DS450 Power & issues

[grantmi]

I might be considering purchasing a DS450 XC for next year....

.....I have heard the DS has a lack of low end torque....does the addition of an aftermarket pipe and cutting the pink wire bring the low end torque up to an acceptable level?

Also, what are the major issues that the DS has?
- Clutch squeal? I have not heard much about this being anything more than an annoyance.
- False Neutral?
- Overheating? Do they only have issues in the mud, or does the motor have other issues?
- How does the quad hold up in terms of overall fit and finish?
- Frame.......seems to be only a few isolated incidences.
- Brakes…..were this reservoir issues handled under recall?
- Coolant leaks?

[mike_1985]

Hi , i dont race my quad at all but it gets abuse on trails and fields

- Clutch squeal?
Only an anoyance
- False Neutral?
Never happened to me although it takes a while to find neutral I got used to it
- Overheating?
Only in deep mud and it never happened to me . I drove it thru a river maybe 2 feet and nothing happened
- How does the quad hold up in terms of overall fit and finish?
pretty much bang on , the only thing that i can see being a problem is the riveted screws , rounded off 3 now
- Frame
Cant see no problem , jumps good and takes abuse like its nothing . |Done only a few jumps and it was good . Recently i drove over a felled tree and no damage
- Brakes
On the 08 models the back piston didnt work properly , happend to me and it was fixed under warranty . I should think its sorted now for the new models
- Coolant leaks
No major issue there , the clips are not that good . Dealer sorted it out when he changed my piston and nothing since then


Im deffinatly not regreting buying one after Ive seen the sort of damage my friends raptor gets from a simple flip

[WesDS450X]

The DS450 is a great bike, iv rolled mine allready at the dunes took about 10-15 rolls and only thing that got messed up was my flag(got broken lol) and my front right tire came off the bead, not even a single mark on the plastic or damage to the rear axle/hubs/frame/a-arms, the DS450 is a beast! iv got false N's but thats only goin from N to 1st, very easy to get use to, pop it into 1st, N light goes off(but your still in N) let out the clutch half way it pops back up then click it into frist and it goes just fine, havent had that problem in anyother gear,the clutch is very loud lol, but iv heard the KTM525 and there even louder so dont worry about it, for the coolent leak, def get some better hose clamps right away the stock ones suck balls! also watch yea rear axle, there hallow and iv heard people wreakin them just on bad landing, but thats only the 08 DS idk about the 09, Overall the DS450 is a bad mother****in machine, i spank YFZ450's all day stock vs stock

[ride_red666]

it lacks a bit low end but a full pipe, pink wire cut and no lid makes up for it alot. the clutch only squeals a bit if you rev it up and drop the clutch or your on the back brake and drop it. i have had no issues with my quad. the batter cables like to come loose sometimes. it is a pain to work on tho everythin is tight together. its alot of work to just adjust the valves. ive had no false nuetrals but it is easy to hit nuetral shifftin from first to second. takes time to get used to. have not had no leaks of any kind.
i can beat almost all the other 450s with it. have not raced a ktm yet tho. i ride my quad hard as well but do the maitnence every week

[canam__195]

I race my ds and it holds up awesome compared to my dad and brothers ktm's. its lacking in mid power but i havent remapped it for the pipe yet. i've hit trees with it and the a arms and tie rods hold up good, best air filter system i've seen on a quad...stays clean, other than the back sprocket being loose a couple times it is an awesome machine