I sat on a couple of new Baja 650's and they are really nice. I am very impressed with the new Baja. I am a big guy and thought the quad felt very comfortable.

If I had the cash, it would be in my garage now.

I am trying to decide what quad to get next. I have a raptor and that is going to become the wifes.

I am either getting a baja or a banshee.

I just got home from a weekend trip to Little Sahara, Utah. It was an awesome weekend out there.

But, I have to say that at Sand Mountain (700 feet to the top) the two strokes were smokin everyone up the mountain. I could sit at the bottom and see a few banshee's line up and then a couple raptors and DS's and they would all be pretty even until the hill got steep and the banshee's would just pull out like 10 quad lengths in front of the others. The two strokes rule the hill. These banshees where not the full on hill climbers either. These were the piped and jetted and filtered banshees. There were a lot of 250r's and some zillas also. All the two's were kicking everyones butt.

I missed my old banshee this weekend.

I am somewhat disappointed that these big four stroke beasts can't hang with the two strokes on a hill like that.

That said I think the baja will be my next purchase. As much as I want a banshee, the baja is much more of a bike. I was very impressed with the suspension. It seems like the way to go.

Just a little report on what was going on this weekend.

Bat

 

I think your making the right choice[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
But I too was disappointed that the DS couldn’t compete with the 2 strokes, It has cost me dearly ever since(but I can hang now). On a good note I can go dunning after dragging the hill where as the highly modified Shees have to go back to camp to cool down.
But there still a side of me that says get the Banshee too

 

I know , I know,

I keep doing that too myself. It is like an internal struggle between good and evil.........LOL.

Banshee, no no Baja , no no....banshee.........no..no...baja

and the struggle continues. It doesnt help that I have video of these two strokes screaming up the hill and then along comes the four strokers and they make it just much slower.

Oh well, I will have to figure it out. There is always someone faster and the two wheelers pretty much have that on their side. They could start and there would be some quads on the hill about a third up it and the big cr500's would just go flying on by and beat them up the hill.

Oh what to do what to do , these big life decisions are just too hard.

Bat

 

What do the Ron Woods kits cost and do you have to send the engine in for the stage one or two?

Also, what would be the most economical kits to do. I have heard Knutz talk about a 703 kit, does that have to be done at his shop or is it a kit that a competent mechanic could do.

Thanks for any info
Bat

 

Batoutahell,next time out I will get some MPEG video to make you feel better.
I raced a healthy KX500 I beat him once he beat me once and we tied once(with out NOS)
But you got to love the sound of those buzz saws flying up the hill
Jeff

 

I think the new baja will be the one, now I just need to figure out how to pay for it. I just can't get over the suspension travel and how it blows most everything else away and I also have not heard any owner say they did not like the ds.

Thanks for the info
Bat

 

For big or tall guys its really nice to have the DS to pick, I'm 6'5" and before I used to ride a Warrior, the banshee is a little better fitment wise but the DS is a whole lot better, put a Team-Pami 760 in it and I'll bet you will beat all those shee's you have on video

 

That is one basic truth. DS owners love their quads. There isn't one of us that doesn't wish it was lighter, but we still love that big yellow "Dirt-Doo". We also respect and even like Raptors and such.
.....Raptor owners on the other hand, some are rabid bashers and hate DS's, some hate their own quads and are ready to bail, or have already done it, and some are just perfectly fine with all of it.
...... The DS has its shortcomings, some are easily fixed, like A-arms and shocks, as far as too much weight and no reverse, well, we just have to live with that, and that's okay.
.....But the Raptor is plagued with a mystery transmission that might or might not blow, and a bad choice of gear spacing, a rather silly two carb, five valve setup that's a bitch to rejet and has a reputation for blowing carbs off the boots as soon as you start messing with it. I can understand two carbs to two inlet ports/valves, but two carbs on three valves? That's just screwy.
....The DS never pretended to be a MXer, and the Raptor riders are discovering that maybe it's not the best race quad either. Seems like Raptors break when you ride them hard.
.....The great thing is we have all this to argue about. There is certainly plenty of room for criticism in every camp. Plenty of room for improvement. I think Bombardier did a good thing with the Baja, if they could have just dropped some weight along the way it would have been a home run.
........Lighter, More (usable)power, better gear choices, better suspension, better handling, easy maintenence/tunability. Santa, are you listening??[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Have you considered a Cannondale? Stock for Stock nothin compares. More power, Less weight, better suspension, better wheels/tires, Fuel Injection, aluminum frame. It just Rocks!!!

I was considering the DS or the Raptor. Just put the spec's up side by side between the 3 and there is no comparison. By the way, I do love the wraparound seat on the DS and the looks of the Raptor. It pretty much ends there.