As a consumer that is in the market for a new ATV and debating between the DS 650 or the Raptor 660, I have been watching many forums on both bikes. I'm leaning towards the DS now but the final decision of what to purchace will depend on the outcome of this forum. I feel that Bombardier should at the very least pay for half of the total repair bill including labor. If they do not and I know by past experiences with similiar problems Yamaha has came thru for me, I will NOT purchace the DS 650. Bombardier is VERY new to the world of ATV's but should know by now to take care of thier customers if they buy the product new or used. When the customer rides the vehicle and the public sees this ATV we advertise for them and when riding a bike like the DS or Raptor others will ALWAYS ask what we think of it. I'm sure all the companys LOVE it when we help them with a sale and say " I'll keep buying Yamaha, Honda or Bombardier". So Bombardier I hope your watching this forum because myself and two friends are, we have $7,000- $8,000 burning a hole in our pockets. Treat these guys good or your going to lose at least three sales if you don't. And if you don't we'll be riding our Raptors to your HQ in Melbourne.

 

Well CLIF if i'm correct the original owner only had about 10 hours on the bike.If he did something improper to the bike, i doubt that it would run perfectly for another 10-15 hours then take a crap all of a sudden.This DS needs a whole new motor minus the tranny!That means it even needs a new case.Is it not poss. that a small piece of the case was defective and broke of logging in the crank or the oil pump causing a massive self destruction or a loss of oil flow causing the motor to crap??These cases are made from cheap metals.Not just bombardier but all of them.Well except the cannondale.We all know a little metal goes a long ways in destructing a motor.Step up bombardier give them a new engine and make us ALL VERY HAPPY CUSTOMERS!!!!!!

 

I have tried to keep my mouth shut on this subject due to my obvious bias based on my own experiences. But I can't.

Bombardier is absolutely not being reasonable with you on this issue. Why are the making you the guinea pig for their field testing? They wan't to limit their fiscal responsibility at your expense and put a positive spin on it like their doing you a favor. Last time I checked they don't give those quads away. They are the most expensive bikes in their class, and as such they should perform like it. When you build a premium product and sell it for a premium price, shouldn't the consumer expect premium after sale service. If they wan't to blame the fact that the unit only lasted 20 hours on the previous owner, wouldn't it make sense for them to take the motor to their facility and perform a professional analysis on it in order to make an educated decision based of first hand observations?

If I built a product such as this and it failed so prematurely I would definitely want to know why. After all, my reputation as a premium manufacturer would ride on the outcome. They are simply placating you.

Just my opinion.

 

Couldnt agree with you more KenDS. I actually mentioned to the Bombardier rep that it might be a good idea for one of their techs to look at my engine and try and figure out what exactly went wrong, must have been the funniest thing anyone had said to them.
Facts are:
1. Two isolated incidents involving Bombardiers DS650s with premature engine failure.
2. $3000 dollars worth of damage each.
3. Both service departments at each dealer are
puzzled as to why the engine failed so badly.
4. Bombardier shows no real intrest, Although they should to possibly avoid this from happening to another DS owner.

Although they have agreed to pay half of "AWSOME88250R" expenses I still have not heard anything. I will keep posting until this issue is resolved no matter what the outcome.

 

i was wondering...if you wrote the atv magazines if they would post your problem.
not everyone really reads the forums but alot read the magazines. im sure there sales would drop from that and maybe give them a goose in the butt if you threaten them with that.
but who knows?? they help pay the magazines bills too so they might not want to get invovled. i would ask dirtwheels for the hell of it. try to get it in the speak out column or something like that. half of $3000.00 bucks is alot of money for me. that would mean one of my boys would have to go to trade school ..hahahah i wish you guys luck.

 

I can't believe that bomb won't step up to the plate and take care of these 2 bikes completely. It really is a drop in the bucket to a corporation their size but at least a months salary to most guys ($3000). I am very happy with the customer service from Yamaha so far. When on my first hr of riding my raptor came back with a dented lower a-arm the replaced no questions asked. (truth be told it was most likely from something I ran over but they took care of it) And when the boots on the carbs tore from a back fire they once again came through and paid in full for the repairs. Keeping in mind my bike was still under warranty. I have heard from the dealer who I deal with who carries honda,yamaha,kaw,suzuki,and triumph that yamaha is the easiest to get along with when it comes to customer service. Good luck to you guys getting them ds's fixed.
mike 01 raptor

 

I found out that they are paying, "roughly half of the parts bill." I'm really not in the position to say anything more about it. I hope you all understand. Fast650 really is the guy that needs the most help at this point. Be advised they are watching this forum closely.

 

I hope they are watching, B/C lots of non-Bomb owners... future potential customers are watching closely as well.... (such as myself)

 

I posted the difference between the 2000 model and the 2001 model. There are several oil realted changes that were made. I wonder why??? Were both of these DS650's 2000 models with manufacture date prior to 7/2000? I am suspecious that the oil change procedure is to blame. It says to bleed the system only if the oil light stays on, but I think you should ALWAYS bleed the system.

 

It was manufactured 2/2000.