I just read the July dirt wheels shootout between the DS, Raptor, Banshee, Canondale and Honda and was suddenly enlightened. I've been looking for all the wrong qualities in a quad.
It's painfully clear now that the DS is so defficient in so many areas that I should get rid of mine right now. But wait, what if I could alter my bike to bring it up to Dirt Wheels standards? My first step is to get someone to build a nice short swingarm, I'd pay extra if it was cast aluminum. Can't wait to wheelie a 500 lb bike onto my head. Next I want the hot ticket, a five valve head and dual carb setup. Maybe I could get one off an Aprilla, the one that has the DS motor but doesn't make the power. I spent a year trying to tune in dual carbs on an XR 500 but I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem on this bike. It probably would'nt hurt to shorten up my suspension while I'm at it. Hey, reverse, a whole new gear box is what I need. I used to cast shrunken heads, a set of gears could'nt be a problem. I'll even use the same stuff, it holds up okay in canondales. Next I'll saw a couple of inches off my axle, each side, perhaps I could get negative offset wheels and narrow A-arms. Watch out trails here I come. I'd be so narrow a fat cat would be jealous. The Rotax seems to hold up but I would turn it around backwards and run the oil through the front bumper for better cooling. Mind you, this is just the start, hopefully I've given the aftermarket some ideas. I've got to get back to my old issues of Dirt wheels, I seem to remember them spending about $9,000 on a Honda 300EX hop up, how could you go wrong?

 

Great Thread, I truly think no one could have said it better.

LOL LOL LOL

 

You got it man, you absolutly got it[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

You'ed surely have to do an article AFTER that when you mod the bike out so that it's got nice long suspension, an extended rear axle etc. You know, all of those things they keep doing to the other ATVs in the shootout to make them better I believe they call it the 'hot setups' part of the magazine.

 

The poor ds got spanked. Poooo Whooooo. RAPTOR RULES.

 

Ever notice the smaller the quad the mags like it?
It seems Polaris's & 'Bombs always get a bad rap. I'm wondering if the test riders aren't midgets...
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

I have noticed most of the pro-class MX racers are pretty close to midgets - I remember reading an article saying something about guys in the 200 lb range were 'bigger' than the average rider. I've also noticed most of the Apparel is very small, alot of size 30 pants can be found on the shelf while the larger sizes are difficult to find. It wouldn't suprise me if this were true in ATVs as well. If a 200lb. rider is 'bigger' than my 6'1" 220 LB butt must be 'giant' by their standards.

 

That's why those little guys don't think the narrow Raptor is any less stable than a DS. Where as us 200+lb guys are top heavy [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]
The fact is Dirtwheels needs to cater to the Yamaha guys. There are alot more Yamaha guys to buy Dirtwheels. So what if they lose just a couple sales to DS guy or two. Know what I mean ????

 

It's strange but the average height seems to be around here is the 6' mark, there aren't that many (caucasian) kids down here much smaller than that - probably the diet/lack of malnutrition. I don't know where Dirtwheels finds all their midgets, maybe they hang around primary schools, well - maybe that is the age demographic of most of their readers.

Personally I have given up on buying Dirtwheels/ATV Action, most of their content has little or no relevance to me. I still browse through them at the newstand, but I more often buy ATV Sport if anything. All of the American mags are about AUD$14 over here, so I would sooner save my money for riding bits & pieces.

 

Ultimately, they will drag out a stock 250R and once again pronounce it the best handling ATV ever made and name it ATV of the century. Take it with a grain of salt. Every machine they tested is a very nice unit to have in the garage.