I have bent both the stock front rim and stock rear rim under typical riding conditions. Is it the weight of the DS that is the problem or is it cheap rims, or both?

 

By "bent," do you mean "dinged?"

I have no idea of your riding style, environment, or experience, but rim dings are "fair wear and tear" among those I ride with, how and where we ride; problematical only if the rim won't hold air.

Tree Farmer

 

Scooby,
As I told you in the past, we have experinced this problem on all three of our ds650's while riding at the mx track. My cousin and myself have just stopped flying our bikes so much and my brother sent his front wheels out and and had rings welded into them, he replaced his rear because they were bent to the point of leaking. The guy that done the work used Douglas 190s off a honda, the pattern in so close with minor mods they look stock(this was before you col=uld get 190s for the ds) appox. cost $100 per rear, $65 per front. If your are interested I'll get the guys name and number. 10 days from time sent to recieving. The guy does the work the day he recieves the wheels.


'00 DS650 stock-mine
'97 warrior-wifes
'87 YMF80-daughters

 

My friends and I have had similar problems with the stock wheels. The manuel suggests 3-5 psi, when calling douglas they said they need atleast 8-10 psi. I put 10 in mine and havent had a problem.

 

Hey Scooby,
Have you noticed the label on the rims? They are Douglas not Bombardier. The same rims that we all put on every other atv when we buy wheels (or ITP same difference).
Yella Terra

 

YellaTerra, did you read my question carefully???? I said is it the weight of the DS that is stressing the rims or are the Douglas rims just made cheap or both. In the end though, Bombardier is responsible for selecting rims that will withstand the stresses that the ATV they designed will cause on the rims.

 

What YellaTerra is trying to say is that you won't find a better rim than the Douglass on the market.

It's probably a combination of riding style and possibly the weight of the vehilce, but probably air pressure also. I've seen plenty of Sand Rails run Blue labels, which are .125, without problems. The Red Labels are .190 and are substantially stronger. If you ride very agressively, you should consider re-inforcement rings, bead locks or both, like the pros use.

Laters,
CRT_Leech