My First Ride on a Bombardier DS650! 

These quads were first sold under the company name of Bombardier. Then they were sold as "BRP" which stood for Bombardier Recreational Products. Finally the name was changed to Can Am which was the name of their MX bikes back in the 1970's. I seem to remember the the "DS" stood for Dune Sport when these first came out.

I rode one of these 20 years ago at 15 years old. It was bored over among other things and had the loudest exhaust I've ever heard on a bike to this day. At 15 I was hooked. Hit 4th on a straight and that was the start to a speed addiction. I've looked for one ever since specifically in the orange color.

You can say it was the 2004 YFZ450, the 2002 Cannondale 440, or the 1999 Honda 400ex...but it was the Bombardier DS650 which was the first production Quad that showed a 4 strokes true potential, and got people into riding them.

For wide open dirt road riding, this is hands down my favorite sport atv. Yes, rev limiter comes a bit too quick on the OEM cdi box, big gun or Ron Woods rev box makes it a whole new animal - really widens the rpm range. This quad gets more criticism than it deserves. Most critics don’t like its size and weight on a track or tight woods riding which is a fair complaint, but that’s simply not what they were made to excel at. However, get this quad in a big open space such as long winding dirt logging roads and it handles and rides incredibly stable at high speeds. And the best part is my hands and feet aren’t numb like they are after riding a 450 at crazy high rpms all day on the same roads. The motor will also far outlast a 450 motor. There are bmw motorcycles with this engine that have well over 30k miles on stock internals. Find me a 450 motor that can go that distance without a rebuild - you won’t! My brand new 2012 yfz grenaded in a year riding it at high rpms on wide open dirt roads. My DS has been riding the same wide open dirt roads for over 2 decades without a rebuild. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the 450 bikes. Appreciate you giving it a fair review coming from a 450, most riders like to bash the DS.

love to see a TRX 700 review !

Man that thing looks like it really boogies for it's size! And it's pretty cool seeing the fenders turning back and forth and going up and down lol

love it when pete hager uploads

I always wanted to try a DS650 just for funzies. Probably won't get the opportunity any time soon though, so it's nice to be able to live vicariously through your videos.

Ahhhh yes another Pete Hager video. We love you Pete

That feeling when you punch the gas and the suspension lifts and tweaks. Priceless. Love the growling bear sound it makes. If you know, you know

Man Pete, that DS was clean. Unique quads man.

I had an 05 ds650 and yes the suspension is very soft and handles jumps extremely well. It was like landing on a marshmallow. Also it'll eat rough terrain like a 4x4 on a light gravel road.

I have been waiting years for this!

A brp dealership not far from me has one of these with hardly an hour of run time on it on display on the mesonine over the showroom. Looks like it came out of the crate yesterday. Super cool & unique machines.

The Bombardier is a dependable machine that runs the same all rear around! The short shifting is cuz the gear ratio all it needs is one more tooth on the front!!! I have one and it’s a great machine especially after ILLINOIS POWERSPORTS freshened it up!!

When i was a teen a guy in my neighborhood had one of these and he would go down the road FULL SPEED riding a wheely. It was dope!

I had a 2004 Baja X package Ds650. Heavy quad but Road like a Cadillac compared to other quads. Definitely made for a Taller person. The longer travel made a huge difference in the whoops. 12 in front 12 rear. I end up putting Tm 45 carb intake and exhaust and rev box really woke it up. It would hold its own and beat a lot of other quads when I done that.

You need to review more of the less common quads it’s cool to get insight on them and just make good content and also you need a 2 stroke to add to the fleet

Ds650s are my most favorite quads, my dads even with a boggy carb was still a blast

My buddy had one of these and described it as riding the bullet on Mario lol

cool machines, I got a suzuki ltz400 and also drove a ds650 a few wheeks ago. It feels so big, and its really a machine you can drive big distance on.. also on the streets. 👌

Pete! youve got to get one for the channel! My uncle gave me his built 2000 ds650 and i love it im always riding it and very good and reliable engine!

When these came out it set the bar very high. Always thought it resembled it's snowmobile brothers.

Awesome videos man ! Makes me miss my 2011 raptor 700R .

The DS will always be one of my fav quads. You can see how they were designed for desert racing. It’s even in the name DS(Dune Sport) One of my best memories riding is when a dude out in the local sand quarry had one and I had an 01 660 with a slip on and air filter. Back and forth drag racing all day.

wow thats a SUPER clean ds!!!

My dad has the Baja edition and when I tell you that DS650 is a torque monster. Man they have real good bottom end they will go.

That place looks so awesome to ride, bro your always ripping the coolest areas. Save the Sport Quads 🤙🏻👍🏻 Great video bro!

I was pretty young when this bike came out and just loved it. Would have killed to own one. Great bike

😊 45 hp not enough. So I installed a hayabusa engine in mine. Now it moves in any gear. Wheelie in any gear. 90 mph in FIRST gear.

I always wanted a DS650 growing up that was top dog back in the day still think they look great

I was hoping you would do a review on this machine ! I've always wanted to ride one they're such a unique looking machine. Rare too i dont think i have seen any for sale in the market near me in southern az. Nice job Pete!

My buddies dad has one its got a hmf slip on and a big gun over rev cdi and it screams definitely agree that it does feel huge but it is surprisingly stable and planted as long as you respect it’s limits

My favorite quad ever! I still ride mine after 4 years of straight abuse. you need the over-rev CDI box to combat that short gearing. Only thing that ever beat me in a race is a honda 2022 450 dirt bike. Even at the track with steering dampener and twist grip converted (thumb throttle sucks!) she does shockingly well. Takes a lot of time to get used to the 500 pounds but its an animal.

I remember sitting on those in the dealership. I felt like I was sitting on a car. I did hear their motor rips. That track looks fun.

Ever since I fully built my 660 rap I love it wide af. And a bit longer. Handles like a a caddy but the ctsv version lol

I owned a cherry 03 for a couple years. Loved it, but they are a little heavy. Takes a good bit of speed to get it in the air on jumps. Very fun trail quads though. They absorb bumps very well though.

Me and guys are heading to LIttle Sahara this weekend!!! See Ya there Pete (or hope to)

Bombardier is the a awesome quad my dad has one and he just loves the power it has

I love these first ride videos. Do a banshee that be fun.

In 04, they shortened the swingarm. Made the front end a lot lighter. I have an 04 and an 01, and the 04 wheelies a lot easier. They also upped the rpm 1000 revs

Amazing amount of fun . There's After market CDI which lets you rev quite a bit higher Safely.. A lot of other aftermarket engines support as this ROTEX engine was used in BMW as well.. In the desert and Dunes these things used to rules supreme No link rear shock eats everything up when pushed hard

I like weird quirks on vehicle and those fender/mud guards are pretty freakin sweet

Not gonna lie, but Pete needs one of those!!!

Love ur vid bud 🤟

I have never heard of these before!!!

My favorite quad I've had.

i know a couple guys w those ds650’s they pulled the motors out and threw hayabusas in those puppys! absolutely insane, the guy said it does 130 in 2 gear

I’m sorry but was that a warrior in the intro?!!??!?? It’s about time I see one on your channel!

In my opinion it’s the best quad ever made. Smokes everything out of the box. Tough as nails. Comfortable and the Baja wins proves it is awesome.

I love ur vids 💓

I have a Ds650 Baja X up here in BC Canada. Never had a chance to try in in the dunes but used it plenty trail riding here, despite no reverse it does well. The power for sure demands respect and it gets squirrely in a hurry on a rough trail at speed. Been thrown once and that was enough 😫

I wanted one of these so bad when I first saw them in atv magazine!! Shame they dont still make them

The suspension looks so crazy on that

Mines almost ready ro ride again..just got a few more things to button up. Things are very hard to find parts for. Took forever to find a used rear shock that wasnt beyond rebuild....

My nephew has one a true beast

I wish we had as much areas to play in here in cali

Had one for me it was fast in a straight line, but too much for me to throw around on the trails. So I had kind of a love hate relationship with it

I have a DS 650 (Dune Sport). I ride the desert dry lakes and my trails are shared with pre runners with whoops and rocky gravel. I love my DS even with stock power.

Had to sell mine 2 weeks ago, gonna miss it !

Have a 2002, and if you want the wheelie or jump it, you need to crank down the suspension. Even when you do that, it gets a little sketchy because it's so front heavy.

Sick

I wanna see Pete ride a trike, or attempt to. xD

I just bought a 2021 Raptor 700R se and honestly I don't think I would trade it for any other sport quad I have ever ridden. These Ds650's are deffinetly unique but the raptor is a Apsolute Monster. I, Personally as a 195Pound rider throw the Raptor around like it's a 250. Took a little while to get used to but now it's second nature, use the power to your advantage and your good to go.

hey pete you should go to the cinders sometime it’s in flagstaff arizona. im here right know i have my honda 400ex it does great and im sure your quads would do better but there are huge hills to climb and a ton of butms

You have some of the coolest content on your videos. I was always curious to see how that 650 handled. Great video as always. Where was this filmed?

love it when you get to test new machines. also where is all the 400ex content at?

I use to use this quad in a video game years ago it was the fastest Atv then the banshee

love those things

Cool quads, never got the chance to ride one myself. Just looking at the dyno graphs of a piped/jetted one (45ish HP) and weighing 490lbs I can imagine they would feel a little.....underwhelming. Judging by the video these quads have the "I could ride this near the limit all day" type of feel to them. The DS always reminded me of a Ski-doo with wheels lol.

That thing doesn't rev high at all. I remember seeing one of these brand new and it was huge!!!

does this one not have a tach or is that cover??

i'd love to see you ride a raptor 250/350 and see what they can do ridden by a professional.

I have a mint barn find 03 Baja. And a 2022 raptor. If I had to pick one to take on a long bumpy trail ride. DS all day long

Hey man what year is your raptor.

I love my ds650 and how you lift up when you hit the gas,the suspension is great

Hey Pete. I'm currently in the market for a new sport ATV. Being that you have spent considerable time on both the Raptor 700r, and the YFZ450R is there one you prefer? I ride everything from steep technical trails, snow, and very occasionally plan to take it to the track. I'm a very aggressive rider. Your input is really appreciated!

Where does one find land like this to go ride on?

What’s up, Pete? How’re you doing? Thinking about selling my 08 TRX700XX and buying a 2013 TRX450R. What do you think about the swap?

Nice Place To Ride!! Where is this Atv Park At?

Dem front fenders bracket def rub

Reminds me of the atv offroad fury 3 days

its a rotary engine my boi thats like a sv650 bullet bike engine that atv the next year won the baja I had the limited edition one from 04 with the orange and black graphics it was mint

You should look into a artic cat DVX 400 thos things are pretty nimble and they go good to and are super easy to wheelie

Awesome vid man, what camera setup are you using?

The Batman DS at the very end of the outro of the video from little Sahara last year is mine, be interested to see what you think of it. It makes quite a bit more power than a stock DS, +6 swingarm, protaper bars, and steering stabilizer

Haha nice ds it has good power 😎 they are sow big, i drive a renegade 1000 and a ds 650 The riding height is not much difference🙈

Hey Peter how r u hope ur doing well, awesome video here, i love it, but u should try the can-am 2007 DS-650 X, it was the last version of these models,, but its pretty different, or try the 2006 DS650-X! Would like to know ur opinion about it...

Working on big changes on the DS650. Hopefully to be out a lot more next year 2023.

same motor in my 2002 BMW F650gs!!

Which came first, DS650 or Raptor 660?

What tyres would you recommend for a raptor 700r?? On the hunt so thought you be the guy to ask about it..

The ds was nicknamed sand pig because it was built for the baja 1000 and dominated the dunes

Will we ever see some dirtbike content? Love the videos man!

5 minutes gang!

I’ve got a built yfz450, a guy wants to trade one of these for it…would it be a good trade? The yfz450 is an 05 with 08 motor and the bombardiar is an 2000 and I think stock?

i have ds650 baja 2002 i need semone help me to finde vilebrequin

where do you mount your pov camera it always looks so cool

These were fun machines. It was a little bit big I wasn’t a fan of the hydraulic clutch tho

Can I put a r3 engine on my ds650