This is a 1984 Suzuki LT50 Quadrunner that received a significant refurbishment in 2020, leaving it now looking like it’s in almost-new condition – a rare thing in the world of ATVs which are not exactly known for living quiet lives.
The Suzuki LT50 Quadrunner was the most affordable, and most-approachable quad bike made by the Japanese company at the time, and it was arguably the most approachable quad in production full stop. Relatively few of them have survived to the modern day, and those that have are highly collectible.
The Suzuki Quadrunner came in a wide variety of sizes to suit all riders, as you can see here the LT50 was the smallest of the lot. Image courtesy of Suzuki.
The 1980s were a crucial turning point in the history of ATVs. The extreme danger posed to inexperienced riders on three-wheelers had become all too clear, and four-wheeled quad bikes were beginning to gain in popularity due to their increased stability.
Suzuki had been an early leader in quad bike development, many credit them with building the first modern quads, though of course there had been various four-wheelers build earlier including the largely-forgotten Rupp Go-Joe.
Impending legislation in the United States that may have seen three-wheelers banned led to all manufactures voluntarily ceasing production in 1987 in what would become a 10 year agreement. Four-wheel ATV production completely took over, and after the 10 years expired not a single manufacturer returned three-wheelers to production.
As a leader in quad bike design, Suzuki was well-placed for this transition from three wheels to four, and the company remains a market leader today.
The Suzuki LT50 Quadrunner
The Suzuki LT50 Quadrunner debuted in 1983, it was the smallest, cheapest, and most-approachable quad bike in production by Suzuki and it was aimed squarely at children who were new to ATVs.
In order to keep the design easy to use, and to keep the cost down, the LT50 Quadrunner had a single rear drum brake, no suspension, no gears, and no standard clutch, just a simple centrifugal clutch.
Power is provided by an air-cooled 49cc, two-stroke, single-cylinder engine which is equipped with a recoil starter, oil injection, and a single Mikuni carburetor. Power is sent back via a chain to the rear axle, and the LT50 Quadrunner has no suspension other than what the tire side walls offer.
It has a steel backbone frame onto which the engine, fuel tank, seat, and bodywork is fitted. It has simple plastic body work in two primary pieces, the front and rear, which each providing integrated fenders. A padded seat and braced handlebar finish the design off, and the controls consist of a twist grip throttle on the right and a brake lever on the left. Can’t get more simple than that.
The LT50 and LT80 were ideally sized for kids, with the LT50 bering suitable for under 8s and the LT80 being suitable for older kids. Image courtesy of Suzuki.
The Suzuki LT50 Quadrunner you see here is a 1984 model from the second year of production. It received a series of refurbishments in 2020 including all new plastic bodywork, a recovered blue vinyl seat, and it appears to have new tires also.
It’s now being offered for sale on Bring a Trailer out of Kennewick, Washington at no reserve in Washington for off-road use only with a bill of sale. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.