All 3 of my riding buddies have yfz's with various stages of modifications, and the two of them has a dad with an 05 baja x. We finally got to drag since it was 90% dry out, and i was actually VERY surprised at how the DS held its own! One of my buddies has the 05 yfz that only had some power insert (not exactly sure on that, but it did improve his runs a bit) and a KN filter. When i used to drag him he would be 3+ lengths behind me (i basically just have stage 1... ) then he got a port and polish (supposed to be 7 hp on the dyno) and he is now just about neck and neck, but surprisngly i can get out of the hole faster (but mid run he catches up a bit, and then im usually leading by about half a length)

Yesterday my other buddy came out with his full race yfz. (this guy dumps a crapload of money into this thing... not much on it is stock) as far as engines mods, he has cams/piston (has the 450 kit) Full hmf, some sort of intake (not sure if its an aftermarket box, but i think its a KN in there) also has lightweight fly wheel, and lightened drivetrain (sprockets/chain/rims) I thought for sure i would get massacred by him (especially since he weighs about 150 soaking wet, and im 235 really dry [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] ) so all 3 of us drag, and surpisingly he only takes me by about 2 lengths... I think he was having a larger problem with traction tahn the rest of us, but by the end of the runs nobody was still spinning (I can nearly top out in 5th, and they are topped out usually a bit before me)

My buddy with the race yfz then put that back in the trailer and brought out his dads 05 x, i thought for sure i wouldnt have a problem throwing some roost on it...but SURPRISE! it is neck and neck with me, and the port/polish yfz! i didnt like the feel of it (first time on anything newer than my 03) because it felt stiff, but im used to my cruising suspension, which is pretty damn soft and it felt pretty tall (was about 2 inches taller than mine, but my preload isnt as stiff either) The things i loved were the black color and the new autometer tach (looks hot) and also having braided brake lines definitely is a noticeable difference. I was very surprised to see that my quad with all its mods was barely winning out to a BONE stock 05 ds.... Did anybody ever find out if there is anything at all different in the engine? I know due to the hubs/sprocket hub and general weight loss it gained some power, but that thing really pulled @ around 4-5k.

anyway, i hate to waste forum space with my babbling, but am glad im keeping my ds for awhile longer! And hopefully it STAYS together this time [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Well, Im glad your satisfied with the outcome....I hope it does stay together! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I don't know if anyone has actually figured out why the 2005 DS650 is faster than prior models, but I can confirm that it is. I've owned a 2001 and a 2002 DS650, and now own a 2005 DS650. Even with fewer mods on this 2005 DS it is easily faster than the prior DS650s were. I will beat my son's YFZ450 4 out of 5 times in 300 foot sand drags, even though he weighs 80 lbs less than me, and his YFZ has a full racing pipe on it, and my DS650 only has a slip-on exhaust. The 2005 DS650s rip.

 

Less weight on the new one

 

I would like to know how the weight change in the drivetrain affects horsepower/torque, and also how the weight of the machine itself changes acceleration. (like 50 lbs = 1 second in a 300 ft drag)