i cant wait to hear how it works out for ya, i am eagerly awaiting. i am very close to getting a rappy 700 mostly for my girlfriend. she needs reverse and a less high strung ride than the 450's. plus i think if i am gonna spend the money on a "new" quad carburators seem like old technology. i think efi is the wave of the future. even though i love my tm45 on the ds----- thanx to Hightower [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Well said Bombsaint. . .

I like a lot on that new KTM but, the idea of getting a quad with a carb on it seems like buying yesterday's technology.

BTW, Wife and I both are on Raptor 700's these days. Impressive out of the box and even better after you add the 3-mods.

 

I think the Raptor 700 is a great machine....one of my top 3 right now.

TPR

 

I just picked up my DS450 late last week and haven't really broken it in yet. But you said you put a pipe one on yours, who makes a pipe for it currently?? I purchased a Velocity filter kit for it over the weekend, but have not found a pipe yet. The filter kit is sweet, I have never seen one like this for a ATV, only cars. I can't wait to install it and find a pipe somewhere. Any info would be great............

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: SuperDS

I just picked up my DS450 late last week and haven't really broken it in yet. But you said you put a pipe one on yours, who makes a pipe for it currently?? I purchased a Velocity filter kit for it over the weekend, but have not found a pipe yet. The filter kit is sweet, I have never seen one like this for a ATV, only cars. I can't wait to install it and find a pipe somewhere. Any info would be great............</end quote></div>

Try this http://www.rossiereng.com/prod...php?product=1194364171 I think it looks like a sweet exhaust system. Also read up on the power gains that these guys got. It's pretty amazing what kind of power you can get out of the 450. Check this link also http://www.jokersracing.com/co...50_intake_exhaust.html
Check out HMF's there is one on Ebay that claims to give the DS450 a 12hp gain.

 

Sparks should have a pipe available as well. I know they have had access to the DS for some time now so their product should be real good.

TPR

 

Ok, back from a day of riding and promoting.

First off I am not the typical 450 rider (6'2" - 250 = Husky), and this DS450 was bone stock brand new with around 2 hours on it.

The riding was all dune and the sand was super loose/churned up. After a little more seat time, the bike is way to small for me. The suspension was quite stiff for duning. The bike loves to be revved, and hates to be lugged. The power rolls on nice and smooth. As long as you stayed in the top part of the rev band it pretty much went up everything we wanted. Actaully quit surprised at the traction the stock Holshot SR's had in the sand.

This thing is an AWESOME jumper. Doesnt even feel like the bike is under you. Kind of like haveing a BMX bike under ya. Responds great to input in the air. Defiantly alot nicer than the bus moving through the air!

The DS handles really nice, but needs to be wider. Sits at 46" stock. Alot of people have complain about the steering. I actually like it. Mabey due to the my DS's steering is kind of the same. It is razor sharp with inputs. Front end always feels light. One thing that kept ticking me off was if you stalled it it didnt want to start back up easily for some reason. Had to let it sit for a few minutes. We are going to look at this next week.

Like I said, I'm not a 450 rider so this bike is not for me. All of the "larger" guys that rode didnt like it that much either. The smaller, typical 450 riders, seemed to warm up to it a bit better. It is kind of hard to impress people with a 100% stock machine when they roll up on a built YFZ, LTR, Raptor or any other quad with mods.

The kid that was there with his LTR loved it! Everyones tickle button is slightly different.

Chris

 

Yeah, the accuracy of the handling takes a bit of time to adjust to. What the average rider needs to come to grips with is this is how atv's should handle...I'm not taking a arrogant stance, but since the original Quadracer, we have been riding and have become acclimated to poor steering geometry.

If you look at the typical setup, your wheel is so far outside of the kinpin centerline that your front wheel steers around the axis as opposed to steering on the axis. This creates a sluggish steering feel but one that we have grown accustomed to. Add to that the feedback that setup gives and we have to work harder for less steering effect.

Now because of the light weight, some people feel the steering should push, again, we have been trained to think that light equals push, but when they get on and realize that the front end goes where it's told and it takes less imput, they think "Oh, this is not right" We have to rewire our thinking because after riding a DS, going back to the old style will be even more dramatic.

Sure there will be aftermarket setups that will allow you to slow the steering down to accomodate different tastes, but I intend on adapting my riding style to how it handles and have my +2 Epic setup dialed in accordingly.

Remember, you would not want to have the existing geometry on the car or truck you drive on the road, why would you want it on your ATV.

As a side note, I have shown both types of geometry to my father in law, who is an Indycar chassis engineer and former Indy 500 participant and he asked me why it took so long for a manufacturer to get it right....That's high praise from someone who knows what 200mph feels like.

TPR

 

Thank you very much, I will check them out.............