1)for the size its pretty agile, takes a lil more effort to throw it around tho, but i can keep up wit z's n ex's
2)Are they tippy? lol they are nothing like a raptor, with the width its hard to roll it
3)wheelies are possible but it takes more effort,
4)for your height i'd say yes, your weight will be good because it'll compensate for the weight of the ds
5)they aren't too bad on gas, i can usually go about 6-7 hrs on a tank if i'm takin it easy but if i'm beatin the hell outta it its more like 3-4 but it basically depends how you ride it
i love to powerslide on mine, much nicer than my buddies ex, i've rarely even had it on two wheels
and ionno wat hes talking about but the a-arms are fine, it just gets a lil twitchy at high speeds, if you really don't like it you can always get some upper a-arms and i heard it fixes the problem, and as for if you roll it the rod bearings blow is untrue, i rolled mine in the last week n its fine, its just if you roll it over and its upside down all you have to do pull off the oil filter cover, n bleed the system, all you need is the tools in the toolkit, mines a 2000 and i love it,

man that's all i needed to hear.

Now I gotta pray for one to be for sale in my area soon.

Thanks A lot to those who dropped a line.

I should be getting mine within the next month or so(unless none become available [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img])

Peace

I'll keep you guys posted. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Good luck Tyre![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Here's my $.02:

1. I haven't ridden the 400EX or the Z400, but I can tell you that the DS650 handles great. Ride them all and you will buy a DS.

2. Definitely not tippy at all.

3. Not a problem to pull the front end up.

4. I am 5'11" and 215lbs. The DS is for everybody old enough to ride it.

5. I rode almost all day in the sand on one tank of gas. My DS is stock and it gets pretty good mileage. My buddy's built Banshee goes through almost twice the fuel and is barely faster.

6. Power slides are no problem.

One more thing. The DS is more comfortable and soaks up bumpy terrain better than any other sport quad out there. One ride around the field on the DS and you will be singing "Oh Canada!". Also, it is built much stronger than the Raptor or any other Japanese bike currently in production. It is almost bulletproof.

Good luck with your decision. Once you ride the DS it won't be a difficult one.

TyreSpinner,

Just remember - a DS is kinda like having a girlfriend in some ways, you're consntantly buying it gifts. The major difference is that for your girlfriends you HAVE to buy them gifts & the DS you WANT to buy the gifts!

Stock arms have too much negative castor which makes the 2000 a little twitchy. You can adjust the toe and get a steering damper to help this but adjustable arms will totally aleviate the problem. If you are being offered a good deal, go ahead & get it & fix the twitchyness down the road. Oh yeah, NOTHING will beat you on logging backroads!

they do bring up good points they are smooth, i ride my brothers raptor and it is fun but you do feel the bumps a lot. after you get adjusted to the size of the ds, the other quads will feel like toys. my wife is 5'8 and 135, she wanted the ds so we got the ds, we ride with another couple and they are a raptor couple, although she is talking baja, anyways my wife doesn't like the size of the raptor, the problem is it is tippy, and it is wheelie prone, she wheelies her ds, but when she wants not because she got on the machine hard. the raptor would be fine if you never rode a ds, but after you feel the suspension and ride it would be hard to switch.

I've got a '00 and I've adjusted the toe and set the sag correctly, run 23" front tires and 22" rears and do not notice any twitchiness or instability. The oil valve difference is that in '00's you run the chance of air getting into the line if it is rolled and when you change the oil and filter. There is a bleed screw that is in the oil filter housing that needs to be loosened to release the air, do a search. I've rolled mine twice (stupidity not the machine), the first time I went to fire it back up and the oil pressure light came on and I shut it down. Cracked the bleeded open and it was fine. The second time I shut the gas off, stood it on end for a minute or so and it cleared itself up. The only way you'll screw it up is if you ignore the light, it's there for a reason. Logging roads and fire roads are a blast, it power slides like nothing else. As for fuel, 4 hours of hard woods riding is what I am comfortable with if that gives you any indication. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for anything...

You should be able to get a good deal on a '01 DS as well. The main improvements were in the motor, for '02 the improvements were in the chassis, i.e. a-arms fixed. For '04 we get some weight savings, not alot, but a lighter, and slightly shorter aluminum swingarm, aluminum upper a-arms and a plastic headlight pod.
Check out the "X package" on the Bomb website.