what is the frames weight bare;everybody wants a lighter quad built, but nobody knows the real weight differece between stock frame and chrome molly.Is it worth it?

 

I'm not sure if this will help any, but Yamaha changed to an aluminum frame for the 2005 YZ 250 dirt bike, and shaved five pounds off the weight of last years frame. I would suspect you could at least triple that weight savings for an ATV frame. I'm sure there are people on this forum that know the actual weight of a stock DS650 frame that could answer your question more directly though.

 

If I remember right the DS frame weighs 66lbs..

 

alot of the DS's extra weight comes from the motor, and this extra motor weight is one of the things that make the engine the infamous "bulletproof" motor that it is.

lighter weight frames are built primarily for the MXers and the DS is not the ideal bike for that dept. regardless.

Draggers want lighter frames without the need for as much integrity as MX quads, and many guys on here have done some really extensive stock frame lightening by cutting away quite a few pounds of un-needed metal.