I still like the idea of jumping a quad that weighs in under 400lbs. I love the 400ex's jumping manners. I saw a DS last summer doing some jumps and it seemed pretty stable in the air, and i guess that plush suspension helps. I never rode a DS but i dont think i need a quad that big. The Raptor boys must be mad that the 400ex beat it in the woods and on the Mx. according to that article in ATV sport. I rode a Raptor and thought that the front end was too loose, i was all over the place. It's got power but i just think its an overall wierd quad, probably because Yamaha wanted a Jack of all trades. When the Raptor first came out Yamaha claimed that the difference between the Raptor and Ds in a drag would be the same as the difference between a 400ex and a DS, Boy were they wrong!

 

here's some proof!

the DS has WON 3 major races in the last 4 months!!! and yes, Raptors were in all of them.

3rd RACE

THE DS650 WINNER OF THE NUMB BUM RACE, A 24 HOURS ICE RACING CHAMPIONSHIP.

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February 11th 2001, another victorious day for the Bombardier® DS650™ since it won the 24 hours world endurance ice racing championship. " No other production ATV could do the race with so few changes " declared the winners. The DS650 won the race because nothing beats that engine for output/durability ratio. The race was 16 km long. At the beginning, the DS650 lost a great lead when they blew a fuse and had to change the circuit (they put extra halogen lights and hand-warmers on the same circuit). They went back out in 7th place behind the leading Honda TRX 250R, a highly modified unit. There was one long straight that belonged to the DS650, nobody could touch the Bombardier's riders through that section and they made up time. By half-way, the race-track was all torn-up and now the DS650 suspension and tracking stability got a chance to show off. The Honda TRX 250R arrived in second position, the Banshee was 3rd, 2 Honda 400ES were 4th and 5th, and the Raptor took the 6th position. Thanks to the drivers : Bobby Parr, Jimmy Stephenson, Adam Campbell, Murray Treiber, Eric Dollente and Tim Neidhardt . Thanks to Kevin Avina of CT racing and Murray Treiber of Riverside Racing for an excellent job in the Pits. Also a special thanks to Gerry Picard who worked hard for Bombardier and the DS650.









2nd RACE

AFTER BAJA 2000, THE DS650 WON THE ROOF OF AFRICA 1000 KM RACE

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The Bombardier® DS650™ took a dominant win in the annual Roof of Africa 1000 km race. Known as the toughest off-road race in the Southern Hemisphere, this annual race is held in the Maluti mountains of Lesotho, in Africa.

The leading team through the event was DeVilliers on the DS650, but due to an accident he had 3 weeks prior to this event, he had to drop out during the second day. Another DS650 driver, John Steenkamp, had been running second until he passed the Yamaha Raptor in a section where the water came right up over the tank for over 50 feet down the river.

The DS650 team finished 1 hour and 40 minutes ahead of the Raptor team. The DS650 keeps proving itself, not just on it¹s performance but also on it¹s reliability, in the really big events like Baja 2000 and now the annual Roof of Africa challenge, where extensive modifications used to be the rule to determine who would win, until the DS650 showed up!







1st RACE

BOMBARDIER DS650™ ATV FINISHED FIRST IN THE BAJA 2000 ENDURANCE RACE

Valcourt, Québec, Canada, November 16, 2000 - Bombardier Recreational Products took the ATV world by storm last Tuesday, finishing 1st in its first-ever participation in the SCORE BAJA 2000 off-road desert endurance race held in Mexico. Up against the industry's top machines and racers in what is described as the longest and most grueling off-road race in the world, the Bombardier® DS650™ ATV was the first to finish the 1,754 mile non-stop race in 41 hours, 34 minutes and 43 seconds, nearly 15 minutes ahead of the Honda 400 EX, last year's winner.

Alain Brunelle, Vice President and General Manager, ATV, declared: "We are especially proud of the win because it's the first time in 17 years that a factory-built unit with so few modifications has taken top prize at Baja, especially since the DS650 is only in its first year of production!" The triumph of the DS650 in this 1,754 non-stop desert race is proof that our Sport ATV can not only play with the big boys, it can beat them at their game by a wide margin. With the engine measuring in at 653 cc, the DS650 stands apart from the competition in that it comes with a factory-built performance-ready package straight out of the box. Brunelle added, "We are very grateful to team manager Greg Row and his pro drivers for believing in our machine and leading us to victory. It's further proof that the DS650 is the choice of champions!"

Veteran Dean Sundahl, who rode the Bombardier across the finish line in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was part of the 7-man Team Greg Row running in relay against elite racers from 30 states including challengers from countries as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, England, Canada and Mexico. Also participating at SCORE BAJA 2000: were specialized Baja cars, modified pick-up trucks and motorcycles.

 

hey danyeo ...i love my raptor now that i ve adjusted to the way it handles im more confidenton in turns and have no problems with it supposedly tippin at sharp turns.I think the 400ex is a good quad too.I think we should stop talkin trash and just ride. just quit claiming races that ds650 won...cause unless it was you racing... it doesnt mean much. ride safe

 

hey azrenegade,don't you have a carb that blew off or axle that bent,shocks to change,something that just plain fell off to fix?Take your little glorified blaster to your own forum and learn how to make all them repairs you need to make. aaaa-ba-bye.

 

Yeah, i hear you! Dont you hate when people that dont own a Raptor tell you its tippy, i see Raptor owners more often now and they seem to be getting better. I ride with a friend who rides a Banshee and he has no problem in the woods and he has no problem getting low power so i value his opinion over some shmuck on quadX who tells me facts about a quad he doesn't even own. Ride what you got and have a blast.

 

i have a ds and a raptor and the raptor is tippy, so what do you think now.

 

i finally got to ride a raptor today.i was on it 5 mins and hated it after 30 secs.i barely gave it gas and the front end was in the air.i give you guys credit,if you can keep the front end down you must be a pretty good rider.i used to be a diehard Yamaha man untill i got my DS.i traded my warrior in on it and just sold my 00 banshee 3 weeks ago.i almost bought a raptor,after today im really glad i didnt.by the way,the raptor i rode today had to have the battery cable put back on when ever you wanted to start it because the bolt had vibrated out.it seems like if its not bending or breaking its falling off.sorry guys,i was diehard Yamaha untill the raptor.but if you like yours im glad for you,but this Yamaha just wasnt for me.afterall,it would be dull if everyone liked the same bike.

 

yeah i didnt know you had to own a raptor to know that it is tippy. the first thing i noticed when i rode my buddies was that it was on two wheels in turns. dont get me wrong it is a great quad it just needs a wider stance.