saw a ds today...

[450raider]

..and wasnt very impressed, nothing against the ds guys at all (be clear on that) but i saw one at the dealer for the first time today got a real good look at it and instinctivly compared it to my kfx (i know a guy who has one and ive seen it but never got to really look at it) and heres what i came up with,

- everyone talks about the unique looks of it, ok ill give em that and i like it but i give the kfx the nod for the mean look plus removable flares

- the frame really is like no other with the geometry and no welds in it, but it was way skinnier looking then the pics had me believe, id take the beefy dirtbike-ish kfx frame

- all of this stuff really does vary by each ones opinion and the comfort and ergo are suppose to be a big thing that got folks going but to me felt no different than that of the kfx, seriously it didnt

- motor, i cant get into that because the dealer i was at are picky a**holes that dont let you test ride stuff

so in conclusion
would i have a ds?, hell yeah i would
would i trade the kawi for it, nope!!

[mod440ex]

did the handlebar mounts look odd to you or was it just me. they almost looked like a toy set of handlebars. i thought the bikes are ugly has sin, felt kinda like sittin on a honda. they were pretty comfy other than it felt like it was tall.

[450raider]

yeah it did feel a little tall but the thing that i cant get over is the frame, and how skinny that aluminum was- even the a arms, im not bashing them by any means they just wasnt what i expected, had i held off up to now for it instead of gettin the kfx, i would of waited almost a year for something thats basically the same thing (only $300 more, w/o renthals..or reverse :D), anyway while i would still take one in a heartbeat, im glad i got the kfx when i did.

[Yee-Haw_400EX]

Originally posted by 450raider
yeah it did feel a little tall but the thing that i cant get over is the frame, and how skinny that aluminum was- even the a arms, im not bashing them by any means they just wasnt what i expected, had i held off up to now for it instead of gettin the kfx, i would of waited almost a year for something thats basically the same thing (only $300 more, w/o renthals..or reverse :D), anyway while i would still take one in a heartbeat, im glad i got the kfx when i did.
They couldn't be any weaker than stock KFX450 a-arms.

[450raider]

Originally posted by Yee-Haw_400EX
They couldn't be any weaker than stock KFX450 a-arms.


well that may be, but im saying on behalf of my account the aarms have held up to quite a beating (being bashed into rocks and sticks) and only come out with scratches, i was just pointing out how (to me) the tube aarms of the kfx just looks more durable then the thin square ds ones.

[mebcop]

Hey Kawi guys, just my 2cents here. I just bought 2 ds's and I love how they handle and the power, but I do agree about the looks of the KFX (best looking quad I've ever seen). My buddy has one and I've ridden it a few times, and I was SOOOO close to buying one it's not funny, and had I bought one I'd be very happy with it I'm sure. I saw a ds in front of a local stealership and I figured, well, may as well try it out. When I got a close look at it I really didn't care for it too much, but then I rode it!!! That thing is a BLAST. I loved it so much my wife and I both bought one that day. I have NO clue how the reliability will be with the frame and motor, but I'm sure I'll find out haha.

Not bashing the KFX at all, but just ride a DS..... hey, maybe you could overlook the looks of it after all. Actually, the looks have grown on me (maybe it's cuz I owe 15k on them that helps me accept the looks haha)

[450raider]

yeah man like i said all my thougths are based on eyeballing one and getting a feel of it but not riding, and im still glad i got the kawi when i did - about the only chance ill have to ride a ds is if i spot one used for sale at a dealer and ill try it out then, so its totally nothin against the ds or its people, id like to start a kawi/ds group around here to combat the more dominant by numbers hon/yam/zuke groups around here but theres only one person i know with a kfx (being me) and none with a ds (except one strange dude that i dont even really know)

[mod440ex]

how do them handlebars mount to the stem? that was like the first thing i noticed when i sat on one at the dealer. i am glad to hear that you are impressed with it, and i hope its has fun and reliable has my kawi is.

[mebcop]

I hope it's reliable too.... believe me!!! I'll take a look today at the handlebar mount. Was it the stock ds or the dsX? I have the regular ds's. I LOVE the handlebars on the Kawi's!!!

[spincr4hire]

They aint doing so well in the GNCCs

[mebcop]

No, they aint huh. Hope they find the issues and take care of them. I haven't had any issues at all with mine so far so we'll see. I told myself I'd never buy a first year quad, but I rode it and fell in love..... hope it wasn't a huge mistake

[mod440ex]

it was the yellow and black, if that meens anything. the kawis didnt do so hot in the gncc their first year.

[mebcop]

GNCC is just REALLY REALLY hard on a machine. I don't think I'll EVER be that hard on my quad so hopefully I'll never have the problems they're having. I've also noticed there's a lot of quads having similar problems, it's just the spotlights on the can-am right now because it's new.

[#17YFZRACER]

when you saw it did it look something like this?:eek2:

[mebcop]

It seems the most the problems surfacing are with the ones that are in gncc and are overheating. Are they running super high compression in those??? I'm hoping if I keep mine stock compression I'll never have these issues. We'll see, huh.