I would not recommend a DS at this time to anyone. You asked about chassis and motor reliability. So far the chassis seems to be excellent, and the suspension is second to none on a stock machine. The motor however is a piece of crap. Bombardier’s customer service is a joke. Do I sound bitter? You bet. After 63 hours of operation, 8 months of ownership, and seven weeks in the shop, my buddies are riding and I am wrenching. Although it is true that all machines have their problems, the Rotax seems prone to some serious issues, such as: valves that won’t hold adjustment, cooling system hoses that blow off, water pump seals that fail and allow coolant to mix with the oil, no low end torque in stock form, a ridiculous rev limiter that narrows the power band to that of a poor running two-stroke.

If I had it all to do over again I would buy a Raptor, spend an additional $2K on suspension upgrades and be riding rather than wrenching and fighting with dealers and manufacturers. Thanks to the “quality” of this motor I have already spent more than I would have if I had bought the Raptor.

 

I AGREE WITH KenDS.I WOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN A BOMBARDIER IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN.CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A JOKE AND IS A WASTE OF TIME.THE DS IS LIKE ALL ATVS.IT HAS GOOD POINTS AND BAD POINTS.BUT WHEN YOU RUN INTO A PROBLEM IT HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT THEY WILL DO OR SAY ANYTHING NOT TO STAND BEHIND THERE MACHINES.I GUESS BOMBARDIER HAS LEFT ME WITH A BAD FIRST IMPRESSION THAT I WILL NOT SOON FORGET.I WILL GO BACK TO HONDA AND YAMAHA.

 

Arizona650, WHAT KIND OF AXLE DID YOU GET FOR YOUR DS AND HOW MUCH WAS IT.DID ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOUR OEM?HOW IS THE NEW AFTERMARKET UNIT HOLDING UP?

 

Man it sounds like you guys got a couple of lemons, I also had some trouble with my dealers service work. I always like the dealer to do the first oil change and the hose clamp was left loose on the hose you remove to change it, I didn't catch that it was loose untill after a long ride (the hose gets oily when you take it off to drain tank). The hose was saturated with oil and even with the clamp tight seaped alittle untill i changed the oil myself and completely removed the hose and cleaned it and put it back on. As far as reliability rotax is near the top of the list as a engine builder and designer (nobody is perfect). I have had my ds for 10 months and it has been rode hard in all different types of terrain and i have yet to have a problem in reliability. If you are new to riding then the ds is not the place to start it was built for desert and dunes and is not a beginner quad. The steering is lightning quick and it is a big quad that takes arm strength to keep in control when ridden aggresively. It takes an experienced rider to appreciate the quality and foresight that has gone into building this purpose built quad. I personally wouldn't trade mine for anything currently on the market.

 

If I were you guys having that many problems with the same bike I would make the manufacturer buy it back. If you complain enough they will do it. Then you can go buy what ever you want to. I a know a guy who bought new rubicon and the tranny have constant failure. Honda did buy it back from him and he bought a different quad. Try to be nice at first, but if you don't get anywhere start turning up the heat. I wish you good luck I can only imagine how frustrating this must be not being able to get out and ride.
Mike
01 raptor

 

I bent a tie rod (but it was the trees falt)bent handel bars (in roll over) bent rims minnor tho and i have split every part of the plastic .
i ride this atv like it was free i abuse it on every trip, ride faster then you can handel and you eather get better or hurt, witch is a diffrant story. so the moral of my little speal is this atv can take some fine a33 wopens and keep going.

but all atv do break

 

Thanks for the responses, and keep them coming. So far, it seems like the lemons are outnumbered. I don't consider myself to be a beginner, I'm ready to upgrade to some bigger four stroke power. I've got the upper body to control this machine.
Can anybody suggest some better tires that won't make it any wider?

85 ATC200X Clean
92 Timberwolf bein' used to plow snow

 

anyone need ds parts?

http://www.geocities.com/ds650parts

 

 

Sounds like wrecking a car and takin it back to the manufacturer and asking them to fix it under warranty I've jumped mine hundreds of times most more a lotmore than 6 ft not a singe thing bent not a scratch