well i've been looking at this for awhile now, and believe this is a area that needs help if the ds is to come off the line as quick as the 450's. well i talked with jeff on friday and he told me about the postal scales at most office supply stores. well i went and got mine today. well not as cool as his radar gun but it is going to be handy. the first thing i have decided is every little bit is going to count. i ordered some aluminum bolts and washers, all put together they weigh a 1/3 of the steel. so things like the nose plastic and rear fenders will be getting these. hope to save 1/4 pound with this. checked on the stock rear sprocket almost 2 pounds there, the aluminum is 1 pound the old stock chain is over 5 pounds, not sure how much, but at least 2 1/2 with the titanium chain, that is ruffly 3 1/2 pounds the 15 tooth is a couple ounces lighter than the 16. talked to mr hp and the sprocket hub on the new ds's is a lot lighter than the older version, he thought 3 pounds there, so there is close to 6 pounds of rotating mass you can save, it will cost about $275 for that 6 pounds but, some have spent more on pipes that do less. well i'll get more info as i go along.

 

good info Sandman430 .I just bought some replacement nuts and bolts but I bought stainless...I guess I wasn't thinking [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Nice info. Rotating mass counts extra in the weight battle

 

azsand said he is down to 400 that would be a hard place to get but i want to push for 430, i'm not going to do that axle seems like to much money. so starting out at what seems must have been 510 pounds, will make for a large project. the other area that large weight savings can be had are the wheels i have the 12" itp and they weigh 17 pounds for one rear tire, after talking to mr hp he is at 9-10 running 125 rims which would only be good for racing but there is a lot of weight, and it is rotating mass weight, hate to see what the fronts come in at. also seems the new aluminum upper a-arms fit the older versions, apparently 6-7 pounds there, he also makes a couple steering stems, the lightest being aluminum, almost 5 pounds there. well this seems to be one of the hardest areas to get excited about but doing some work with the calulator shows for some interesting things kind of like a 760 needing a lot more hp to keep up with the same engine in say 720 version[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

changing to carbon fiber wheels will knock a few pounds off but your talking $$$. what about a titanium full exhaust? if your not riding at night you could remove the headlight and make a dummy cover like i use on my race car. how much would that shave? i've seen a few people remove their battery for drag racing and just jump start the 4 wheeler before a race, just keep your fingers crossed it doesn't die on at the tree. saw another quad that the owner had drilled holes down the brake and gear foot levers to remove some metal, don't know how much he saved by doing that but it shave a little wieght, onces probably. one of the easiest tricks is do like we do at the track. put just enough fuel in to make a pass so your not toting that extra fuel wieght.

 

I just started dtoring my bros's DS650 in my garage for the winter, I had a real good look at it last night.
There has got to be something lighter than those rear hubs, axle, sprockets hub, brake hub, ect. out there. Is there a Durablue X-33 avaible w/ hubs for it?
I think you must ditch the lights and go for a lighter light set up.
Billet front hubs would help.
That is a big ol oil tank, maybe somebody has a aluminum set up?

 

the new head light is much lighter than the old version but i already have that. i know about the starter trick but i'm not looking to go there i want to stay with the lights and starter, things like hubs and sprocket hubs are the areas that we can work on and maintain the ride. like i said there is lots of areas to work on, i have most in the works the big one being the sub frame looking at a couple of places to have one built, but looking at january on that one. i talked to mr hp about a smaller battery, the one for a 525 ktm is less than 3 pounds, the amp rating isn't as high as the stock ds battery but there is at least a 5 pound difference, and as much as 10 pounds on some of the others.

 

i just dropped a pound in stall two[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] does that count for anything? lose the fenders n get an aluminumn bumper n grab bar for starters, cut down fenders for less wind drag on top end , and hell it doesnt cost me anything to skip a meal or two and lose a pound or two there, hell thats waaay cheaper then aluminum anything[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img], lates josh...........

 

Ever thought about using the banshee swingarm/axle/carrier?

 

SURE WISH SOMEONE BUILT A LIGHTER FRAME