which would you rather have? I was wondering which would be faster? there was this one post where somebody said a Blaze smoked a raptor in the dunes, the raptor had paddles and the blaze had stock tires!
that sounds a little, impossible? Look at these two freakin' awesome quads, the ds650
(which i used to hate but learned to like a LOT - the front fenders, so small, is what altered my opinions to hate it but i say MORE LEG ROOM!)
the ds650 is cool, power and suspention in a good reputable package.
I want a ds650 right now because i havnt heard about any flaws in them, the raptor=2nd gear, the 400ex lack of power(not my opinion btw), but i havnt heard anything go wrong on a cdale. I think some people are very bias or racial because they say OMG ITS A JAP BIKE NO KEEP IT AWAY!! whats better about an americian made bike. if the trx90 was an americian made bike would it be better than a 300ex? I like the cdales, power and suspention+good handling. The z400 looks to be cool, but were all waiting. Personally i want a ds650, they should make a ds700 baja with reverse LOL KNOW WHAT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER!? IF WE WERE THE MAKERS OF HONDA YAMAHA CDALE KAWASAKI AND SUZUKI! we all think of these awesome designs ect, today i even drew some things down, but why dont they makers listen to us? its the consumer that they should listen to. yamaha has had the only pole and it was the color of the 01 raptor LOL. and they picked a plain but cool black and white. what would you prefere? cdale or ds650?

 

what would you prefere? cdale or ds650?

Neither. For me and my riding style Raptor all the way. The DS Baja has a lot of cool features, 12" travel, tach, awesome lighting, good mid and up power but it's TOO BIG. If I lived closer to the dunes (2 hrs and 45 minutes from home) or out in the western US, then the DS would be perfect. Here in MI the Raptor is perfect. Rumor has it BOMB is coming out with a 400 class racer but we'll have to wait and see. C'dale? Please, give them a couple more years to sort them out.

 

Well personally I own A DS, and 95warrior is dead on, the DS or the BAJA is great for the dunes and open trials. Thats why its PERFECT for me, just like his Raptor is PERFECT for him and his riding area. The C'Dale is a impressive bike and is very fast and has great handling and would be good for MXing and trials.

Can the BAJA hang in the trails? Heck yeah! just like the Raptor and C'dale can hang in the Dunes. It comes down to what your "gut" tells you to go with, The DS appealed to me because of its size and its ergonomics,Plus I ride Long hours in the dunes and I knew by looking at it that it would be comfortable. So my Gut keeped me leaning towards the DS, And I haven't regreted it a day since.

It seems to me that thier is a "Cult" following for the DS and the C'dale's. What I mean is that you ethier love'em or hate'em, but once you do decide on one you'll never ask " what if". Where as the Raptor and 400ex appeals to Alot more people becuase the were biult to do everything well(jack of all trades,King of none) so to speak. Thats why these bike always win the shootouts, because thier above average in every situation.


Biggerisbetter.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] BIGGERISBETTER
I COULDNT AGREE WITH YOU MORE.
(AND AS FAR AS A BLAZE BEATING A RAPTOR IN THE DUNES IS WAY HARD TO BELIEVE)

 

I'd rather have the DS than a Cannondale any day. The DS is an awesome machine. If I lived closer to the dunes I'd own a Baja myself!! The simple fact is I live closer to tight woods riding and the DS is simply too large. I opted for the Raptor because of its smaller dimensions. The DS is obviously the choice for duning with a 4 stroke. The only Cannondale's I have had exposure to were complained about by the owners. But these were early machines, I havent seen any lately. I've heard that Cannondale has excellent customer service readily repairing defects without being a pain in the ****. All in all I'd still stick with my Raptor, it's an 01 with no problems during it's first year with me. But between DS and Cdale I'd go DS. A 650 always has more build potential than a 400 class machine. The Cdale is so finely tuned that you're not likely to get much more from it. The bigger displacement machines have room to grow. Remember: there's no replacement for displacement....bigger motor...usually more HP available.