You guys and girls can all see what i have in my baby already down below. I am not mad about tearing the engine wide apart yet but still want a little more out of it...Any ideas?

Also does anyone have any info on the famous 686 or 720 kits I keep hearing about...Do they bring more maintenance issues than fun or are they worth all that cash?

I love to ride at Paragon Adventure Park in PA and have had a few shootouts with yfz 450's that are becoming oh so popular up there, i get the stock ones beat by maybe a half bike length but the terain is rough and not great for drags, put a pipe on one and remove the airbox lid and they have me whipped! Anyideas on how to at least make it close?

And NO! I am not trading the bike on a yfz450 or anything else!

 

It all depends on your budget.

If you have the money, send it out to a good shop and have a big bore, cam, porting, and carbs done.

If you have somewhat of a budget, a high comp stk bore piston and cam will help. Porting adds to it.

 

Dr D's reverse switch

 

What can they do to my carbs except adjust the jetting? I am a diesel mechanic so engine work can be done at home. What is the ultimate engine work to get the best results and retain reliability?

 

You can go with more cam, but if you add more compression reliability will suffer greatly. A stage 1 hot cam does not require stiffer springs. How do you like the PEP stabilizer. I had one on my Raptor and it was a joke.
Gary

 

Ditto, I didn't even get mine out of the shop before I sent it back. It was cheaply designed, and the mount system was the biggest joke I've seen yet. I couldn't even get the mounts to hold securley to the frame w/o them twisting/sliding on the frame. (this was on my predator)

Gary, can't he go to an 11:1 or 10.5:1 and still not be to bad as far as reliability? If high compression pistons cause accelerated wear, then I don't really think you have many options other than like Gary said a Stage One cam, and some porting work. All the big bores I've seen come with atleast an 11:1 piston.

 

I ran a 10.75/1 JE for well over a year with no problems. I am running a 10.75/1 JE thats 102mm (686) right now. The thing with more compression is'nt the wear, it's the uncertaintly concerning the rod. No-one knows for certain why the rod grenades on a higher compression Raptor on occasion. Is it owners running their bike too lean, generating too much heat and boiling oil away from the small end of the rod? Does the added compression cause the rod too fail? If I knew without a doubt the rod would be ok as long as cylinder temps were kept in check, I would not mind recommending higher compression for a RELIABLE, reasonably priced build.
Gary

 

I dont think I have heard of any rods blowing on stk bore pistons, even the higher comp 12.5:1 and up. I think he would be fine with a stock bore 11:1.

 

Here is a post by WSHRDSKIN, a member thats been around a while.