I test rode a 2000 DS this weekend and liked everything about the bike however the steering felt a somewhat akward to me.
This was the first time I have seat time on a DS, but have ridder other quads (Raptor, Z400, Mojave) that seem to have somewhat more stable steering. I was riding it on pavement so I am sure that had some to do with it. It was running what I believe were original stock tires that had very little wear. Also when I would turn the bike or hit the front brakes it felt to me the front end would dive more than it should causing the inside rear wheel would become very light and start to lift. I weigh about 190lbs.

Now I have heard there were front end geometry changes starting with the 2002 Baja's that corrected a lot of so called steering/stability issue with earlier models. How significant were the changes?

Do aftermarket A-arms make a big difference in the handling on 2000-2001 DS's? If so which ones should I consider and how much would I be looking at?

Would a steering dampener help at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

Well it was my DS he rode but i did notice when he got back one of the front tires was a little low so that might have been part of the problem. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I have a 2000 ds & changed the a arms & now it feels like my 2003. I had to hurt my elbo before i spent the money, should have done it sooner[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Change those A-arms!

Did you buy it?

 

Thanks guys,
So which brand of A-arms are you guys running and what did you pay?

I am considering buying it. However I have also had my eye on an 04 Baja X. I plan to do a fair amount of trail riding in addition to hitting the dunes. The 04 seems like it might be a better setup for the trails.

 

My 2000 DS was twichy stearing when i bought it, but didnt know it as it was my first quad. My buddy rode it and told me it was scarry. It took a rough tumble in a ditch after it darted out of control over some bumps to convince me to fix it. I still have some tendonitus from trying to force it to go strait while riding it prior to the A-arms. All 4 ball joints had significant play, race sag was way off for my body weight, and it was towed 'in' 1/4"..

I paid about 200 for my arms? They have 3 heim style adjustable ends on each arm. Cheep heims in my opinion, but adjustable. I adjusted the race sag, then tried adjusting caster, camber and toe 3 times before i found a setting i liked. I to was concidering stearing stabalizer till just this weekends adjustment. If i landed a jump just a hare of of level or not perfectly strait, it would scare the crap out of me! Riding over large snow bumps was just as scarry at 10 mph. I bumped up the camber, came down in caster from where i was, and set tow to 1/4" out, and i can land jumps a bit crossed or un level, confidently now, as well as blast over teh same rough snow bumps with ease.

I will play more with it when the snow melts, but i am a believer in proper alignment now.

Drop the money and get the adjustable arms. you will have to take some time to set them up, or it will be no better then it is now. But well worth it when you get them to where you like them. I got basic settings from www.bombardierds650.com and went from there. You will have to find what works for you, but that should be close for starters.

 

well the cheapest I have yet to find is the ASR's on ebay. They will run you about $150.00 + shipping but that isn't to bad IMO.

 

They were notorious for "twitchy" steering. You need to make sure the alignment is proper and that the springs are set up properly as well. I had this problem on my '01, and after making adjustments and a set of larger fronts (22") it is worlds better.