One of the great things about these Forums is the real experiences of real people with real quads. The DS seems like a great quad for the Southwest, where rocks outnumber trees 100 to 1.
Skid plates, taller tires, and timmy boy upper A-arms should make it ready for the mountain trails and sandwashes we ride here.
The Raptor has horsepower and reverse. And a huge aftermarket list that you better invest heavily in if you want it to be a great quad. And so many problems, geez.
The Cannondale looks a little small,like a 400EX, with no aftermarket to widen it up yet at all. And RacerJim says it has a hard seat. But it has lots of goodies stock, and EFI that would set you back $3500 on a DS. Their R&D has been extensive, and they are coming to town soon. The first one coming here is taken, the second is up for grabs.
Bang for the Buck, the DS looks real good, fix the twitch and protect it from the rocks and you got something, including a hundred more pounds than the Cannondale.
Then there's the rumor about the 650 Honda.
DAMN!! What if it had EFI and reverse?
Silly Later,,,,Fourlix

 

I'll give the DS650 all credit and praise in the world, because it's awesome. It seems like you haven't seen the FX400. Well, I have seen it and I must quote a fellow rider like myself who said;"The FX400 is hand-made and it looks home-made". It's not up to snuff as far as quality control and for $7900.00 their isn't anyone in my area that seems to think its worth it, because the only one the dealer has... is still on the showroom floor. Please enlighten me on retooling the Raptor?

j/t
01 Raptor Blk/White (stock)

 

Hi! DS and Raptor are both awesome quads. The issue is where do you like to ride ? Because the DS is the best on fast tracks and the Raptor is great for tight woods.
You may have to spend some $$$ on the Raptor until it handles just like you want it to. I personally think that Yamaha is going to change a couple of things for 2002 model.
Now, the Cannondale is a risk my friend. It seems to handle better than a EX, being faster than a DS. But what about reliability? Cannondale's experience in dirt bikes isn't something to be proud of. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

JNBOMB650

 

All this hype about the FX is going way too far. I've seen the photos of that FX on the Honda forum and personally I'm not too impressed with it's quality. The frame geometry looks similiar to a Polaris and I'm really not impressed with all those wires hangin out into the open. Where did the rumor come from that it will beat a Raptor or a DS? I'm still pondering that thought because I know EFI makes a difference in power, but will it actually make up for the lack of 250 cc's? Guess I'm just strung out on displacement and the fact that the DYNO results that Cannondale posted on the DS, Raptor and 400EX were false on the HP side. I just can't wait to see this powerful 400 in action.

 

Don't think the DS650 doesn't have it's own problems too. Here are a few from none other than YOU ds650 owners:

MY DS WHENT TO THE SHOP TODAY, BECUSE MY RED LIGHT WOULD COME ON SOMETIMES WHEN I WAS NOT GOING VERY FAST.WELL LUBA YOU WERE RIGHT COME TO FIND OUT MY FAN WHENT OUT ON ME...................
It was a sending unit switch, one of the up dates that came up after I purchaced it................

I also have an oil light problem ................

my DS 650 was 2 months out of warranty and they would ONLY pay for half the cost of parts NOT including labor for my blown motor................

Fellows I am all to familiar with Bombs customer service. I bought my DS in March of last year and rode it every saturday for about 3hrs until November when my engine started making some strange noises and loosing power. I took it to my dealer who told me the engine was toast for no apperant reason and it would cost $3000 to repair. Parts needed crank assembly, bushings, gasket kit, case, cylinder and piston kit "WTF" this is an 8 month old bike I paid nearly $8000 for it and now it needs a new motor! To make a long story short my bike is still at the shop, sitting out in the rain, sun, snow and has who knows how many bird stains on it. So much for my $8000 dollar investment..........................

When I first bought this thing I considered taking it back to the dealer after just the first 200 yards down the trail. My god, this thing was all over the place, and took a monumental effort just to go in a straight line, because of all the darting, diving, and wandering.

my riding partner and i both have ds650,when riding at the dunes my oil tem light has came on quite a few times.My partners oil tem light has never came on, we ride the same way and just as hard.After i let it sit for about 5min and start the bike everything is fine the lights off.........

sagging spring ? any body else having this problem?, the spring on one of my front shocks is sagging inwards and has evan struck the shock body, just talked to the dealer, I've had the bike almost a year but he still says bring it in, thats a little good I guess. How can this not be a material defect?..................

Have you considered aftermarket suspension? After 1 year of ownership I am convinced that the stock suspension is not very good for a 170 lb rider.

I got a DS650, 2000, in July and it has been in the shop a total of 2.5 months off and on. The radiator hose on backside of motor keeps blowing off for no reason (usually when I have it and shop doesn't). This has burnt my leg twice (so keep an eye out for this). The shop can't find problem. They have replaced several hoses, thermostat, and electric fan/heat sensor.......

Both A-arms are bent (new ones have been on order for approx. 4 mths). Have replaced one battery, one stator and rectifier, heat an oil light, and oil sensor. The bike is bad about backfiring through carburator. I was wondering if anyone else has had these problems????? I have only put about 50 hours on the bike. Just had to buy extended warranty because bike was still in shop when warranty went out...........

Our radiator hose came off 2 times also. It burns like crazy on your leg. The nipple of the engin (that the hose clamps onto) is very slippery and there is no way for the rubber to BITE onto it. We grovved the nipple off with sandpaper a few tiems and made the surface rough. Now it holds tight as can be. WE also went over the whole machine and put some bigger clamps on all the hoses, just in case.......................

I wasted my left a-arms they are not that strong, the chain rollers suck, i replaced my chain roller with the aftermarket one from tm designworks it has bearings....................

My chain roller went out to but i took an old roller skate set and put one on mine.............

has any one had problems with there bike back firing? Mine does it all the time.The shop never can find out what is causing the problem............

I thought it should have had more power in the low end, a good pipe fixs that, the only time the weight is an issue is when you have to lift/drag it around. I'm putting on Timmy Boy A arms to fix darty steering/bumpsteer.....................

I hate to say this, but bombardiers are junk.. I had mine for 4 months now (about 40 hours) and it drives like it's 40yrs old. I'm selling mine before the book value goes from 5200 to 0000.......

ouch!!!

 

ERICsRAPTOR, are you just trying to open a flame war or what? How long have you been saving up your little copy and paste post? Sure there have been troubles with the DS but you don't even want to begin with the Raptor. How many pages do you think people could fill just from posts off the Yamaha board? People bitch on the boards for sympathy. Do you really think that those few posts represent a majority? How about all the people out there that love there DS's (and Raptors for that matter) and never post about how much damn fun the bike is. That EVERY time I go out with my bike I beat it up and abuse it and it brings me back to camp with a great big smile on my face. I personally have two friends with Raptors and one has already had to replace the clutch. And guess who had to tow in their bike with his DS when the RAPTOR left it's owner stranded? **** can happen to any bike.

On a different note, I love my DS! I think it's one of the best bikes ever built. I hauls *** out of the box and the suspension is awsome. I love the size of the bike. It's big without being cumbersome. It's also as stable as they come. I'm not going to make a list about what I don't like about the Cannondale because it would just be too long. The EFI is what makes me really nervous. I like things simple.

 

I totally agree with you quicksand !.
Though it sounds like EricsRaptor has a bit of a vengence against DS owners. Could it possibly be that he got his A$$ spanked in a race? Well there I go stooping down to his level of starting another "War" on who's quad has had more problems. Well i think we are all tired of it, we come here to tell stories and enlighten people on our own experiences. So I shall not contribute to that childish act again. A nice weekend has arrived, let's all get out and ride hard so we can come back on Monday and tell about our adventures. newdsowner.

 

Put down the gun and back away from the door.
Everything is going to be allright.. really..Let go of the girl, she didn't do anything,,she can't help it if she's a hottie....

Seriously folks, we would not be picking these quads apart if they weren't both great rides. They are worth buying, worth riding, and worth modifying/customizing. But they are all new,
and we are looking for ****** in their armor.
There isn't a quad made that can't stand improving, both at the manufacturer's level and in our back yards. What we have in these forums is the incredible opportunity to find these ****** through the experience of others. That makes us better consumers and lets the Manufacturers know we are not going to tolerate any crap.
Silly Later,,,,Fourlix

 

ERICSRAPTOR----- YOU ARE TRING WAY TO HARD! IM SORRY YOU MADE THE WRONG CHOICE OF ATV,BUT I THINK YOURE TRYING TO START THINGS, TO MAKE YOUR SELF FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOUR RAPTOR.WHY DONT YOU GO POST TOP SECRET THINGS YOU KNOW AT THE YAMAHA CHILDS FORUM!

 

Eric, you spend way to much time in these forums