hey guys iv got a few questions and was hoping someone could give me a little advice. iv got an 06 yfz 450, cam mod, drd pipe, k n air filter and jetted! im goin to start drag racing here soon and need to keep the front end down. iv heard of strapping the front down, and also the back? does this work and how would i go about doin it? or what would be the best thing to do to solve the problem?

get a longer swingarm, the longer the better.

I agree with the first part of this statement, but depending on the kind of surface he is drag racing on, 'the longer the better' may not apply. I will explain why I say that. The farther out the back you go, the more you move your body weight off of the rear tires, which can cause less traction. If he is running on asphalt, then slipping the tires is not near as much of an issue as it would be in dirt or sand. In sand, you can play with paddle designs, numbers of paddles, etc. to compensate for the loss of traction. In dirt, your options for tires are much more limited. 6-8" extended swingarms should be plenty for most applications. When you get out past the 8" length, you start to really lose out on all traction benefits. That is why mx riders slide their butt all the way back, right after the drop of the gate, to get all the weight on the rear tires for maximum traction. Try doing that with a 6-8" swingarm on dirt. You would have to sit in the imaginary seat behind the grab bar.

There are some other subtle ways to lessen the front end from coming up. Adjust your suspension settings, stiffening it up some, so that you do not get so much weight transfer to the rear. Once again, there is a fine balance between too soft (wheelie) and too hard (too much spin). I would say ideally, that if you carried the front end just a few inches above the ground, you are getting the ideal balance for weight transfer.

If you are wheelying off the start, try feathering the clutch, or riding the back brake slightly on your launch as well.

Strapping the suspension down does work, but it is a PITA, and can create more problems that it can solve sometimes.


Just my 2 cents, not trying to start an argument, but just pointing out a small detail.

thanks for the information fellas. i dont think im goin to go with the swing arm cause i dont wanna spend a lot of money. it just races at the county fair is all. i raced last year and done good leaving the suspension in stock form. i was just maybe looking for some ideas to maybe make it a little quicker takin off. and its just a dirt track also

in that case, making some fine adjustments to your shocks would really help, and practice!! the bike has the ability to launch hard and out run most other quads out there. try starting in 1st or 2nd, play with body position and how you work the clutch. etc. just practice...