Take suspension and steering
for instance. If you hope to be competitive in
ATV racing, ditching the stock suspension and
adding aftermarket A-arms is a must. Our demo
quad was outfitted with a Houser Racing front
end but production models will arrive with Walsh
Race craft A-arms. This should make any avid motocrosser
drool with excitement as Walsh is known for making
one of the best handling front ends in the business.
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Our pre-production test model came with
a Houser front end & Elka Suspension
but most likely the actual production
version will come with a Walsh front end
& either Elka or Ohlins Suspension |
Because US Highland wants customers to be able
to choose the setup that suites their riding
style the best, they’re likely to offer
suspension components from both Elka and Ohlins.
At our press intro the company was still in
negotiations to decide if both companies would
supply suspension for the quad, but our demo
model was outfitted with Elka’s.
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| Highland
engineers devised a very stout swingarm
for the 450 as well which will keep the
rear end of the quad stable under any
sort of racing action that it receives! |
If you’re thinking that all aluminum frame
looks reminiscent of a previously made, and failed,
race ready manufacturer you are correct. US Highland
purchased the remaining 70 ATV frames from ATK,
the same company that attempted to resurrect Cannondale
after they went bankrupt in 2003. US Highland
will be using the remaining frames on their first
70 ATV’s and then hopes to switch to an
all stainless steel chassis which is already in
use on their dirt bike models.
The beefy all aluminum swing arm is their own
design and looks quite impressive. The aluminum
fuel tank is one of the most peculiar we’ve
ever seen but then again, custom is this ATV’s
middle name. The tank was built by Walsh Race
Craft and held one gallon of fuel but was later
modified by engineers at US highland. Fuel capacity
is lower than most of its 450 class counterparts
at 2 gallons but that’s more than enough
fuel to get you through a moto.
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The Highland 450 ATV also has a very
trick & futuristic design approach
to the fuel tank - it is made from high
strength aluminum & confines to the
area below the seat, creating a better
center of gravity & allowing room
for the new air-box location |
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| Highland's
new dual air filter setup is just as unique
as it gas tank design - because they go
hand-in-hand - relocation of the air-filters
to the front of the quad great increase
air flow & allow the tank to sit lower
in the chassis |
We were surprised to see the unusual shaped tank
stretch all the way under the seat where one typically
finds an air box. This custom quad houses two
K&N air filters just below the bar clamp in
a unique forward mounting position. Relocating
the air filters from under the seat, as is the
industry standard, to this new position greatly
improves airflow. The only problem we could see
resulting from this is that the fuel tank must
be removed in order to change the filters. Not
so much a problem for racing short motos but for
desert racers who swap out their filters multiple
times during a race, this could pose a problem.
