My question is what type of quad would you recommend for me? I am a slightly experienced rider. Not a ton of experience but enough to not be stupid. I want a sport quad for sure. Thinking a ds650,raptor,predator,gasgas,cannondale. My friend has a predator and I am sick of him saying how fast it is and want something to smoke him. Problem is I am a large man 6' 315 lbs. I will mostly be doing trail riding,hopefully flat track racing and maybe MX but not sure if I have the guts for MX or not. Definately would like to try flat tracking though. I have had 2 previous quads a 400ex that I enjoyed and a fast as hell banshee that lasted for a total of 10 minutes of riding, but let me say it was a very fast 10 min. I am open to all suggestions but with me being a large fella Im thinking the ds650 might be the ticket for me, and am looking for any and all opinions before I dump a load of cash on the wrong thing. Whatever I do buy I will be looking to make modifications to it(wider a arms,wider axle,longer swingarm, plus your standard pipe,jet kit,etc.) I did test drive a new yamaha 450 and it seemed a little small for me so not sure about that one. As I said I am mechanical so upgrades and maint really isnt much of a problem. As long as it lasts longer than the 10 minutes I had on my banshee. Let me know what you think and be kind to this newbie as this is my first post.

Thanks.

P.S. For what it is worth I would still buy another banshee if that is what you folks recommend.

 

I posted this in another section but thought I would repost under the bombardier section to get specific input if my thinking is right on going with a ds.

Thanks

 

hey man, I am a big boy myself. lots of ds owners are. I cant say for the style of riding you will be doing. because I ride sand only. but, I have a few quads and ride with a guy that has a banshee. everything feels small to me after riding my ds for a few years. I can ride all day and still be ready for more. if I ride my wifes warrior. I am tired of being cramped after about ten minutes. so, I would say for comfort. you cant go wrong.

 

For larger riders, the three ATVs that are going to "fit" the best are 1) DS, 2) V-Force, 3) Raptor, in that order. I have owned all three, starting with the DS, then a Raptor, then a V-Force, and I am now back to the DS again, so if you want the short answer, that right there tells you which one I think is the best ATV.

The Raptor is real narrow and tippy in stock form, but has tons of aftermarket support to make it a better ATV. It is light and fast, and a good jumper. I hated the dual carbs, which were a major pain in the butt to re-jet for altitude changes. And for me that was a problem, because on one weekend we would ride the Dumont Dunes (1,400 ft elevation), and the next weekend we would ride in the mountains of Utah (up to 11,000 elevation), so jetting was always a compromise on that ATV, and it never really ran as good as I wanted it to.

The V-Force is the fastest of the bunch from 0 to 30 mph, and has great handling at that speed. Above 30 mph it is the slowest accelerating ATV, and it runs out of suspension real quick at high speed. And high speed handling starts to get squirly, because the weight of the machine becomes a handfull as speed increases on rough terrain.

The DS is the fastest from 30 mph on up to top speed, and it has the best high speed handling characteristics, and the best stock suspension for high speed use. The stock DS is also the best dune jumper, with 12" of stock suspension travel. And you can get 14" of suspension travel with Elka shocks on a DS, and 16" of suspension travel with King shocks on a DS, just depends on how much money you want to spend.

Properly tuned, all of these machines can beat a Predator. So ride them all, try them on for size, and decide which one will work best for you. If you ride less than 30 mph, and are in the woods all the time, look at the V-Force. If you ride wound flat out over rough terrain most of the time, look at the DS. If you want to have more aftermarket products than you will know what to do with, look at the Raptor.

 

nice response Outerlimit...you sound like you know what you are talking about and I agree with you[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

look at the specs on the ds it is wider and longer than most, so the need for wider stuff may not be needed. as for your size i couldn't imagine wanting anything but a ds, i go 200 and the raptor seems small to me, the predator has a footpeg location that i wasn't comfortable with, plus i felt like i could slide up the tank when going down hill. guess after riding the ds and getting accustom to the seat, it hard to change. the matience on all fourstrokes is pretty easy, but again the ds seems to win here, the raptors have a real nightmare of jetting. well good luck.

 

I'm 6'2" and weigh 295lbs. I have a DS and have ridden both the Z400 and Raptor. IMO and others, the DS has the most comfort of the three for the BIG guy. Both friends who have those other machines have rode the DS and comment about how big and comfortable it feels to them. Caddie ride all the way!

 

If you ride a DS everyting else will just be too small from that point on. On a DS you won't have to make many mods at all, everything is pretty good from the factory. You wont have to worry about that preditor either...

 

I'm 6'4" 235 lbs and I've had a 400ex that was fine untill I rode my buddys new raptor then my 400ex was just small. Then I went to a dealer and sat on a DS650 and never looked back. The raptor seems small now. I mostley ride the trails of northern michigan from 25 mph to wide open and I've never had a problem keeping up with my buddys raptor. We took a trip to silver lake a couple of weeks ago and he was having trouble keeping up with me. So for my money the DS is the quad for a larger rider...well any rider that wants comfort and performance. The only thing I would look at a 450 for would be the MX track. They are just smaller and lighter and easier to turn on a tight track. No matter what your choice...Good Luck!!

 

Ived owend Banshees 400exs 250rs and I would have to say all these guys are right, the Ds has been the best quad Ive ever owend. Im 6'3 and 255 I love it.
Sam