Weighing in at 475 pounds and taking 3 guys to load it into a truck, our initial thought was ‘this thing is a tank!’ but after our first ride we were surprised to find this ‘tank’ to have very ‘nimble’ handling with plush suspension and lots of power! After picking up the new DS650 Baja we gave it a close inspection. All the fluid levels were found to be in check but the pipe and one hand guard were loose. These were tightened and it was ready to go! Arriving at the Glamis sand dunes we couldn’t wait to try it out. With a pull of the choke lever and one push of the starter button, the DS650 Baja roared to life! For our first ride we headed into some rolling dunes to see how the new steering compared to the older DS650’s and were very surprised to find the DS Baja was very ‘nimble’. No more ‘twitching’ of the steering at any speed higher than 10mph. It now tracks straight and true at any speed. We also noticed it had very plush suspension, and good power. The Ohtsu tires that come standard on the Baja work very well in the sand and even better with 2-3 pounds of air in them.
Flying around big bowls and cresting sharp razorbacks, we quickly learned that the Baja likes to high center or drag the center of the quad over the tops of steep razorbacks. Hitting a few G-Outs in a large sand bowl we felt a loud ‘thud’ and saw piles of sand flying through the air. The suspension set at the factory turned out to be a little soft for our test riders. We headed back to camp and called it a night. The next morning we read the very detailed suspension tuning tips in the manual and we ended up adjusting the pre-load (shortening the spring length) on the front shocks and making a minor adjustment to compression dampening to the rear shock. This made a world of difference in the ride and we didn’t experience any more bottoming out in high speed G-Outs. After another pre-check of all the fluids and swapping out the stock rear tires for a set of the new Kenda Gecko paddle tires we suited up and headed out for a long ride. It took some getting used to the 4-stroke power since we are more familiar with 2-stroke power. Leading 6 other 2-strokes through the dunes at a good pace turned out to be quite a bit of fun. Zooming around huge bowls, cresting razorbacks and dropping into the next bowl was a rush to say the least! Some of the 2-strokes found it hard to keep up with the power and handling of the Baja. It was extremely smooth at high speeds, and made the rider feel confident with its wide stance, great steering, and plush suspension. The new and improved a-arms proved to be one of the best improvements on the Baja. It eliminated any twitching in the bars. One thing we quickly noticed was that on fast paced rides we were constantly bumping the rev-limiter but with a smooth up shift, the Baja was ready for more! We stopped for a break and let some other test riders see what they thought. Trading with a TRX250R we took off for more high-speed duning. The first thing we noticed was that it was harder to stand up on the 250R since the distance between the seat and the foot pegs is much less than the taller DS650. Some of the rider comments were: "it’s big but it handles great!" "the power and handling is the best out of the 3 major 4-strokes (400EX, Raptor, and DS650)", "the seat is soft and I like the way it wraps around the gas tank, makes it easier to hold on".
Later in the day we did some drag racing against slightly modified 250R’s, Banshee’s, and Raptors. Over all, it came down to the holeshot and rider ability. We were pretty much even at the end of the drag strip. We were amazed that it did so well against lighter machines. That evening we went for an easy night ride to see how the lights would work. With just the low beam on we found it hard to see much of anything. The beam of light was pointing too low. With all 3 lights on (high beam) we were able to see much better but noticed that they did not make one large pattern on the dunes instead making 3 small patterns of light. With proper adjustment of the lights one large pattern would make it easier to see. The next day we wanted to see how the Baja would handle in the air. Before launching off a dune we thought it would be awkward to handle and that it would land hard since it weighs close to 500 pounds. We found it easy to keep straight once airborne and that it landed very smooth. We couldn’t bottom out the suspension at all! Over all, we were all very impressed with the DS650 Baja. In stock form it has the best handling and power combo of any other 4-stroke on the market. All of our test riders felt that if it had a little more horsepower it would be ‘the perfect ATV’. Taller gearing would make a huge difference by preventing us from bumping the rev limiter so often and we feel it would keep us in the ‘meat’ of the power band more. A pipe, K&N air filter and a modified rev box would also help. The improvements made to the Baja over the previous DS650 have made a world of difference, especially the improved a-arm geometry and the Ohtsu tires. The new Kenda Gecko paddle tires worked great. The unique tread design allows for very easy turning ability while still hooking up in the sand when needed.
Stay tuned for more testing and hop-up modifications of the DS650 Baja!