I have a couple of friends who ride quite a bit of street bike stuff. You know the bikes, Super Bikes, the 180mph type. These guys wanted to get into the dirt real bad and kept wondering what bikes they should be looking at. One of the guys was/is one of my employees, we call him Dr. Pepper, and started out looking at the the new 400's. I simply told him that they were some pretty awsome bikes, and for the money, they might be some of the best all-arould bikes out. Dr. Pepper, runs about 6'1" and about 200lbs. I told Dr. Pepper that the bike is on the small end of the spectrum but that it would accomodate him. After looking at them for a while, he decided that he might be a little unhappy with the power once he got into the desert life. He then started looking at Predators and then Raptors. He never really counted on the DS because of what he read in magazines and what other riders (non-DS) were saying. He had heard that they were too heavy, not very fast, and just plain weird to ride. By this time the other guy, who we'll call Cam, had decided without my council to by an 04 Raptor. Cam's a great guy and quite frankly, the new Rappy was one Beautiful bike. He got the Red framed sled with white plastic. Gorgeous!!!!! Dr. Pepper was just about to by a raptor when he called me. He was in the dealership, and wanted my council one more time. I told him what I thought of the Raptor. I told him that it was a great bike and that it only had a few short comings. I spoke of possible Trans problems and that the bike was Tippy. A little narrow for it's size is what I told him. He told me the price he was going to get and I begged him to go look at the DS. I told him that he could probably get an 03 for a killer price and that it would WAX the raptor out of the box. Dr. Pepper sucked it up and went to the Bomb store. Thirty minutes later he showed up to work with a new DS! he felt that the DS felt way better than anything he had been on, and that he like that it didn't feel like a toy quad under him.

FORWARD ONE WEEK:

Cam and Dr. Pepper were invited to go riding with me and my neighbor. 40. 2 miles of the very best that southern Nevada has to offer. Gravel rodes, technical canyons, whoops, water, veiws, sandy washes, river and a little street just to do some drag racing. Both were excited at the first time to get their bikes dirty. Neither had ridden further than out of the truck and into the garage.

Ride Day:

Both showed up looking like a fresh turd in a new toilet. New riding gear, bikes, helmets and smiles! About 15k worth of stuff. I explained to each that they should go slow, wait for the rider's dust in front to clear and to take it easy. First ride and all, I figured that was the wise advise. My experienced neighbor took the lead and I rode clean up. About 1 mile into the ride, I had to chase Cam and the new Raptor down, as he took a wrong turn. How this happened, I have no idea. I guess he was looking down and not out. When we came to a road crossing, I told the newbies to relax and slow down. Just enjoy the ride I said. They took notice of the solid advise (I thought) and we proceeded. Now just about 2 miles into the ride, I was relaxed and literally riding with one hand on the throttle and one on my lap. As I came to a small wash I noticed that someone was in trouble. Cam had pitched the Raptor about 15 feet into the side of a hill and the bike was laying on top of him upside down. He was screaming and in a great deal of pain. I carefully rolled the bike off of him and began to survey the injuries. He seemed to have hurt his hip pretty band and was just sore all over. After Dr. Pepper and the neighbor returned from the next check point, checked in with me and Cam, we started to look at the new $7000 Raptor. TWEAKED! The top of the frame was bent back against the tank and the fuel tank was being pinched. the plastic was broke and the radiator was mangled however not leaking - amazing! Cam couldn't ride anymore, so I raced back and got the Cummins powered 4x4 and taxied both Cam and the sickly Raptor back to my house. I set him up real comphy-like and started to tear his bike apart, with his permission of course. it took some time to get all the plastic off and even more time to get to a point where I could plainly view the damage. What a mess! After about 4 hours, i had the frame back into shape, plastic repaird and the sled put back together. Everyone was amazed (self pat on the back [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]) We started to talk to Cam about what exactly happened and he said that the bike started to lean and then all of a sudden flipped and sent him flying! I guess "TIPPY" was an understatement.

Dr. Pepper has now realized that he made the best choice on the market! He just smiles now. He's ridden both since, and now says that the Raptor feels like a toy. I've ridden both and don't quite understand where the massive power is supposed to be on the Raptor. Riding both, the DS has SCARY POWER comparatively. I can't help but think about the DS and if we would have suffered the same damage. I have to say that I can't see it. The radiator would have never been damaged becouse it sits behind the fram. We have VERY little plastic to break, not to mention the fact that are bike are just the opposite of tippy! They are as stable as anything made to date.
Cam has recovered and thanks me for fixing his Rappy. I hope that he gets back on the horse but also hope he gets spacers or longer rigging for his bike.

Raptors are great bikes, I just really, Really, REALLY love the DS.

 

Good story!!! dont buy a raptor until you ride the ds

 

Great story! more reasons why I dont like the raptor! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

You've just been elected the official DS AMBASSADOR and story teller guru!!!

 

RAPTOR=TURD

 

ha ha very funny

 

I don't think the raptor is a turd, just think that it needs to be redesigned. You may not like everything about the DS but your have to give it it's due. It's extremely well built, a motor that rips. I'ts comfort is second to none, and the quality of parts is outstanding. Not a lot of sleds out there with Grade 8 hardware on them. Mines got it throughout. Not too many people talk about it but it has to be brought up.

The DS is heavier, with less CC's. However it still leads the pac in drags. Even the Dirt Wheel Honda/Yamy guys can't take that away. The mighty Rotax is virtually indestructable.

I still have people trying to tell me that the 660 has more power. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

Cheers!

 

I agree bigdaddy, everyone always talks about the raptors power. But they never seem to mention that The DS has beat all comers in drag races. Every magazine article I have seen with comparisons has always put the DS first in the power dept.

 

and we're heavier. Do the math.... guess simple logic is hard to come by these days.

 

well to start off i dont think anyone should buy a raptor for there first bike or a ds for that matter just think about it do you buy your kids the fastest car made the day they turn 16 for there first car i know i will not