Exclusive Editorial By: AJ Lester
Can-am has been doing a great job of stringing you along, slowly letting out limited amounts of information on its new DS450.
Now that word is getting out and you can recite every piece of technology verbatim, you’re probably more interested in how that technology translates when riding it.
Everyone wants to know if this new racer is as good as the technology and hype has built it up to be. Let me say this after riding it: Yes, it is.
This 450 will reshape the Pure Sport racing marketplace and send everyone back to the drawing board. It single-handedly overthrows all other 450 racers.
Even if you took all the cool high tech pieces from its competitors and combined them into one ultimate racer, you’d still be at a disadvantage.
The time and money thrown at this project by Can-am shows just how determined BRP is to be the best . We respect that calling.
First time we sat on the DS450 we knew it was going to be fun on the track. Its low-slung chassis and technically advanced suspension design was looking like ice-cream on a hot day. Add in its incredibly low unsprung weight and we knew it was going to float like a butterfly and sting like a…. you get the idea.
With many California riders on site we expected the MX track we were riding on to be groomed buttery smooth and the slightest hint of no more than a golfers divot would bring on the water and dozers. However, on this day, it was not the case.
The clay-like base of the track we rode had been groomed, leaving a surface similar to a farmers tiller. Although this surface was unacceptable to some riders, we jumped at the thought of riding on a challenging track surface and were excited to see how the DS would take to more realistic terrain…
For more, tune in on Saturday, June 2, 2007.
