| GNCC
DS450 ATV RACE TEST: |
It seemed like the weeks flew past as I found myself
pit side at the Yadkinville round of the Can Am GNCC
series. I wasted no time in running down the riders
for Can Am that campaign the DS 450 in the Pro class
for any tips or tricks I might be able to wrangle out
of them. Once I explained it was a bone stock machine,
it seemed everyone felt leaving it alone was best and
there wasn’t any magic tweak I could make to pony
up magical power or a setting to make the shocks perform
like full aftermarket. I was feeling pretty confident
in the machine, even after reading the bashing it receives
online. Hey, I am no pro rider and can not push the
machine as hard as they do, so this indeed would be
a good test for a stock ride and your basic “I
want to have fun” type of rider. The addition
of nothing except the kill switch was still worrying
me, however I was assured this course lent itself to
not being notorious for destroying atv’s. The
dust on the other hand would be the biggest challenge
as the area was bone dry and you couldn’t even
walk without kicking up a choking dust trail.
 |
Kevin
Hill started dead last after having issues getting
the DS450 to fire on the starting line, which
is one of the few draw backs to EFI over a carb
is because it takes longer to start due to the
additional steps involved by the fuel system
before a spark is fired to start the engine |
The 10 am start had me positioned on the line running
in the Sportsman class and ready to give the machine
and this race an honest shot. Here is where the first
issue raised its head as the rest of the class headed
for the first turn, I sat there cranking away on the
DS450. It does not like to start fast, a huge issue
when dealing with a dead engine start. I was getting
concerned that the row behind me would run me over
if it did not fire, but finally it did and I was off!
It did not take long for me to catch the class and
join in the blinding dust as the first two laps were
scored.
Somewhere I clipped a tree and it set the quad over
and as I quickly righted it, I found I had bent the
clutch lever severely. All I wanted was to get moving
and not get run over so it wasn’t until I found
a stretch of track in a creek bottom that I could
see what else I had bent, that being the right tie
rod. So with the quad now pulling to the right and
the clutch lever looking like something off a 1970’s
motorcycle, I was determined to keep going and finish
the race. The dust had speeds down, and the tall gearing
allowed me to keep going without huge difficulties
except for fighting the shoulder straining pull.
Two hours later I crossed the finish line accomplishing
the goal set before me by ATVriders.com and myself.
I managed to eek out a 7th place finish in the class
of 10 and 158th out of 254 overall. Not great but
hey, I haven’t run a XC event in years!
| |
|
| Besides
a collision with a tree, which bent a tie-rod
and clutch lever, the Can-Am DS450 held up great
in our GNCC Race Test Review |
The Can-Am DS450 preformed very well considering,
and my slight scuffle with the tree surely hurt my
finishing position, but the quad never missed a beat,
and overall the DS450 hasn’t failed us yet.
I am impressed with the stock machine and would like
to spend even more time getting to know how to overcome
some issues others seem to have that have not surfaced
on our test machine in over 6 months of abuse. Sign
me up coach; I am ready to go again!
www.can-am.brp.com
