Knutz.. what name brand tire will the 2003 DS come with??

 

Lets talk wheel offset - dirtwheels and another magazine I can't think of said that in fact, the a-arms on the DS and the Baja both have the same geometry, camber and caster are the same, and only the difference between them is that the baja arms are cheeper to manufacture.
They feel they proved this during a test ride of the Baja by putting the Ohtsus on the DS, and the dominators on the Baja, and the handling of each machine traded as well - the DS was no longer "twitchy" or wandering, and the Baja was.
The dominators slip so much, the rear end slides around , and the flat front profile of the dominators let the rear wandering effect the steering.
I put all 4 Ohtsus on my DS, and I couldn't be happier with the performance. I'm no longer going to get aftermarket arms or a stabilizer.
Talk about a wheely machine - the Ohtsus can flip you in a heartbeet too....and the rev limiter nevers gets hit anymore.

 

I read that Bombardier is working on a new quad, around 400cc, for motorcross, which probably will be 80 pounds lighter than the DS.
Lets not forget what the DS was designed for though - larger riders that want to go very fast over rough terain. I'm 6'-8" 240 lbs. and its the only bike in existance that can take me over Dune whoops and desert at 75mph without killing me.
Lightening the DS would be a shame....people like me would be at the back of the pack instead of in front.
Lots of things make it heavy too - the motor is dual overheaed cam for performance, the stator is massive for mega light output add-ons, the gears, sprockets and chain are massive so they will last forever and not brake in the middle of a race. The axle bearings are larger and tapered for more side slide loading. Not to mention its made for extreme comfort too. I'm not willing to give any of this up...

 

Knutz,
Will it still have the same rims, rev limiter and lights as the Baja?
How much are we talking for the price?

 

Hightower~
I agree with almost everything you say...about not wanting to change anything. I have about 1600 miles on my DS since August and my front sprocket is starting to show wear...the teath are starting to bend back. I know for a fact that a 520 chain and sprocket would be plenty strong for the DS in stock trim. In fact, some 520 O-ring chains have a higher tensile strength than the 530 chain. Look at the Banshee, raptor, Quadzilla, well, every other chain driven machine. When modded, some of them put out much more power than a stock DS. While this may only save 5 pounds at the most, it could add up quickly if other components were moddified. That is one of the few things I could think of changing without greatly raising the cost to us consumers. In the words of a drag racer, "remove an ounce in 16 places and you've got a pound gone."

 

You have a point about the chain and sprockets - I remember seeing a blue DS in ATV sport mag that they put on a heavy diet. They siad they dropped like 1.5 pounds or something like that just from going to 520 pitch.
They also drilled the frame all to hell, and installed an aftermarket -1" swingarm 12 pounds lighter than stock! It was so light the shock had to be re-valved.
All in all they dropped about 20 pounds or so off her, but the +1 a-arms and the -1 swingarm ended up screwing the handling they said...too front heavy.
It'll be interesting what else they come up with later, its going back to the drawing board.
She'll still always be heavier than ther rest though - anything that big has to be.
I had to replace my swingarm shortly after I bought my DS - a weld busted coming off a jump (warranty coverage)- and I was amazed at how heavy this thing is! I mean its huge, but I had no idea it would weigh so much. Sure is put together well though - a breeze to replace...makes me wonder how the light aftermarket swingarms will hold up to abuse, if my beefy stock broke.