Hello all,
New here, and a new owner of a 2002 Baja 650 sports quad. First off, nice to meet you all and I hope to get all my issue addressed with your expertise.
I bought a used 2002 Baja 650 on Tuesday 3rd Nov 2009: My first impression, man, this thing is huge. I have two other Hondas and this quad just stands out.
Back to issues, I got this quad knowing that it would require a lot of work. But I’m not complaining rather enjoying the rebuild. The ATV was crashed and it rolled over a couple of times. The front hand bar is kaput along with rear tire/wheel and axel, headlight. Now, I got all the controls off of the handlebar and will be buying a brand new handle bar from a local bike shop. After this, I would need your help.
#1
Where to find a good head light for this model? How much $$$$?
#2
I need to change oil. I do not see any dip stick! I see a large tank below the head light, I assume that it is the oil tank, how to flush it? Rather, do I need to flush the tank and the engine or just the engine? What brand and quantity oil to buy?
#3
Battery is digging its grave as well. Quote from local shop: $88, Looks awfully expensive for quad battery.
#4
I need some pretty big tires, the tires that came with it are pretty small giving very low clearance in the rear. What is the biggest tires that I can fit in to the factory rims?

I will report more issue on separate threads.

 

#1
ebay will be your cheapest spot, they are very expensive new!
#2
The dip stick sticks out right beside the headlight along side of the front facia plastic, and yes the oil tank has the mount that holds on your front facia plastic, it has a nut on the bottom, you can see it between the frame rails / between the front shocks, you can see the oil line next to it. Flush both to drain the oil, and i suggest a good synthetic oil.
#3
Yes batteries are also expensive, as you will come to find all DS parts will be, there is a good amount of battery threads here on the site, do a search for them.
#4
Well tires just depend on what you want, long as the rims size is the same you can mount it, the fronts need room for the front fenders, i like 22x7x10 front tires. and for the rears, 18-20" are small rear tires, i like 22" rear tires, so 22x11x9 or 22x12x9 are good

 

In regards to chainging the oil it is more involved than just draining the oil tank under the headlight. Here are the steps you will want to take.
1) Find the hose that runs from the oil tank to the motor. Its on the left side as you sit on the quad. Have an oil pan handy and a big roll of paper towels (your going to need them) Loosen the hose at the motor and quickly place it over an oil pan and let drain. This will drain the oil tank.
2) The same hose you removed at the motor you want to remove underneath the oil tank. THere is a mesh oil screen in there that should be checked from time to time. Since you have no way of knowing whether the prior owner cleaned the screen I highly recommend checking it.
2) Remove the oil plug underneath the motor. Let drain into oil pan.
3) Remove oil filter. THis is where you are going to need a lot of paper towels.
4) Your almost there... Put in a new oil filter, replace the drain plug on the bottom and tighten the oil line between the tank and the motor back up.
5) Place ~3qt of oil into oil tank and start her up and let it run for a few minutes. Make sure the red light on the dash goes out within a few seconds of startup or else shut it down. Let sit and check oil level. My DS took about 3.3qt everytime I changed the oil. Use a good 10-40wt conventional or "motorcycle" synthetic that is safe for wet clutches. If you use an automotive synethic you clutch will end up slipping.

Good luck...

 

Ok, thanks guys. Here are some parts that I have narrowed down: I bought the handle bar from a local shop.
#A
Tires will be Dunlop part number: 272327310. Ebay price will be around $200 average shipped home. Almost 24inch tall, I like it.

See here

#B
Battery will be off of EBay as well, they are $80 bucks shipped home.



Click here

#C
Now, back to oil question: What is the best way to drain the oil tank? I mean if I have to remove the hose that goes into engine will it not be easier for me to just drain the engine first? That way, the engine block will pull any residual oil from the oil tank as well, “gravity”!
Another question is, does the oil tank have a drain plug as well? I have not paid so much attention to recall now! Please advice.

 

No pulling the drain plug underneath will not drain the tank. THey have to each be drained separately. There are two fittings underneath the oil tank. One connects to the hose I am talking about that runs to the motor and has a screen on it. THe other can be used to drain. I recommended pulling the fitting with the hose on it because you will have to remove it anyways to check the screen. Changing the oil on these things is somewhat of a PITA.

Those tires will not work on the stock rims. THose are for a 10" rim and the stock DS rim is 9". I recommend you go to Rocky Mountain ATV website enter in your model/year and search their tire database. Lots of good tires to choose from at good prices. 22" are going to be plenty tall and you would only need to drop to a 15T front sprocket (also available through RMATV website) to keep your gearing where it is now. 24" are also going to throw your steering geometry all off and look kind of stupid with your stock 21" front tires. I recommend going 22" rear and either 22" or 23" in the front. Ideally you want your front tires to be equal to or a little bit taller than the rears.

 

I just recently bought a fixer upper as well. The DS I bought required tires all the way around, so I bought a set of Maxxis RazrII's in 22x11x9 for the rear and 23x7x10 up front and dropped the front sprocket down to a 14 and she is awesome on the logging roads up here in the mtns.

 

Apologize for not providing all info earlier. I actually have paddle tire on 10 inch rims that also came with the atv. So, I will be using those rims. I just placed order for 24 x11x10 at $90 each at a local shop. I know it is 2 inch bigger than what people want but I want it to be little taller. I'm also buying 22 inchx8x10 tires for the front.

 

If it has the stock heel guards, the tires are going to hit..

 

Question for you...Would all the steps be the same for a 2000 DS650? I read somewhere that there's something about a bleeder screw or something? I need to change my oil and don't have a service manual YET.

Thanks,

Grandi

 

As for a replacement headlight, I just bought some small $20 driving/fog lights at Wal-Mart and made a simple bracket to hang them between the upper headlight mounts. I wired the pair of lights together, and used spade style wire ends to allow me to plug into the factory headlight plug. Works great, and I've since added two more lights: one off either side of the front bumper. "High beam" turns on the upper pair. "Low beam" activates the bumper lights. The DS has a large enough stator to easily handle the amperage draw of two 55w bulbs. Just head to your local Wal Mart, or auto parts store, and check out their cheapo fog/driving lights. You're bound to find something you can make work, and if you ever smash one, you're only out $20.