I am thinking of making an effort to get my DS down to 350lbs over this Winter(as a project).

I know of a person that can do a great job at biulding a ChromeMoly frame,and he thinks it should be worth atleast 40lbs over stock. then changing to a really light swing-arm,and axle,hubs,spindles, A-arms,and steering stem.etc...

I think it may be possible to get the DS down around 350lbs,and still be very duneable.

to be honest, this is going to HAVE to be the next step in the DS evolution if we plan on being competitve wth the up and coming 450's from Yamaha,and Honda. Up till this piont the Rotax motor has kept us competitive, but it is time to start shaving wieght, instead of biulding HP!!(does that mean I am going to have to loose wieght also?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]) DAMN!!



Besides, HOW FUN WOULD A 350LB DS BE???!!!! Oh YA!!

 

I'm pretty sure AZSand built one of his many DS' down to like 360 lbs... I think that was the number. I believe he was using the stock chassis as well. You can do a search about it, he posted everything/most everything he installed to get it that way.

 

My biggest dissapointment with the DS is the weight, but it's not cheap to lighten the whole ATV.

I think a ~150RWHP DS @ ~500lbs would be enough to take most any 450 @ ~350lbs.

~150RWHP can be done cheap with NOS and/or turbo.

 

So just think what a 150hp 350lbs ds could do!!!

 

This would be a project $$$$...

Tripple buffs all around saves alot of weight..Does anyone know how much?? I think near 15-20lbs with lighter rims and all.

Aluminum swing arm, i think saves 10-12lbs [unsprung weight]

Titanium chain

Super light a-arm assembly should drop 10lbs, and the front bumper weighs 3.5lbs..So 13.5lbs

on alky, no need for fan..2lbs

drag pipes might save 8-10lbs over Ron wood pipe.

titanium drag axle and hubs may save 8-10 lbs

all plastics shaved along with removal of front fenders.

I think the ds shocks weigh 15lbs, they can be re-placed with lighter ones, or aluminum struts.


This is just a guestamate of a suggestion...One of my bikes is ALOT lighter than the other..

If you add an Ethiopean rider with all this weight reduction and a strong motor, ITS WILL BE OONN!!!!!

 

Scooby your right. In your case you have the POWER to overcome just about any weight diss advantage. but I bet you wish you had a sub-400lbs ds for some of those Drag Banshee's that you can almost beat![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]


I am thinking I can get my DS at my target weight for somewhere around 2G's. That is a pretty good deal(IF I CAN DO IT).






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ATV Sport did an article a couple of years ago where they lightened a DS to @420lbs I believe. I think that if you could get it around 380-400 max you'd be killin a lot many many more people. Once you start taking that big ole DS down to the 350lb area that may be pushing it as far as "overall" reliability. I've seen 250lb banshee's that are fase as h@ll but don't ever think of duning or hard pack riding, and never ever get the tires more than a couple of inches of the ground. Durability vs. Weight is the real battle, the thinner the wall of tubing, the easier it is to break, even chro-mo has it's limits. If you want a light hillshooter than 350 would be wicked, but if overall kicking a$$ is your thing, then a DS the weight of a 400ex would kill!

 

Youare right, but If you can get a DS to 400lbs with a stock frame,and sub frame. A ChomeMOLY frame as tuff as a rappy's or Z400's frame would still save probably 30 lbs!! WE all know that the DS frame is OVER engineered to take the very WORST beating, and 95% of us will never race the BAJA1000. (unfortunately)

A custom frame will cost 3-4 G's, but this guy has been biulding frames for Dragster's for years,and I think If I get him a order for atleast 3 frames, the cost will be 1500 or alittle less. I wouldnt dream of doing his for DRAG only, it would have to be strong enough for a 265lbs man(ME) to land a small jump,and bang through the woops!


also it would be really cool if thier was someone out thier that could make a Fibraglass ,or CarbonFiber mold of the DS seat,and make a replacement for the DS seat, with just a but pad on it(like the crotch rockets have). this would save atleast 15lbs!!




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I have someone who could do almost anything in farbon fiber and Kevlar, but it's expensive. My girlfriends dad is and Indy Car engineer and has made everything from helmets to seats and chassis components out of C-F. He saw our quads and was able to see the potential savings, but it would be at a big cost unfortuneately. Let's just say that he has a material that could save a couple of LBS over the best axle you can buy, and have it be nearly indestructable. It's called Airmat I believe with a magnesium core for rigidity. They test their car axles by twisting them to @ 180 degrees, and they snap back to form. So there is a lot of trick things out there, if you got the $$$$$.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

MARRY HER!!!








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