it would be nice to know what yr and what will cause my raptor to lose 2nd gear?? is it just from wear and tear or racing ,jumpin, ect? is it the 2001 or 2002 model that has lost 2nd gear more often???

 

2001 lost 2nd gear. if im not mistaken the 2nd gear has 3 dogs instead of 4 ( like on the '02 ). ive been reading this forum well before the raptor came out and ive seen/read every reason from the clutch being improperly maintained from riding style from just plain junky gears. some people rode for a long time before they had problems. do a search on this subject there are TONS of topics.

oh yeah, they changed the ratio's from the '01 to '02 year models. some people that had trannys go put in the '02 gear set and some people went ahead and forked out the dough for the Fortin gears.

 

2001 Model has the weak transmission (Yamaha Won't tell you that or admit it!)
So far it looks as though the only ones breaking the cogs on the second and third gears are Modified Raptors. I.E. Pipes ,Cams , ETC. and or very hard usage (Racing, fast trail riding)
But other then that I really don't think it's in danger of breaking on you as long as you ride it normal and or unmodified.
If you do wish to update it you can get Fortin 2nd and 3rd gears kit $900, or go to Yamaha and order a 2002 transmission about $480 but you do all the work yourself.
Both of these "updates" require complete and total tear down of your engine :-(