor puller. But for me the best thing about the LT500 is the size and comfort. I can't believe how cramped it is on my '88 TRX 250R after getting off the Suzuki. I don't want to ride anything else anymore. It's a Cadillac!!
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/095.jpg
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/IMG_2992.jpg
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/IMG_1393.jpg

what year is your zilla? looks great btw!

[Beerside]

It's a '90. Here's a pic from last weeks Imperial Invasion ride at Gordon's Well. I met a guy there with a really clean '92 Quad Racer 250.
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/017.jpg

[keggs17]

i have owned 2 zilla's and did mostly drag racing and my dad back in the late 80's till mid 90's was sand draging his zilla. i say the best year to go with is a 87 in my opinion. i rebuilt a 87 from just a frame and sold it for a pretty 6500$ when i only had about 3000 in it. they are a monster when built and ridin right.
iv heard people say that the 87 model has a bigger reed cage, and can produce more power? is that true?

[keggs17]

It's a '90. Here's a pic from last weeks Imperial Invasion ride at Gordon's Well. I met a guy there with a really clean '92 Quad Racer 250.
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr186/beerside/017.jpg

im jelous....1 iv always wanted to go to glamis, or pismo, but seeing as how i live in IL it will prolly never happen haha, 2 your zilla is one of the best looking un modded iv seen. its bassicly the same zilla iv been looking for, for myself.

[tripowersport]

iv heard people say that the 87 model has a bigger reed cage, and can produce more power? is that true? Yes, the only difference is the reed cage and 6 head studs not 7 like all other years. I have 3 and re doing one now, They can be tricky like every one said the crank bearing and head gaskets are a b****. But there is ways around it. I love all mine.