I HAD MY BIKE FOR 2 MONTHS AND THE REAR BEARINGS
JUST WENT OUT. ANY BUDDY ELSE HAD THIS HAPPEN???????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?

 

This is a known issue (at least by Bombardier and some dealers) that should be covered under warranty.

I had heard about this from the ATV BBS, along with some other problems. Basically, the little nut on the rear axle bearing hub, comes lose. Your dealer should fix it under warranty. If you already had it fixed, you should be able to get your money back.

Considering the problems of the 400EX, DS owners lucked out. The 400EX has known issues (at least from some unfortunate owners) of frames, front spindles and trailing arms that crack and/or break. These issues with the 400EX have even made it to letters to the editor and other columns in some of the ATV magazines. I don't know what Honda is doing about it.

There are some other "minor" issues with the DS to look for:
Official: Carb icing in cold weather, rear brake line routed too close to the exhaust.

Un-official (at least according to my dealer): Front ball joints and a front brake grommet that comes lose or breaks and you lose all your front brake fluid.

I asked for info on these potential problems from Bombardier on their web site about a week ago, but I have yet to get a response.

Good luck,
CRT_Leech

 

Jeez,
You have one problem and its a lemon? Tough crowd whe looking at a new machine...

RoostKing 99 Banshee 85 LT 250R now, its hanging on the wall...

 

Yea :-)

Well, even with the afforementioned issues and my other post, the only thing I think that the DS has in common with a lemon is the color!

Actually, I think the DS is a little more orange- yellow, than lemon yellow.

Laters,
CRT_Leech.

 

The only problems with the 400ex is that some racers will buy one and break of crack stuff doing things that no stock quad is continuously capable of! They try to skimp and don't buy the $10,000 quad they really need to race with! For what it was designed for, it is bulletproof! Don't talk yourself and others into thinking that all atv's have problems like the Bombardier!

 

One of the riders in our ATV club is now arguing with the dealer about that very same thing. He has ran only 1 1/2 tanks of gas thru the machine & the rear end is shot. The dealer doesn't want to honor the warrenty. OUCH!!!! Needless to say this doesn't bode well with other members of our club.

 

Yes, the bearings failed on my DS after only 5 rides. The dealer had to replace the shaft, bearings, sproket, etc. since everything had welded to the shaft! This is a known problem from the factory and my dealer took care of everything. The biggest dissapointment so far was the 2 week wait to get the parts.

 

Pismo...right on! you ride here much?

 

garyc400ex - Dude, I have owned Hondas for almost twenty years. ATV's, motorcycles, Odyssey's, you name it. They all had their problems or quirks. Every ATV, motorcycle, car and machines in general do. "All" of these problems are minimal considering that this is the first run of this bike. The main problem is un-educated dealers/shops. This is not their fault; Bombardier didn't make the Shop Manual available until after the release of the ATV! Bad move.

As far as the 400EX goes, I am not talking about people that buy them for racing, I am talking about normal people buying them for fun and breaking them during normal usage. They have written into major magazines letting other people know about these problems in hopes of Honda doing something about it.

Heck, the 350 Odyssey had major engine and roll cage problems when it first came out. People were hurt and killed due to roll cage failure. The motors burned up after overheating during normal use and they had to recall them and put a sleeve in the cylinder and reduce their displacement. The 200X three wheeler had problems with the foot pegs breaking off or bending easily. So, don't go preaching Honda like the are infallible.

Yamaha's Banshee has been known to overheat. It's supposedly so well known, that the magazines don't mention it in new reviews every year for the same bike ("exciting new graphics and colors") because everybody is supposed to know about it already, including new people to ATV'ing that are reading their reviews to base their future purchases on.

If this bike turns out to be a lemon and have more problems that what it's worth, I will just sell it for what I can get for it and fix up my 350X and go back to that. Or, I may get a 400EX and have to put a bunch of money into it to match up to the DS. I was going to purchase the 400EX until I sat on one. I am over 5'10" and 150lbs. so the 400EX just seems too small for me. I was able to rock the wheels from side to side while standing on it and get the wheels to bounce off the ground.

I sat on the DS 650, test rode it and decided to go for that one. The price wasn't an issue, since I wanted what would be comfortable to ride and would be able to perform like I want it too. So far, the DS has lived up to and exceeded my expectations. I had to get used to having four wheels instead of three, but this thing really rocks. Yes, it has some problems but the main problem is un-educated dealers. That is a combination of the dealers and Bombardier as far as I am concerned.

As far as the axle bearings go on this thing, the axle retainer actually turns counter clockwise, and pulls away from the bearing assembly to tighten the bearing assembly. Other bikes you turn clockwise to put pressure on the bearing assembly, so I can see why people are having problems. You think that you are tightening, when you are actually losening! What can I say...Canadians.

Heck, if the only reason your are posting in the Bombardier Forum is to bash the DS and tout the 400EX, why are you wasting our time and your time. It sounds like you have to defend your purchase or something?

Laters,
CRT_Leech

 

not evan close the ds is state of the art.