Ground clearance aside.....

I would not recommend the DS at all......... I've already heard from people that those crazy frames are prone to issues. A guy who raced one last year had to strip the entire bike apart and "re-do" some of the riveted connections. He had to drill them out and put locking nuts/bolts on the frame. So now he has to go around and constantly check the frame for loose rivets and bolts......that's annoying if you ask me...... They are also apparently prone to blowing the top end up........

I would go with the Yamaha or the Honda for what you describe..........just my .02 cents....

 

Yeah the 9700 dollar price tag on the ds450 X XC almost makes me cringe considering i only paid 3700 for my left over 07 300ex at the dealer, i have to pay for everything myself, so id have to go to a dealer and see what the monthly payments would be on the thing, thanks for your opinions guys, im definatly gonna go for the ds450.

and as for the frame trouble they may have, it would seem as though i cant buy one till next summer anyway, so i would be buying a 2010 model if possible which, if frames were an issue on the older ones they might fix it on the new one.

 

Well, good luck saving up dude! I'm guessing your gonna sell your 300EX, right? That should help to pay for some stuff. Parting it out might mean the most $$ for you though.

I wouldn't not buy one because of the frame. So what, there have been a few reported problems. That's the same thing thats happened with every quad, really. Take care of it, make sure you service it properly (and take it into the dealer to take a look at everything occasionally) and you should be fine.

 

My plan is to trade in my 300ex and possibly my snowmobile( if they allow multiple trade ins) that way i can possibly bring the total down from 8700 to around maybe 5000 or so, that would be very do-able as far as my budget goes.

 

Yeah that would be good. Also, if you could find a leftover 09 DS450 X XC, that would be awesome. I doubt they'll make any huge changes.

For example, there are still leftover 08 DS450X's, as well as leftover 08 LT-Rs...

I think if you trade in the 300ex, make sure you you put the stock parts back in, then you can sell the aftermarket stuff for more money (usually you can).

 

WOW, never thought of putting the stock parts back on and selling them separately, i will defiantly do that! cause chances are they wouldn't give me any more for my 300ex with the mods on anyway, and yeah i would buy a leftover but i like having something that alot of people really don't seem to have which is one of the reason i want the ds450 X in the first place.

 

Alright sick, good luck with everything man!

 

Well, thats a deal breaker, i don't know why i didn't notice this earlier, but the ds450 doesn't have reverse, so thats 100% out of the question now, reverse for me is almost a necessity. I am now looking at the 700xx, that actualy truly provides the higher ground clearance i need (thanks to IRS). I ride is pretty rough and rocky conditions. To give you an idea of the type of riding i do, the only sport quads i see on the trails where i ride are mine and my friends, everyone else rides big 4x4's although its not that muddy, just a ground clearance issue mostly, but i refuse to go to a 4x4.

 

Yeah, none of the 450's (except for the KFX450R which is more of an MX quad) have reverse. You kinda get used to it, LOL.

The 700XX is pretty nice also, it's heavier, but definitely a great quad for rocky terrain.

 

I wish the 450's came with reverse cause that engine class would be perfect for my riding style, and i think the 700xx should definatly fit my riding style/conditions the best out of any other atv, i would look at the outlaw 525 also, but im kinda partial to Honda, its all i have ever owned. As for the weight of the 700xx, that shouldnt be too much of a problem, it seems its engine size should make up for its extra weight, not to mention im a bit on the heavy side myself (about 215) so a bigger machine would fit me better