Right now i have a 300ex with the basic mods, and ive only had it about a year but its already not enough, my friend has a 400ex and ive ridden it a few times but it doesnt seem that much faster to just step up to that, so im thinking of probably the 450cc class, mainly the can am ds450, another i am looking at is the yfz450.

i mainly ride on semi open trails but there are some spots that get pretty rough and rocky. the main reason i want the ds450 is the extra ground clearence, i bottom out way too often on my 300ex and most 450's have even less clearence than that, the only thing that worries me about the ds450 is how new they are. Does anyone know if they have had any troubles with them, and are they reliable?

 

The DS450 (especially the DS450 X XC) sounds like the perfect bike for you. Someone I know has an 08 DS450X, and he LOVES IT, no problems whatsoever. He's replaced the filter, and cut the pink wire, and done some other little doo-dads, and it's a pretty sweet bike.

Like every bike - take care of it properly, and it will last a lifetime.

 

Hey, thanks for the fast reply, yeah im thinking about the ds450 X XC version mostly cause i dont care for yellow quads, and the black looks just plain sick! I think ive made up my mind about which one i want, as far as where im riding i dont think there is a better atv that fits my needs. I probably wont be able to get it till mid to late summer though, or possibly even next year, im 17 with a part time job so monthly payments cant be too extreme if ya know what i mean.

 

Got to ask just how the DS gets higher ground clearance???? The only way on an SRA machine to do that is to run bigger tires and/or a smaller rear sprocket and then a higher skid plate.

I am running 20" Holeshot XC rear tires and a DG Baja skid plate on my Honda 450, and I have 5.5+" under the back end. If I ran Holeshot XCT's, I could make that 6.5". Can the DS beat that????

 

Not really sure how they got more ground clearance, but can am website says 9 inches of ground clearance unless they are talking about the belly of the machine and not the backend, which would be weird cause every other atv says there ground clearance at the lowest point of the machine, so in my opinion if its not truly 9 inches of ground clearance then thats false advertising

 

Yeah, the DS "XC" has large tires, not sure exactly what size. It also includes standard skid plates, which are a must if you do any kind of rocky trails.

Oh yeah, hope you get it soon! LOL if you don't you will just be day dreaming about it for EVER. LOL. But yeah, I totally understand about having to save up. I'm 15, but I got my LTR as a birthday present (and wont be getting a new quad anytime soon!). It's such a PITA saving up for parts and stuff, lol. On the LTR450 Central, there are two other guys, who along with me, are the main posters on the forum. Well, I'm 15, and one of them is 16, and the other 17. So haha like everyday we complain about how much we want some new part and how we need more money!

LOL

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Curtis300ex

Not really sure how they got more ground clearance, but can am website says 9 inches of ground clearance unless they are talking about the belly of the machine and not the backend, which would be weird cause every other atv says there ground clearance at the lowest point of the machine, so in my opinion if its not truly 9 inches of ground clearance then thats false advertising</end quote></div>

They are probably measuring under the chassis, and not under the swingarm! Suziki does the same thing....they are lying to you!!! Suzuki is claiming 10+ inches for the Z400, and anybody with half a brain would realize that can't be true.

This is what the forum is for...so you won't get taken in by false advertising!!!

 

Suzuki and Yamaha do the same thing dude...

but that's not to say that the DS450 X XC isn't a great XC quad that would definitely fit his needs.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Canadian144

Suzuki and Yamaha do the same thing dude...



but that's not to say that the DS450 X XC isn't a great XC quad that would definitely fit his needs.</end quote></div>


Not Yamaha, dude! An honest 4.5" for the YFZ for example.....

 

They do do it... I was comparing the YFZ450R vs the LTR450 on some site and they both had close to 10 inches of ground clearance...I can't remember the site though.