Are you looking for a new ATV, but a little short on cash? Perhaps your bank account is drained well beyond the point of considering a new sport quad that will set you back $8,000 plus?
Join the club!
There may be an option for you other than buying someone else’s used, worn out junk. Hyosung offers their TE450 at $4,999 MSRP and better yet, there are current discounts that bring that price down quite a bit further! You might be thinking this is just another one of those scrap heaps on wheels, held together with zip-ties and boogered up welds, but it’s not!
I’ll admit I was skeptical when Hyosung approached me about reviewing the TE450; I mean come on, if you view Hyosung’s web-site, you’ll find rear racks as an option for this model. How serious could they be about ‘Sport’ when they offer it with racks? Digging a little deeper though, we find that this particular model is highly popular over-seas, and the rack is a common add-on to make this machines street legal. The TE450 model offered here in North America is identical to the one offered across the pond, unlike most other major powersports brands that choose to make minor changes to same machines in order to fit various markets.
Odds are, you’ve probably ridden a machine that has parts on it made by Hyosung because they make many OEM parts for other ATV manufacturers along with their own components, so they are not some fly-by-night cloning operation that is piecing together ATVs to make a quick buck. Hyosung has been around since 1978 and makes many different power-sport/motorcycle/scooter parts. This Korean company has the ability to make quality components while keeping the cost way down, as compared to the Japanese, Canadian, Austrian and American ATV companies.
So let’s get to some of the details of this 450cc Sport ATV, which is Hyosung’s only current ATV offering.
A NEW 450 SPORT ATV
Much like the rest of the 450cc sport ATV class, the TE450 is not a “race ready machine,” but it is easily adaptable to suit trail riding or racing needs. The Chassis uses a standard round-tube, steel frame with dual a-arms up front and a beefy cast aluminum swing-arm at the rear. There is ample room within the frame cradle for working on the engine and taking care of routine maintenance. The steel dual a-arms up front offer 8.7 inches of wheel travel. The arms are also interchangeable with one of the more popular 400cc sport machines on the market in case you want to swap them out for a wider set, or change over to an even wider long-travel setup. The completely re-buildable front shocks are preload, compression and rebound adjustable. The swing-arm uses a dated (yet functional) chain adjuster, which should have been designed with simpler function and lighter weight. The rear allows 9.4 inches of wheel travel through a compression and rebound adjustable shock and swingarm link. (We have also heard that the rear end is easily swapped out with parts from another common sport machine in case you prefer to use a steel swing-arm).
Overall length of the machine comes in at 77.2” (49.2”of wheelbase) while it measures 46.1” wide and 45.5” tall (34.8” at the seat). A nice feature for the trail and cross country riders is the ground clearance number – 11.4 inches (at the frame, not the axle or swing-arm). All 3 brakes on this machine are single piston units with 6.7” diameter front discs and a 9.5” diameter rear disc. The front Kenda Dominator tires come in the standard 21x7-10 size you find on most other class competitive machines, mounted on hefty billet aluminum rims. The rear end comes with 20x11-9 Kenda Dominator tires mounted to billet aluminum rims also.
Hyosung claims some pretty big numbers for the engine, with a claimed 52 hp in stock form (at 8500 rpm). Not many of the 450’s come close to that mark off the showroom floor! They use a 449cc, liquid cooled, DOHC 4-valve, single cylinder engine to accomplish this, all at a 12:1 compression ratio. The motor is carbureted, supplied by a 2.11 gallon fuel tank. The semi-dry sump motor uses a wet, multi-plate clutch that powers a five-speed transmission (plus reverse) and utilizes an external oil tank. The exhaust is a stainless steel header that does not have a spark-arrestor in the silencer and is one of the freest flowing exhausts that we have ever seen on a stock machine.
The TE450 has a few items that we are not accustomed to on most sport machines like license plate lights, spots to mount rear view mirrors, and best of all, a horn! Most of these street legal items are required for countries that Hyosung imports this machine to, but all are simple enough to remove if not needed. One additional item that we actually grew to like was an anti-theft device that allowed you to lock the steering stem with the wheels turned. While it won’t keep someone from stealing your bike, it will make it more difficult. At 467 pounds, this machine is a bit hefty, but there are many ways to trim off excess and bring the weight into check with the other 450’s in the class.
Overall, the basic package of the TE450 looks good. The styling is smooth with obvious consideration given to functionality. Sitting on the machine, nothing really feels out of place ergonomically, except for an oversized parking brake. Many of the components on blesthe machine appear to be as good (if not identical) to any other 450 on the market. Available in red or black, the overall package appears to be well built with clean design and styling.
Ride Review
Firing up the TE450 is familiarly effortless with the electric start. The first thing that we noticed was that this machine is LOUD. At an idle, the TE450 registered over 100 decibels! This is defiantly the first sport test where we wanted to ditch a stock exhaust for a much quieter unit. While the exhaust is a quality made component, it must be quieted and a spark arrestor should be standard equipment. This quad would not be considered legal for public trail riding areas.
Engine/Transmission
The throttle is very crisp and is quick to respond. Out of the gate we found that the clutch is quick to engage. We didn’t have any problem with it, but it seemed odd that it grabbed so abruptly, possibly due to the stiff clutch springs. It didn’t take too much ride time to realize that the motor is very strong and pulls really well throughout the full RPM range. This broad power made it easy to ride and even allowed us to lug a higher gear when we wanted to be lazy. We did find that the transmission was often difficult to shift under heavy load or hard acceleration, but backing off the throttle just a tad before shifting alleviated this. The chain also gets in the way when making adjustments to the shift lever height. Overall, this motor is one of the fastest stock 450s that we have tested, which makes it both fun and fairly easy to ride.
Brakes
All three brakes calipers (0ne at each front wheel and one at the axle) are single piston units with the front brake lever having a five- position easy adjustment dial. The brakes worked well, but the extra weight of the TE450 was very noticeable under hard braking. The heavy girth would make the brakes feel a bit soft when trying to slow down from higher speeds, but adequately brought the quad to a halt under normal riding conditions.
Suspension
Each of our test riders felt that the suspension felt stiff. Even after the suspension was softened up to its lightest settings, all but one rider (he tipped the scales at 300 pounds) complained that the suspension was too harsh. These shocks really need to be softened up to fit the average size rider, say between 170-230 pounds. On the other hand, the harsh stock shocks do help reduce the body roll in the corners, offsetting the slight top-heaviness of the TE450. Softening up the suspension greatly improved the handling of this machine, but if we were to buy one, we would need to soften up the shocks even further with new springs and valve adjustment.
LIKES
1) Motor is powerful!
2) Easy to ride
3) Simple to access/maintain air-filter
4) High quality construction
5) Great styling and ergonomics
DISLIKES
1) Too LOUD!
2) Grips are hard and uncomfortable
3) Graphics wear and peel off too easy
4) Suspension is too stiff
5) Obese!
Summary
Overall, the Hyosung TE450 has a good package that can be enhanced with a few suspension tweaks. The motor, although loud, creates enough power to make even the most skilled rider amongst us happy. The hit to your check book will make you smile too. For the price, the Hyosung TE450 is the best value on the market today!
SPECIFICATIONS
MSRP: $4,999
Chassis
Overall Length (inch): 71.3
Overall Height (inch): 45.9
Overall Width (inch): 45.7
Wheel Base (inch): 49.8
Ground Clearance (inch): 11.41
Seat Height (inch): 34.8
Final Drive: Chain 520
Brake (Front): Double discs, 1 piston calipers
Brake (Rear): Single disc, 1 piston caliper
Suspension (Front): Independent double A-arm, 8.7 inches of wheel travel, fully adjustable piggyback shock absorbers
Suspension (Rear): Aluminum alloy swing arm, 9.4 inches of wheel travel, linkage type fully adjustable shock absorber
Tire (Front) 21 x 7-10
Tire (Rear) 20 x 11-9
Fuel Tank Capacity (gal) 2.08
Dry Mass 467 lbs
Engine
Engine Liquid cooled DOHC 4-valve Single cylinder
Displacement (cc) 449
Bore x Stroke 96 x 62
Compression Ratio 12 : 1
Max Power 52 HP @ 8500 RPM
Max Torque 35.13 lb/ft @ 7000 RPM
Fuel System Carburetor
Lubrication Semi dry sump
Transmission
Clutch: Wet, Multi-plate
Gear: Constant mesh 5-speed (1down 4up) & Reverse gear
Warranty: 1 Year