Awhile ago I went to my first race and there were 7 quads in the main event, 1 of which was a Raptor, another was an LT250 and the rest were 250R's. My question is, how do your Raptors do on the track? This Raptor got spanked almost all through the race(even a POS LT250 led, for a lap)I know you guys are gonna say it was rider ability but, he seemed to never make a mistake, and a couple of the guys on R's would make a mistake and still beat the Raptor. I use to want one but, seeing that really changed my mind(not that I have the cash to buy one now anyway[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] )

 

I raced mx on my raptor with no problems. I had Elka suspension, Durablue axle, holeshots, pipe, etc. I won my first race with a 14 rider gate against banshees, 400ex's, and 250r's. The raptors have awsome hook up out of the corners and they jump really well. The only negative is riding fast through the whoops. They are harder to control because of the high center of gravity. All of the tracks here are built for the bikes so the whoops are rough. The bigger the track the better for the raptor where it can stretch it's leg's. If your racing at the local level a raptor has no disadvantage to any quad. There were riders in our class who have raced before that weren't even attempting the 40 ft. doubles. In my opinion it's 95% rider 5% bike.

 

Hmmmmm... I forgot about mods, the Raptor looked stock suspension wise, while the R's all had works or other after market shocks with ++ A-Arms, also this track was very small, in an arena with 2 doubles, a wide sweeper, a few tight corners and so called "whoops" that weren't really whoops, but more along the lines of, 4 small bumps. The Raptor rider was also getting bad starts because he would hook up beter, and apparentally didn't know to lean forward[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

For general ridding of dirt roads, trails, and pits the Raptor is excellent! I have raced mine on a small MX track and the stock suspension just isn't setup for it! Its too tall, side bite is too good, and the front shock dampening is too soft. There is plenty of power, you just can't use it. This is just my opinion so please keep the bashing to a minimum!!

 

I've noticed the same thing. All but one of the Raptors I have seen on the track got last and the one that didn't, was only ahead of the other Raptor. I don't know if that's just a coincidence or what. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

2strokeDiehard that is a fair statement you posted. A wider axle and aftermarket suspension make the raptor (or any other quad for that matter) a much more stable and handling quad. I blew my Elka's out after a bad endo and the next race on a much bigger track I had to use my stock shocks. They worked o.k. but they faded quickly and I was bottoming and washing out in the corners badly. I think I finished 8th overall with a 24 rider gate. I'm 35 years old racing against all the youngsters and it's a blast. I need better conditioning so I can go all out in a moto.

 

I will tell you what a guy at the Cdale dealer(he did not work for them) told me. He said he had $3000 in his mx raptor and had suffered the same defeats on the track you were talking about. He said the Raptor was a sweet mx bike if you want to spend $7000+ on it, but most of us don't want to do that. I think you should get an early Cannibal with the Ohlins and go try a race or two. See what mods you need and collect them over time.

 

You can have an unlimited budget and purchase all the aftermarket accessories you want to make your quad the best. But if you don't have the SKILL to utilize the quads potential you won't win period, no matter what quad your riding. It's mostly rider in my opinion.

 

I agree with buddah. I sold my 300ex for a Cannibal only because the 300 was holding me back. My 300ex prolly could have done some of the jumps but I had to ride it so hard that it would wear me out and by the end of the race or practice my legs were just shakin. Not only is that going to hold you back but that is incredibally dangerous for you and fellow riders on the track. So in a sence, me and the 300 were holding each other back. I wasn't good enough to be able to ride that hard for a long time and the 300 wasn't strong enough for me to ride it with out wearin the crap out of myself.