I was curious whether or not Bombardier would make any changes to their new line of 650's and here is a copy of the email I sent AND actually got a response from (addresses were removed):

[MY INQUIRY]

John,

I am infatuated with Bombardier's new ATV the DS650! However I've heard that there are a few bugs that could be worked out (e.g. darty steering, rich carburetor issues).

I am VERY interested in buying a DS650 however, I'm wondering if Bombardier is planning on making any changes to it's 2001 model of the DS650??

I would greatly appreciate any information you have to offer.

Thanks and Regards!
Jason

[BOMBARDIER'S RESPONSE]

Jason,

There are no specification changes for the 2001 DS650. Comments on the steering characteristics are more a matter of personal preference, and most of our owners are pretty satisfied with our set-up. We do use a lower, longer needle set-up in the carbs to run a little leaner, but that's easily adjustable to suit particular conditions and altitudes.

Regards,
John Gale


Hope this helps some of you who were wondering, like me.

Kawasaki Kid

87 250 Mojave
87 250 Tecate
00 DS650 [soon]

 

That stinks.I was hoping to see upgrtades for the new models. Especially when cannondale is about to release the fx this fall. I used to really like the ds, but then the fx 400 popped up. I just can't see buying a ds now. The cannondale is 100lbs lighter, costs less, and has the same power. Anyone see any reason to buy a ds istead of a fx 400?

 

MANUFACTURER SUPPORT!

Bombardier has been in business for a long time. Cannondale is relatively new to the motorized industry.

I also have mixed feelings about the use of aluminum for the frame. This makes things a lot lighter, but the whole bike and the removable under-frame seem a little too complicated and prone to problems. What happens when dirt and crap gets inside the screw holes? I would prefer to have a frame made of chromoly.

When you have steel bolts against aluminum, it corrodes and seizes. Check out any older Honda ATV that has a parking brake in back. The parking brake cable pulls a lever, which is mounted to screw that puts pressure on the rear brake piston. The brake body is aluminum and the screw is steel, which causes the aluminum to corrode and the parking brake locks up where you left it last.

There have been numerous reports of problems from the aluminum trailing arm and spindles off of the 400EX and the steel frame. Why Honda and other manufacturers continue to use square tubing is beyond me. The only reason I can see is too save money. Round tubing is far stronger and lighter for the same weight/stress requirements. Why don't you think that you ever see square tubing used in roll cages? Because it doesn't pass any of racing sanctions requirements.

Of course, if you don't plan on owning it for more than a couple of years, than you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Thanks,
CRT_Leech

 

Relatively new? They are NEW. They have never built any sort of motorized vehicle until now. I would be very weary of buying a Cannondale until it is proven. If you look at the numerous delays the MX 400(the Cannondale dirtbike) has been through, I would not hold my breath on the FX. A newly designed motor, although it sounds hi-tech is exactly that, a new design, while the DS-650's Rotax has proven its reliability. So the question now is, do you want proven reliability or do yo want to be the ginny pig?

RoostKing

 

Every 400EX that I have seen, including mine, has round steel tubing.

 

Roostking has good points. Do you have both bombardier and cannondale dealers in you town? I don't know about your neck of the woods, but there is not a cannodale dealer around here, maybe your bigger markets might have a dealer like Dallas. Bombardier at least has dealers in most tier 4 markets or bigger. You don't want to have to ship parts or drive 3 hours every time you need to change your oil, get a spare key made, or have it serviced.

 

My mistake on the round tubing, I was thinking of the 300EX and 250R quads.

Also, in reply to Stephen that was kind enough to send me an e-mail:

"The reason why Honda and other manufacturers use square tubing is because it is much harder to program the machine to cut and notch the round tubing as compared to square the 400ex which is round tubing shows some defects in the notch and weld"

Honda has been using round tubing for ATV's and motorcycles for over thirty years. I think that they would have figured it out by now. No, I think that they just skimped a little, used thinner gauge steel (to keep the weight down), or did a rush job to get the 400EX to market in mass quantities.

My family has owned just about every model of ATC every made by Honda and several other manufacturers along with some quads. The only time I have seen frame cracks were from putting the vehicle through more stress than it was designed for. Jumping our ATC 185S repeatedly cracked the frame head were the forks are attached. I have also cracked the frame on my 350X from years of repeated jumping, but that was only one spot on the entire bike.

Granted, Bombardier is new to the ATV market themselves, but they have been making personal watercraft, snowmobiles and aircraft for a long time.

The DS's may be heavy, but it's also heavy duty. I really doubt that you will be hearing about any kind of
frame, a-arm or trailing arm failures anytime soon. At least not as soon as the reports started coming in about the 400EX. The front ball joints have purportedly had problems, but I believe that is more along the lines of how they were installed. They are automotive units and should also perform under extreme abuse for years. The DS would probably make a great desert racer, which I understand that a 16-yr. old won the Parker 400 with a stock DS!

Any other problems like will be ironed out by the dealers and manufacturers, in all probability. Bombardier is putting a strong effort into customer satisfaction and cutting their niche out of the ATV market. You don't make money for very long by selling crappy products, unless, everyone else is selling crappy products. J

Laters,
CRT_Leech

 

Well i see you guys have somevalid points. I have a bomber dealer right up the road, but i have no clue if they will carry the cannondale or not. If I was to buy an atv, it wouldn't be from them, I made that mistake already. The problem is they are only interested in selling motocross bikes. They act like the could care less about atvs and the salesman doesn't even know that much about different models, like the 400ex being a banshee beater. And that the ds is 10 mph faster than a banshee. I have been told this at this place. I have to say I still like the ds though, I would never mind having one in my garage. =)

 

Unfortunately most sales people are this way. Whenever I go to a dealer (be it automotive or ATV/motorcycle) I can pretty much be guaranteed that I know more about what they are selling than they do.

So... Just find a friendly dealer that isn't going to try to screw you, and will take care of any warranty issues without being an A$$hole about it. That's how I based where I bought my last bike & have been very happy with them....

 

Hey rnl- If your serious about buying a ds you should check out stevens cycle in bay city 517-684-9872 they gave me a good deal $7042 OTD with ORV sticker Everybody else wanted retail for the quad and they are only an hour north. But they might be charging more now you'd have to ask, talk to darlene. Your probably talking about Great Lakes right, I looked at one there they want retail and they didn't know jack. The service guys at stevens are real cool and they know a lot about the ds I talk to them often.