I felt the same way on the Raptor. I wont knock it because everyone has their own favorite and their own style. But the Raptor felt too top heavy and the power wasnt as smooth. I know someone that has a great Raptor, and it was a sweet ride, but he put a lot of dough into it. BTW, has anyone seen a rocket powered Raptor flying around Oregon. Pieface???? Anyways, I love my 04 Baja X and even prefer riding it over some really modified bikes. It is one well put together machine and very little to complain about for a stock bike. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

I've had 2 raptors, and 1 DS, I still got the DS, the raptors are gone. I have a bunch of $ in the DS, maybe if I would of had that much cash in a raptor I would have liked it better ? Both the raptors I had were 01's, so I was always afraid something would break. The raptor is easier to get unstuck. Reverse would be nice on a Ds, I wouldn't let that affect your decision.

 

Truth be told, to this day I've never ridden a Raptor. I have towed one back to camp, but that's as close as I get.

I decided I wanted a 400ex back in early 1998 when it was just a picture at the dealership. In 1999 I saw the DS on the cover of DirtWheels, bought the issue, and decided the DS was for me. (I think that was the last time the DS got a good review in DirtWheels.) I'm a big guy, and the article said some smaller riders thought it was too big. Sounded perfect to me. When the Raptor came out, it sounded perfect too. (Stupid DirtWheels.) I decided to get whatever big bore I could find cheap enough.

I bought my DS used as soon as $$ permitted, in September 2002. Used Raptors were still out of my price range, and word of problems was getting out. If I wanted a bike to work on or a Yamaha I'd buy a Banshee.

With the right paddles, you don't need reverse in the dunes. Once you're that stuck, you aren't getting out backward either. I have not been stuck since I got my 22" Extremes.

This post got kind of long.

 

Yeah, reverse is useless in the sand. We all get stuck, and I just want to make sure I don't have a hernia while trying to get unstuck.

 

reverse works pretty good in the sand on a flat surface, just takes a little finesse.

 

Paddle tires are not supposed to work in reverse, and they don't.

 

I bought the DS because mainly because I'm 6'6" and 250 lbs. Everything else I've ridden is alot more cramped. not to mention every other manufacturer builds their quad for riders lighter than 220lbs. The bombs are built to handle up to 250lbs riders stock. The Ergos on the DS are second to none on a sport quad. My bro-inlaw has a raptor and loves it. However after riding mine, he compared it to getting out of a honda civic and climbing into a caddilac because of the plush ride. The great part is the plush ride does not translate into poor handling. It has one of the longest (still may be) suspension travel in the market.

 

I rode a Raptor with an Alba pipe on it a couple of weeks before I bought my first DS, so I guess it didn't impress me much then. Two years later, it was time to buy another quad - so I bought another DS. I could have had a 2003 anything on the market. There are just too many good reasons to buy the DS.

 

I've gotten myself unstuck useing reverse in the sand many a time. If you still have the limiter on your Raptor reverse is useless. If your trying to go up hill in reverse you won't. Reverse is not a good enough reason to keep your Raptor if you're not happy with it. The X would still be my choice from the Bombs, the YFZ and CRF450 would also be in consideration.

 

Thanks for you input guys! I really don't have enough dinero to get the X. I am looking at a low hour 03 Baja. I shopped around before I bought this bike, and thought I made a good choice. I guess we really don't know until we ride them for a few hours.

That is what makes quad buying so hard. You can sit on them, ride them in the parking lot, and then you have to decide. All of my friends have Banshee's, so really riding one wasn't an option. I might still get a Banshee, but the Bomb looks better.