Hey just wondering if any one out there could give me a few tips on setting up the suspension for motocross style racing as I'm having trouble bending axles and rims! And if I decide to go with an after market axle which one should I go with? Either that our I will sell the ds and get something that can handle motocross style racing because thats the main reason for purchaseing a quad in the first place! I don't feel I'm even jumping half as for as I should And my axle is bent probably a good 2 inches.

 

I have never heard of anyone on any sites bending there axles on the DS. Ive seen one broke in half but that was from a violent 60 mph+ crasc on the street.

Id say to buy new front shocks to your taste and have the rear revalved. Go with a heavy duty durablue axle and maybe some chromoly upper a-arms. There has been a lot of stock uppers being bent.

 

After market front shocks, and re-springing your rear shock should help. I'm guessing that you have the pre load set very soft in order to lower your quad for cornering. The problem then would be that you don't have enough pre load to absorb the landings. For now, try firming up your rear compression. This will slow the upward travel of the axle and make it less likely to bottom. This will make the whoops more harsh though. I keep my valving fast and loose to handle whoops, but have my pre load set high[3.5 inches of sag] to soak up the big air. This sets my quad up high in the air under normal riding conditions, so I don't corner as well as some people do, but it works for my riding style.

As on all quads, stock shocks are a compromise for all conditions. You can set these stock shocks up to corner well, or to soak up the rough well, but it's hard to get both. A good aftermarket set, valved and sprung for your wieght on a MX track will renew your confidence in your DS.

I'm 225 LBS and have flown 50-60 feet[watched others fly my quad 70-80 feet] to land on hard flat dirt and never bent anything. The axle is plenty strong, but if your bottoming that hard, anything can bend. If your on a budget, a good metal shop can straiten your axle.

 

Knuzt,
When you say preload do you mean the spring tension? If so It's not set low at all, I've never bottomed out while racing that's why I'm so upset about the bent parts. Maybe I've jumped 30 ft but probably more like 25. And as far as buying aftermarket shocks I was told the Ds suspension could handle racing right form the factory or I probably would of went with a 400 ex and put better shocks on that and been at the same money as I spent now!

 

I've got the cheap Works Steelers on the front of my DS. They are an incredible improvement over the Arvin RydeFX shocks it came with.
I really, really like them. And the TimmyBoy uppers A-arms too.
I swapped springs and put the stock springs plus one of the works spacer springs on the Works shocks. In the process I had the springs off both shocks. The RydeFX shocks have way way way too much rebound dampening, like enough for a Mack truck. These Works shocks were cheap compared to the real MX shocks, $335/pair. With rezzies about $500/pair.
I think you must have a defective axle, maybe you could get it replaced under warranty? I have my back shock set real loose, and have never bottomed it out, but I don't jump like you wild and crazy Mxer's do either.
But I can tell you for a fact that the stock front shocks are junk.

 

Spring tention is actually the inacurate term, pre load is the only adjustment that is possible on the front shocks. It is also the only thing you can adjust on the rear spring. The rear shock can be adjusted for compression and rebound dampning.

Your say that it's not that low, do you know what your sag is set at? One of the odd thing on this quad is that with 12" of suspension travel, some people don't realize when they bottom or when they hit an object and bend a wheel. This later is why people think the wheels bend so easy, the suspension soaks up the hit and hides the force that bent it. What do you weigh? Unless your MUCH heavyer than I am, I can't see how you could bend an axle on 25'-30' of air. On a 60' jump, I land hard enough to use every bit of suspension[the belly skid hits the ground] and my axle is perfectly strait. This is with properly set up, stock shocks front and rear.

It sounds like you will not be happy with your DS, but when you get your Honda, be ready to buy a-arms and an axle to get it as wide as the DS is already. Then you will have to get the shocks you mentioned so you can still have less travel than the DS has stock. And then your going to have to modify the motor so you have similar power to weight. No ATV is perfect for racing for everyone, right from the dealer. Even $30,000 quads like the VOR will need some changes to make it perfect for each rider[maybe handlebars or something like that]. I've got a Banshee I'll trade you if your intrested, I could use another DS.