2000 ds 650 review

[Craigolsen18]

I know this is three wheeler world not four wheeler world lmao but you guys always have good advice. So I'm curious about your opinions on a 2000-2002 can am ds 650.

[shortline10]

Head gasket issues on the first couple years made .

[atc007]

Also 2nd gear. Try and stay away from the yellow ones. Bajas and X packages were better. They are a great ,fast quad for what they were intended for. Fast cruising. Most of them seem to be rough around here.. Good luck.

[Craigolsen18]

How can you tell what kind of package it has by the decals? And was that stay away from the yellow ones serious lol?

[ebaccm26]

The yellow one is the standard version and that's why he said stay away, the Baja is orange and the X is black. Really doesn't matter that much but the Baja had some nice add-on's.


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[RoscoW]

My brother has one, Big machine… He's 6'2" and really liked how it fit him, big and roomy and built like a brick #@^%house and therefor seem to weigh a lot. His had a pipe and filter and it seemed like a torque monster. His is and has been super reliable and it is a 2000 std version, no issues at all other than poor battery maintenance on his part.

Ross..

[big specht]

My brother had a red one but it wasn't a baja version(most of those had tachs) he bought it broke it had a split flywheel after replacing that it was fine and he didn't have any more problems with his and it was all stock. We thought it had really good suspension for a stock bike. If your light you will go thru back tires cause they spin all the time. Around here they seem to be in the 1500 to 2000 range and it seems like most of them don't have titles. This was its last ride before he sold it 216258

[atc007]

Yes, the yellow ones seemed to be the mechanical gremlins in my experience. I would say 03 and up and you're good. The X packages are an amazing beast. A flying couch. You cover ground much faster than you realize. Pay close attention until you are very used to it.

[RIDE-RED 250r]

I have some experience with the big DS as well...My brother in law bought one new in 2000 and what I say is based on riding and wrenching on that one. I have a fair bit of seat time on it, although it has been quite a few years now.

The early ones, (I believe first year, 2000 model year) had terrible front end geometry dart terrible at higher speed. Very very twitchy and easy to oversteer handling. Can-AM claimed to have addressed that on the '01 and later models with different A-arm dimensions to alter steering geometry and loosen it up a little bit. I feel that the bad reviews on the handling characteristics of the early DS's were valid and found it to be true myself. Never liked how it handled in the steering dept.

Watch the water pump seals, temp sensor, and temp sender. If both are not working the cooling fan will not kick on when needed at lower speeds and water pump seal issue for the obvious, coolant will mix with the engine oil. A good friend now owns that DS and I see it fairly regularly. He had to do the pump seals and I believe the shaft as well. I seem to remember something about Can-AM updating the design of those.

Very cold blooded machine, especially in colder weather. Very easy to flood out and tough to get running without fresh plugs (yes, I said plugs, they have 2).

Once running, it is a VERY fast quad with plush suspension and alot of it. This thread is not the first time I have heard it referred to as the "couch". They are built very tough, with almost every ball joint and pivot point equipped with zerk fittings. #530 street bike size drive chain and tapered rear axle bearings. They built the DS to last.

It IS a heavy machine. Dry weight of around 490lbs for the early models if I recall. But wen you consider the shear size of the engine and chassis, it's really not surprising.

Not really into them myself, I like to toss around my 293lb 250r's and ride them...not be along for the ride like I feel I'm doing on a DS.... But, that's just my personal preference.

Solid quad for sure, but it's not without it's weaknesses. But if you know about them and how to address them, it is a quad that was designed to last and last with basic maintenance.

[Craigolsen18]

Thanks for the all the input, I found a 2000 for 1200 and it runs and drives so I'm not to worried. Plus I'm very mechanically inclined since I do it for a living so god forbid something serious happens I can deal with it lol. I love my tecate and my outlaw 525irs to death but I just like riding unique and quick stuff so I figured this would fit the bill haha. I'm not to worried about the power since the outlaw has like 10 horse more or something idr the specs the only thing that worries me is I've never had a heavy quad before and I'm not big lol 5'6 155#. But thanks again for all the input guys and I'll let you know how I like it after I pick it up Saturday or Sunday.