After reading a bunch of postings in the Yamaha forum of people who received their raptors it looks to me like im going to keep my 400ex.The first reason is I do mostly trail riding and I dont need all of the speed that the raptor has,how fast can you really go in the woods anyways.Second thing is the gearing of the raptor,alot of people are saying that first and second gear are way to wide and they are having to use the clutch alot to compensate for this.Third and most important to me is the fuel consuption of the Raptor.Ive heard a few storys about this and it looks like about two hours is the maxamum riding time on a full tank of gas.I guess thats ok if you have a truck parked near by to refill but if your like me and enjoy heading out to the woods for a full day of trail riding 2 hours just wont cut it.I can ride all day on 1 tank of gas and thats a big plus.Please dont take this posting the wrong way because i think the raptor is an awsome machine but for the type of riding I do the 400ex will be just fine for now.Plus the best part about is its paid for!!Wish I could say the same for my Yamaha GP1200r waverunner with $8,500 worth of payments left

 

I have been reading the posts on the Raptor also and have come to about the same conclusion. It Sounds to me like they made few compromises for speed. I think a lot of people will change their counter shaft sprocket to change the gearing, I would.

As to fuel consumption I think you have a point. Someone that wants to go camping probably won’t use that machine for that purpose, but then again they probably wouldn’t have used the Banshee for that either and I think the Raptor is the four-stroke replacement for the Banshee.

 

Gas consumption? I was reading the same thing. I believe that the guys on the Raptors were wide open all the time. While breaking mine in (riding easy without a lot of throttle) I rode 7 hours before having to switch to reserve fuel. When rode easy, it does'nt seem to use any more fuel than the 400ex (that was re-geared for low speed riding) that I sold.

 

Gary,

Glad to see that.. I had read 3 hours before reserve, so I'm glad to see that it will go a little longer before needed a fill up if I decide to take it easy while trail riding with some buds who have utility bikes.

 

Yea, that would be a bummer only riding an hour and a half before being forced head back towards the truck. But, like you have read, when you keep both butterflies wide open, it likes the gas.

 

I'd say that 7 hours is more like it for trail riding. I was actually quite impressed with the gas mileage. It's the gearing that's GOT to go for me!

I could see 3 hours on a track at WOT.

 

Does the Raptor have an accelerator pump like the 400EX on the Carb? I know that didn't help my EX in the fuel consumption territory.

Then again, I have a complete Big Gun Exhaust system, and ended up using a 160 main jet. But, I can still go 40 to 50 miles on a tank of fuel, riding responsibly.

Also, a quick note on the raptor. I heard Yamaha will be selling a combo rack for it. It will hold two one gallon gas cans, and a six pack cooler. That will be a must have for me, as we ride do dinner and back on our quads, and I don't want the shame of being towed back by my one of my buddies 400EX's!!!!!

 

garyc660r, Please be honest, are you glad you switched? What kind of riding do you do? I own a 400ex currently, I get the next Raptor that comes in at my dealer. I cannot decide what to do. I rode with my buddy this weekend, he got his Raptor Saturday. His sucked the gas bad at the dunes. I don't think he could ride for 2 hrs on a tank. He also got beat by a DS650 and a piped Banshee. He was dead even with a stock Banshee. He couldn't climb the big dunes in second either. Do you like the Raptor better? Please help me decide. Thanks

 

It has taken me 5 hours of riding to burn a tank of gas in my Raptor. Maybe all these rumors about fuel consumption is because those guy's....did not have a full tank. One guy thought he had problems with his Raptor and fuel but did not have any gas in the tank.....see how these rumors get started. As for the 400ex being a better trail bike than the Raptor....gimmie a break.

 

It was going to be a better trail bike because of mileage?or gearing? these are my conclusions. Gas mileage has improved over the breakin period. I rode all of the normal trails today, I kept mostly in second gear except to creep up steep parts, I used first. On straight stretches I could get to third and fourth no problem. It still does excellent on the trail. My only problem is that sometimes I get torquey and punch the throttle in second and third and pull the wheels up too high for whats would be wise on these trails.