I got a couple PMs asking which i liked better and which had more power, so heres my 2 cents.

One thing i really didnt like on the DS was the seat. Even tho it did have alot of padding, the seat slanted down from the back to the front and it almost forced you to sit way in the front. The front of the seat feels just as soft and the 450rs, but the back of the DS's couldnt get any softer but i felt like it wouldnt allow me to sit back there comfortably, i would just slide back to the front.

The DS is super wide and stable, ive never felt more comfortable on a 4wheeler. You could fly around corners and not worry about rolling. You could probably lean the other way and not wipe out.

I dont really like the first gear ratio on both 4wheelers. I stalled the 450r a couple times the first time i took it out because it was so high, im use to the DS's low first gear. Sprockets will be changed on the 450.

I liked the electric start on the DS, i could let the DS sit for a month then go to start it and it would fire right up. But i do like the kick start on the 450r, just feels more sporty and now i dont have to worry about a battery going dead. I would take either if need be.

I know the DS is cadillac type ride, but i could never get the suspension to right where i wanted it. Im not that great at setting up suspension im sure someone with better skills couldve set it up better. But i do think the rear shock was valved for a heavier rider, and will favor heavier riders. I loved the front suspension on the DS, they were perfect from factory. They soaked up everything and saved my butt a couple times from wiping out after awkward landings. I havent got to really test out the 450rs suspension but so far it feels pretty good.

It was wierd going from a DS to a 450r, the 450r is alot smaller. One main difference is they way you are seated. With the DS you sit really low, feels like your in the machine and makes you feel very comfortable. The 450r you sit alot higher, above the machine, I have to lean alot more on the 450r. The honda is so much lighter in front, i could pick the front end up on it with just one arm, same with the rear. It would take two hands for the DS up front and alittle grunt for me to get it up, i could almost get the back up off the ground with one hand with the DS, two hands pretty easy. One thing that made me fall in love with the 450r was when i got it stuck in the snow yesterday. I was following some snowmobile tracks and then went off to the side and got stuck in about 1.5 ft of powder. I got off of it, threw the rear end over, then lifted the front end over and pulled it forward about a 1 ft will very little effort then took off.. it was that easy.

Power wise: I had mr.hp's billet end cap, which made a huge difference over stock with the DS. My DS was also jetted and had a k&n filter. I got the HRC kit installed on the honda (cam, end cap, jetted, couple other odds and ends). The DS had awesome power, but the 450r does have more arm ripping feel. With the HRC kit installed it still is very quiet, alot more quiet then the billet end cap on my DS, and my HRC end cap has a s/a. I liked the sound better on the DS with the end cap, it was the meanest sounding 4wheeler ive ever heard.

I cant really tell you what machine is better, thats all up to you. For me, i think the 450r is better, the difference in weight between the two machines is over 150lbs which is what i weigh. If your a bigger guy, id say get the DS hands down. If your smaller, you will probably want to get a 450 or whatever. I guess it all depends on where you ride,what you weigh,etc. Thats my non-biased review, keep in mind ive only got to ride my 450r for about an hour on snow, but those are my opinions as of now.

You DS guys have fun, I learned alot from you people.

RoughRider01

 

Wait til you change that sprocket on the 450R, you thought you had power before. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Will a honda 450 break 60 mph with a 13t front sprocket?

 

Thanks for the review, I am considering the 450R very seriously, However I have enjoyed my DS immensely and hate to part with it. Maybe I will just keep it?

 

Contrary to the belief of some people, it is possible, and even legal, to own more than one ATV and enjoy them both!

 

Nice review, thanks..

 

I wouldve kept the DS if I couldve afford it, no questions about it.

 

RoughRider,

When are you gonna post some pics of the 100 Ton CATs? That Komatsu is amusing but.....

I was on CATs website a couple of days ago looking at junk and noticed an amusing model they've got:

CAT 797 Mining Truck Model

I've seen / worked around a few of the 'smaller' ones (Relativly speaking, most people would consider the smaller mining trucks gigantic) before I moved into the computer field, but nothing like the description of this 797.

Now you've just got to work up some extra cash so you can buy back your DS! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

I'll try to answer your question as best as possible. I believe the answer is yes, but I didn't have enough room to open it up all the way today. The place where we ride (Appalachia Bay-By Keystone Lake) has some open beaches when the water is down, unfortunately the water was up and the best run I could get was maybe a 100 or 125 yard stretch of sand. And then I had to shut it down in a big way or take a dive in the lake. I had the GPS with me and I got it up to 58.5 mph in the short stretch. I'm still getting used to the power so I think I could have shifted better. I could barely get it into 5th at that distance, mostly high 4th. I'd like to think it will still do 70mph up with a little more room, it was still pulling hard when I shut it down.

Here's how the gears went after the sprocket change.

1st - Fairly long- but revs much faster with new sprocket.
2nd- BLIP (fast)
3rd- BLIP (fast)
4th- A little longer than 2nd and 3rd combined- But not real long.
5th- Barely got in to it.

With the sprocket change and HRC kit, the 450R accelerates like a bat out of hell. My buddy on his slightly modded 400ex (open airbox, fmf, jetted) would start 10 bike lengths ahead and I could take him in the 100 yards with ease. We switched and I got a rolling start on his 400ex in first, hitting second as I passed by him and a dead stop. Even in deep sand, with me on the wet flat beach sand he would take me in the 100 yards. Back on my quad again, In the 100 yard drag starting side by side, it was like he was standing still. I can't tell you the number of bike lengths I beat him by, it was huge.

I'm not talking crap on the 400ex or any other quad, just trying to give you guys an idea of how the 450R accelerates now. In that same 100 yards, my buddies 400ex normally gets taken by a stock raptor by maybe 3-4 quad lengths. I'll let you guys do the math.

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

The limestone quarry that i work in only runs 8 months out of the year. We cant run when the temps run below freezing because our mill cleans the rocks with sprayers; the sprayers freeze up in the cold weather. The 4 month down time is used for maintenance and stripping (digging up the dirt thats on top of the limestone). I only work full time in the summer and part time in the winter due to college.

There are basically two quarrys at our plant, one part uses the 65 ton'ers and the part that i work at runs the 100 ton'ers. I just happened to fill in on the other side and got some pics. The 100 ton cats are 777's there huge but fairly easy to drive. Big trucks need big loaders to load them, we use a komatsu WA 800 (sucks to operate and hard on the body), cat 990's load the 65 ton'ers. It takes 6 990 buckets to fill a 100 ton truck and only 5 for the komatsu loader. We actually wanted two 150 ton Cat haulers but ended up getting 3 100 ton haul trucks. Each truck tire costs 8 grand (ive blown two, woops) and each loader tire cost over 10 grand. I was just looking on cats website for the 797, those hold 380 tons of rock. Yah thats huge, makes are trucks not so big anymore. I'll get some pics of the 100 ton'ers next summer.

It was nothing against Bomb. for making me switch machines, i just wanted to try something new. In another year i wouldnt be surprised if i had something different, just the type of person i am. Now if i won the lotto, id have a whole garage full of quads. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

RoughRider01