sorry bomber...i guess we were thinkin the exact same thing and u just finished with your reply before me. Didnt know u posted it untill i replied to mine. But as u can c i def agree with u
later

 

The Z wasn't ridden hard or jumped over the moon. IT COLLIDED WITH A BUS!! If these sport quads were built to take an IMPACT they would have DS decals and weigh over 375lbs.

 

I don't agree with the flame, but you make a good point. With everybody screaming for faster, and lighter, where are the manufacturers going to make the trade off? Of course, faster is going to mean a "hotter" motor and that will cost you in more maintainence and reliability, albiet not too much more than an air cooled machine.
Lighter is going to come at the cost of strength. This may sound like a lot of work, but on a new quad that is going to get ridden hard, you MUST dis-assemble the machine and lube everything yourself. The factory does not lube enough during the build. Also, completely dis-assemble the machine and have every weld re-enforced and completely welded. A lot of those little brackets are just spot welded in a couple of places. As a little time goes by, you will eventually learn (from first year buyers) where the frame needs a little extra gusseting. Besides, what better way to learn your machine?
Might be a lot of work when all you want to do is ride your new toy, but most Moto-cross guys will do the lube thing before the bike ever hits the dirt. Take a look at the stock robot welds, you will be suprised at some of the brackets that are only spot welded on the ends.

 

<< The key here is your not supposed to hit stuff! This is what we call operator error! If you hit something with the fender on your car do you call chevy because the fender didn't hold up? Nope You ran into the other quad not suzuki so suck it up. I've been hosed by several big companies and I had no part so at least you had something to do with the damage. >>



Yes it would be his fault but he had a slow collision with a DS 650. I would not call Chevy if my fender is damaged due to a slow speed collision but if the body frame or axles did bend on the Chevy then I would definately be worried especially if the other vehicle was barely damaged. I believe BajaMark is talking about the frame not the fenders? Im not saying all quads will hold up to collisions but at least it should be as durable compared to other manufacturers.... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

Lots of good debating on both sides here. But one universal fact of physics, the smaller / lighter vehicle will always receive more damage from a collision. Think about any traffic accident picture you have seen, the little guy always gets the short end of the stick.
Also the DS rear rim will be about the strongest place on it for an impact.
Most likely the Damage would have been similar to any lighter quad, 400EX, Blaster, 250EX, etc.
Sory to hear your Z is trashed. That sucks.

 

I had my 3 week old Z400 subframe bend without a single crash. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

see http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=310564

 

Well i rode my z400 pretty hard yesterday and nailed a couple of trees, the usual impact a quad will face if raced through the woods, Not a scratch on it. It sucks that your z400 got messed up, but so far i've flipped mine, wheelied onto the grabbar and then the grabbar caught a rock, the grabbar is straigh as an arrow, unfortunately the yoshimura's endcap is not, o well the price u pay for find the ballance point. Hitting a wheel hard enough to put a ding in it depending on the angle could be a pretty severe impact. I do know of an instance were a raptor broke a top a-arm after coming down from a wheelie... thats a little odd, and i also know of tons of 400ex's with bent spindles and broke a-arm welds, this dosent make them bad, quads. as for axle bending, there isnt a quad on the market today with a very strong axle,except for possibly the race cannondales, and for that kind of money it better be strong, I look for some things to be changed right away when i buy a quad, its a sport quad, not a race quad afterall. so far coming from a non brand biased person such as myself, i feel i have got the most quad for the $ i could have vs. whats out their, it handles as good if not better than the 400ex, had reverse which i love, liquid cooling, and a modern engine, not an updated 80's style unti like the 400ex. I am excited about people like suzuki getting back into it, after all we need things like this to continue to happen if the sport is to keep on growing. I will continue to ride my z400 as hard as i can, if anything breaks i'll be the first to say, so far the only problem was the brake light spring fell off, used a pair of angled nose pliars and walla, thats it. well later folks.

 

i think theres is definately something wrong with the suzuki's/ I was about to change my mind and stop hating zuki's and buy a z but this just proves the reason why i dislike them to be correct. If kawa designed this bike it wouldnt a happened. And its not even as if the bike is an all original dezign.

THe engine was prexisting and half of the rest of the bike was copied off of others. And they still cant get it right. Imagine if they actually were to make an original dezign of their own. I dont know, maybe im wrong, but i dont like suzuki, ill admit i was about to have a change of heart but not n e more.

TO all u Z owners, i really am sincerely sorry that alot of u got hosed. I know what its like to c something that looks too good to b tru and want it asap and let your emotions get the best of ya.

later

 

we need to take all these posts with a grain of salt. you can't be certain that these people are telling the truth. now i don't want flames but alot of people make up names and post cr@p all the time just to enflame someone. i'm not calling these guys liars, i have no proof of it, but isn't it wierd how the ones without problems actually have a quad to show?

 

You notice that every bike that the manufactor claim are light and nimble are the first to bend, Break, and have problems.

THen you got the DS650 which is a heavy bike and everyone makes fun of the weight but its indistructable.

And for its weight it still hauls *** beating almost any stock bike in a drag, It also handles real well. This is why when buying a bike i dont give a crap about the weight of a bike if you can drive then it wont be a problem.

Old saying was money buys quality. NA Not anymore Now the new saying is Weight is quality.