Bombardier's 650 Quest

Bombardier's Quest 650 Revisited

Feb. 01, 2002 By Eddie Perez

Late last year, Off-Road.com began its torture-test of Bombardier's 650 Quest in an effort to determine the stamina of this latest addition (at the time) to Bombardier's ATV lineup. It's been almost six months into the abuse and after numerous trips through the Las Vegas desert, the Quest has held up to the beating that comes with being a part of the ORC workforce.

The Quest has been taken over some of the roughest, toughest and rockiest terrain that is a part of the SCORE and Best in The Desert race courses. Our racing staff has used it as a potent pit-crew vehicle and all-around event-coverage necessity, taking our photographers to photo spots along the race course where others never venture.

The Quest weighs in at a over 700 pounds and takes some getting used to, due to it's sheer size and weight. Once you've spent a few minutes on it though, you'll think the Quest handles like the Cadillac of ATV's with its big comfortable seat and easy handling.

The 650 eats up rough terrain like it was nothing. I was able to get the Quest up to a good rate of speed out on the rocky desert trails and didn't experience any significant handling problems.

A word of caution though, the Quest was not designed for covering whoops at a high rate of speed - that's the fastest way to get thrown off this beast. The 7 inches of front travel and 7.5 inches of rear travel just weren't made for whoops. The Quest lacks the agility needed to traverse this type of terrain because it was not designed for it.

As for climbing, just point the Quest up the hill and go. The four wheel drive Quest has the power necessary to climb steep hills while fully loaded with cargo, with little effort.

While not designed for it, the Quest has above average get-up-and-go for a utility vehicle of this size. You're not going to win any quarter-mile sprints with this one, but you'll be able to keep up with your buddies on those all day quad runs.

Plus, on those all-day ATV trips, you can pack enough equipment for your whole party on the Quest. Its total rack capacity is more than 250 pounds - that's more gear than most small groups will need.

To haul all that gear around, the Quest comes with Bombardier's Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that provides smooth shifting and plenty of torque, with instant power delivered to all four wheels.

After five months of the ORC torture-test - through rocks, rain, and mud, hill climbs and more, all we've come up with is a flat tire. Not bad at all - but we're not finished yet.

Send Questions and Comments to: Eddie Perez