Anyone see where the DS650 won its first off-road race. It was 7 minutes ahead of second and had to recover from a crash. I have never seen one of these bikes, but apparently they can roll in the desert conditions. I would like to see what it is going to do at the Paris-Dakar rally next year.

 

Paris-Dakar Rally?

Is MAXRULES (Max6X6) entered?

Tree Farmer

 

I hate to say I told you guys so. So it wont... The Ds is gonna wreak havoc upon some people, those many doubters who said "its to heavy" "its too large" and whatever esle the naysayers were talking. As far as the Paris to Dakker rally, hehe, the BMW F650, which shares the same powerplant as the DS, has already won this race a few times so it should be a practical non-event when it wins in the quad category! Then we got pikes peak... The future is so bright for this machine...

RoostKing...

 

Rooster--When I got to the M of BMW in your post, the light bulb lit and I heard a "ding". Very good Rooster!

 

I hate to put down a quad, especially when it's the one that I own, but for MX riding, large jumps, and some woods/trail riding, the STOCK DS650 handles poorly compared to most sport quads due to it's weight, high center of mass/gravity, and lack of low end power. I can't ride as fast as 400EX, warriors, banshees, sport400's, etc. in these type of terrain. I'm sure as I get more used to the handling I will get better, but I definitely feel that improvement in the stock handling is needed.

 

What do you weigh Scobby? Have you tried using your stock adjustments?

 

The DS650 HAS to have more low end power, than say... A 250cc 2-stroke, or ESPECIALLY a Banshee (Which is known for having a 'light switch' power band) It shouldn't be tough to rev it a little more in a lower gear (like you do with a 2-stroke) if thats such a problem. I've personally been hearing other stories, of near stock DS650's whooping up on built TRX250R's (say 300+ or so CC's) and many a Banshee. I like hearing stories like that about an ATV I plan to own in a year or two. As far as the steering, if you get a steering damper - that should be a pretty end all solution.

 

I saw my first couple DS650's at the dunes yesterday and was very impressed with them. They smoked the 400ex in the hill climbs and hung well with alot of the banshees. I was amazed at the size, yet they sure ran good in the sand. These were stock machines. I think once they get the mods out and on the bikes, they will be a real contender.

 

TxDoc2: Where did you hear about this? Is there a web site that covers the race results?

alock: I weigh 175 lbs. I decreased the amount of compression damping and rebound damping in the rear shock when I first got the DS650 because it was set way too tight for someone my weight. I haven't adjusted the pre-load on the rear or front shocks.

BlackHawk: In case I wasn't clear, I have had the rear end buck in the whoops at speed. Maybe I need to somehow shift some weight to the rear end, although that is difficult standing up. I definitely do rev the ATV higher to keep the DS in it's powerband, but the speed is also an issue. Depending on the size and frequency of the whoops, reving second gear out can limit my speed and shifting into 3rd is to fast at times, so the RPMs are low and then the DS bogs. Also, there seems to be a slight delay in hitting the powerband - this can be worked around I guess by hitting the throttle a little bit earlier before the whoop. A pipe should solve this problem I'm sure. Oh, and I have had problems with the engine bogging on a hill climb for the same reasons. I'll be looking into the steering damper too. These aren't major issues depending on what kind of riding you do, but I thought I'd point them out since the magazines barely touched on this.

 

Scooby--I believe it is in the April 2000 issue of 4Wheel and ATV Action.