Posted this in the "buying an atv" part of the forum......

"Any tall riders on these forums? I'm 6'7" 260 and want to buy a new quad for the dunes but I'm not sure which one to get. Any suggestions?

I currently ride an '04 YZ450F and want a quad to play around on when the motorcycle wears me out. I tried out a friends banshee last year but on the first ride it started spitting oil all over, but it never happened before or after that with anyone else on it. Last weekend at Sand Lakes I rode it again and noticed it felt like the frame was twisting a lot when I powered around corners, maybe that was the cause. Anyway the things are too small, I feel very cramped on it and I often like to stand when riding which felt very uncomfortable when on the banshee. I've been on a z400, fun but too small, same for the yfz and the honda EX line, but I havnt tried the 450r....want nothing to do with Kawi so thats out....I havnt rode a DS650 at all....

The raptor 700 fits decent but not great. With the YZ I did everything possible to stretch it out and make it fit better via lower footpegs, taller seat, new triple clamp to move the bars forward, taller wider bars, and of course the heaviest springs my dealer could get so I dont kill the thing when I jump. Could the same be applied to a Raptor? Extended A-arms, wider axle, longer swing arm, wider/taller bars, better suspension? Or should I just look into that fat **** DS650 thing? If so then what year, its been out quite awhile, is there a prefered model year or should I look at new? "

Since your all a bunch of ds650 junkies maybe you can help, I'm a yamaha guy but I raced sea-doo's for 6 years, they seemed to be more race ready right from the factory, does that seem to be the similar trend with the atv's?

 

I am 6'5" and 350 lbs... this is the only bike that I sat on that I did not feel like my knees were going to hit the bars. It only took me one ride on her to realize that there was no other option. I sit on all my friends bikes and I feel like I am about to fall off just sitting there. I sit on my DS and I feel comfortable... my legs don't feel cramped, and I don't feel like I'm sitting on a fence post like the other bikes out there. The suspension is nice and wide and makes me feel stable, unlike anything else I have ridden or sat on. If you are 6'4" you will know what I'm saying as soon as you get on one... even if you don't ride it just sit on one at your dealer and you will be sold. You could make a raptor feel the same as a DS but its going to cost you an extra $4000 in aftermarket a-arms, swing arm, axle, shocks, and bars. You could get all that in a package less expensive and more reliable than almost any other bike on the market.

 

thnx for the info. The DS650 has been around for several years now, is there much difference in the model years?

fatholly did you check out the polaris predator? If so how do they compare performance wise to the ds650? The outlaw looks cool but I'm not sure how long that irs would hold up under heavy riding conditions with my weight n all.

 

I took my friends Pred once around his backyard track and gave it right back to him... it felt tippy like all the other bikes out there. Nice bike but not for me I'm too tall for it. The power is good but the frame of the bike is too small. IMO

 

Hey let me give ya a little more. i am 6' 220lbs my dad is 6'4" 300lbs and my brother dragondj is 6' 290lbs. The three of us went looking for new quads back in june. We were leaning towards the banshee untill we found the DS 650. There is no comparision. We love our DSs. Feel free to ask us anything you want to know about it.

 

Went to my local dealer that we've bought all of our pwc's, atv's, and motorcycles from today and he even suggested I go with the DS even though they only carry yamaha, honda, and suzuki.


So since I will likely modify the quad is it necessary to buy an '06 or are the other previous model years about the same?

 

I dont think there has been many changes in the last few years. If your going to do alot of mods save some money and buy a used one and use the extra money for upgrades. The DS is nearly bullet proof in stock form. Check around here there are some guys that have bikes there lookin to get rid of. Check the whats in my garage thread. They come up fairly often.

 

I think I'm the tallest at 6'-8" tall, 260lbs.
As stated the DS fits perfect - it feels and looks like it is perfect and normal sized for us big guys. pics of me on my bike look like a regualr guy on a regular quad. but put a regular guy on a DS and he looks like a kid.

model years changes,
well the most significantly noticable is the change in length. earlier models had a longer wheel base - the new ones with the aluminum swingarm are 1.26" shorter than the earlier models with steel swingarms. the second most noticable is the width. earlier models were over and inch wider, the new ones have been narrowed by rim offset and tire choice. other than that it has been minor upgrades of little things here and there. and of course colors and graphics. I can't recall the exact year for the length and width change - seems like '04 but not positive there.
main reason for the length change was all the pissy magazines harping on how long it was. funny though, everybody I know with a quad other than a DS has aspired to make it longer and wider!

little things through the years that come to mind - electric fans now mounted on rubber grommets to increase life, lighter axle weight from aluminum sprocket hub and less beef on wheel hubs and also redesigned axle nut assembly, increased rev limit from 7200 to 7900 or something like that, addition of self priming vent tube for oil supply line to elliminate need to bleed (introduced 2001), stainless braided brake lines, aluminum upper a-arms were used for a brief period but then discontinued and some people feel there was a slight geometry change in caster angle at this time to improve handling. there's prolly more little stuff but this is what comes to mind, and I can't recall dates on them other than the one mentioned.