i currently own a yamaha banshee, a yamaha TRI-Z, and a RAPTOR. My good riding friend got a new DS 650 for a real good price. he called me and invited me to go riding and i was exited. i dont usually believe the stuff the mags say about quad testing. and i was anxious to see about the DS. I found out quick what they meant about twitchy handling. every time you hit a bump on the DS the bars are almost jerked out of your hands. when you turn it sharp it turns wayyyyyy too quick. and the powerband reminded me of a banshee it sorta has a lightswitch feel to it. dont get me wrong i like the DS it looks cool and looks like it is built to withstand world war 3 but the handling is aweful. and we raced across the cornfield and i repeatedly won. but i didnt say anything for making him feel bad. i would own one but not while the raptor or banshee were in existance.
I think it is a very very good bike just not for me or most other people. It is too specialized! Like for the road and not atv trails.

 

The tight *** dealer in Las Cruces, Valley Motorsport wouldn't give me a test ride, but I bought my DS back in March anyway. My first real ride was a nightmare. A pretty rough trail, I'd been on it a few times on my former Sportsmans, but this time, on the new DS, I was getting beat up real bad. Way too much work. Just no fun. I could hit the gas in a few spots but I was ready to sell it!
.......But I had been reading on this forum about the twitchiness and crappy tires, so I figured I'd give it a shot. TimmyBoy upper A-arms, XCT tires and Works front shocks. That's what it took. And now, like a completely different machine, it is a dream come true. Real control, real suspension. At first there was no way I could keep up with a Sportsman on these rough trails. Now I am going sooo much faster, so much more in control. My son on his Raptor is just out of the dust behind me. We ride with CR500 Hondas, they are the only ones that can keep up with us. Our Grizz is usually just a few minutes behind, and those Sportsman? Hell, we have to wait about 10 minutes at each turn for them.
........The Arvin front shocks on the DS vary widely from one to the next. I recently checked out two new Bajas. Same thing, One had a very loose, soft set of shocks and the other was stiff as a board, like mine was. The works steelers with rezzies are under $500 and are fantastic.
Works tends to overspring, so lie about your weight, say you weigh 40 lbs less than you do. Mine came with enough spring to jump out of a 6 story window. Now I have the plush ride I asked for, with some sag, zero preload, for under $500. And I still have not bottomed them out. Whoops are a cruise. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

While there is inconsistancesy in the shocks most folks like the shocks. the biggest problem seems to be Bomber dealers terrible setup, first set the race sag, lift the quad until the shock(s) top out with out lifting the tires off the ground at one end and take a measurement to a point on the frame then have the rider sit on the quad in the normal riding position, take the same measurement it should be 25% to 35% less, so about 3" to 4" of sag next set the "toe" to 1/8" of toe out (I have read of dealer settings of 2" of toe out this will lead to terrible handeling) go here click tech tips then suspension tips (you may have to right click on the link then click "open in new window" to get it to open) he should try this before spending money on A-arms or shocks, many folks are very happy with the stock set up after getting the front end setup properly. that said the DS dose have quick steering by most folks deffinition, the fix is more castor angle achived with upper A arms these are available from several sources, HSD racing Timmy Boy Alba action sports I think that Knutz Concepts also carrys A arms email for Knutz Concepts hope this helps

 

my thoughts are most people that say they like the ds's front shocks dont know to much about suspention. all the ds's ive riden have alittle diferant shock valving to them ???not sure why ?? but they will dive severly when braking,turning ,and jumping, if you set up the spring hight to compinsate for the diving ,you get a harsh ride. fourlix is right aftermarket shocks make HUGE inprovement's on the ds's handling . If you do order works,Im with fourlix again they do tend to over spring you !!!! if you can aford it your life is much better with a fully adjustable shock (rebound and comprestion)the ds will rail turns when you can get about 4-4 1/2 inches of sag in the front. Good luck on your setup !!!


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