Has anyone experienced a lack of power in 4th and 5th gear when riding in sand with paddle tires? The DS seems to have a tremendous amount of drag/resistance in soft dry sand at speed. I have trouble getting over ~60mph in soft loose dry sand. Once I get into 4th gear my acceleration slows way down compared to the first 3 gears. Shifting into 5th drops the RPM from 7000 to 6000 and actually slows me down and allows some piped banshees to start to pull away from me.

 

Buy a RAPTOR then!
I heard someone said that Raptor killed the DS on the sand hill.
Put your ds on sale and get a RAPTOR!

Turbo/EFI won't beat the Stock Raptor. Raptor will still win.
Good Luck

Wolverine16
99 Wolverine (for sale)
01 Raptor..on the way

 

You are an idiot wolverine16! Have you ever rode a Raptor or better yet even seen one in person? No didn't think so.

 

I had some problems getting the ds in top gears at first,but I had better luck when I let 3rd gear wind out longer before shifting. I was not able to get into 5th drag racing. I didn't seem to need it with the competition so far. My ds is stock with 22" tall edge paddles and stock gearing.

 

 

i never rode my ds stock in the sand. but my first mod. (piston,carb,cam + srings,head port,pipe,cd box)pulled hard 1 to 5 with sand skat 2 tires. with blower hard to keep front down 1 to 3 back off at 8000 rpm in 5th.

 

You heard the Raptor killed the DS on a sand hill? Which Raptor was that exactly since they haven't shipped yet. Isn't there an age limit on who can post in here. It always sounds like a bunch of little kids. Its okay, I thought I knew a whole lot in eighth grade too.

 

BY WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE DS, YOU MAY WANT TO TRY GOING DOWN A TOOTH ON YOUR FRONT SPROCKET. THE SAND APPLIES MORE DRAG AND YOU MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH HORSEPOWER TO KEEP ACCELERATING AND THE MACHINE PROBABLY JUST PLAINS OUT (ALL THE TOOTH LOWER IN THE FRONT WILL DO IS MULTIPLY HORSEPOWER MORE..HENSE BETTER PULL IN THE UPPER GEARS). NOTE: YOU MAY LOOSE SOME TOP SPEED ON A HARD PACKED MATERIAL...SINCE IT HAS MUCH LESS POWER DRAG.

 

I suggest either different gearing (larger front or smaller rear) or taller tires. Considering the grunt power the DS has to offer taller gearing should help lengthen the first couple of gears which results in less wheel spin.

Example: It's like doing a burnout in a car on wet pavement. You shift gears, still spinning the tires, until you get to a gear that won't spin any longer, suddently resulting in a bog situation.

 

Kawi Kid that only applys if you can spin the tires. I really doubt that you can spin paddles on the sand long enough to keep it from boggin. Drop the front sprocket one tooth or add 3-5 on the rear