Boy the yamaha guys are a little defensive. I am telling you the truth about my 2 buddies racing each other DS vs. Raptor. I am not lying, yes I own a DS but I don't personally care which is faster. I haven't rode mine since june. Anyways not every raptor or DS is going to be the same even in stock form, likewise no to races are go to be the same. And any quad can be built to beat any other quad with enough money. I think the point is the raptor did not blow the ds away like they were reportedly suppose to. Just like the DS when it came out. Everybody likes something different which is cool, because it would suck if everyone road the same quad. Relax everybody and ride, hopefully I will be able to too.

 

Why no riding since June?

 

Yes, the YaMaRaPtor guys are very defensive. But listen to what YaMaRaPtor had to say about voting. We cannot let Al Enviro Gore Win!

 

Sorry, double post

 

All I have to say is, match a DS up against a Raptor in the woods...end of story. Yes the DS might be faster on a DEAD drag race, but how many people really buy a quad just to do a 1/4 mile?

Hell, if that is the case, I better wake up and go steal my buddies 929RR engine and throw it on an aftermarket frame...would I have the baddest quad then? I think not.

Eric

 

I think that the bad rap on the DS in the woods is not very accurate. How many of you HONESTLY have raced against a DS in the woods? I have a DS, sold my 99'400ex to buy it, and 6 of my friends have 99 - 01 400ex's now. Two of them can really ride. (race) One of them was in the top ten for Wisconsin MX just a couple years back. Now this is not any kind of a bragging thing at all, but how do you know the DS doesn't do woods? If the trails are 1st and 2nd gear trails, then they are tight and it doesn't matter. But, .... when we start getting into trails like Black River Falls, Clark County, ect. in WI, then they just can't keep up. As long as the trails are normal two quad length wide, or more, the thing screams through the woods. Anything narrower, and it is really unsafe to race due to oncoming traffic. The torque is incredible for coming out of the corners. Quicker out of the corners and faster into the corners = fast!! As soon as I hit any kind of straight where we can both use top gear, it's good bye 400ex. Now with the raptor, as long as it doesn't pose too much of a wheelie popping problem out of corners, or rolling, it should out handle it in the woods. I would be disappointed if it didn't. The raptor sounds like it is going to be an awesome all round quad, I'm just sick of everyone assuming that the DS is not capable of woods racing. Who likes to race around in second gear anyways?

 

Good point, and I can expand on that for you, I tested a DS from the dealer Im friends with for a weekend, it was his own, The thing did not fit down many of the trails we ride here. End of story. Unless you want to beat those rims up and try and push pine tree saplings all day, I just didnt like it. Its like ok you guys we made it this far, the trail gets tight, ill go take the highway and meet you guys at the top of the mountain. The raptor also doesnt have the off idle problem you guys get on a DS, and yes I know its fixable but I am happy I got the Raptor even though a DS is reportedly 3mph faster on top end. The fun thing about it is we can both beat the banshee riders up, even though I used to be one, Its fun to see it happen.

 

You are obviously not reading all of the posts because I have read some that say that a stock Banshee and Raptor were even and that the piped, and that's only piped nothing else, were running away from the Raptor. If you will take a look at last month's issue of 4wheel Atv Action they did a timed run with the Banshee and Raptor, they didn't give the distance but whatever the distance was the Banshee's time was 8.8 seconds compared to the Raptor's 9.7 seconds, almost a whole second slower. I am not trying to start something because I like the Raptor it looks awesome and I am sure it rides great but when it comes to arm stretching horsepower there is nothing like the Banshee especially with a few modifications. I love the feel of that powerband when it hits there is no other quad made that can compete with the Banshee for the thrill it gives you especially when rode hard.

 

I know some are gonna try to rip me a new one for saying this but if you got a Raptor because its a "better trail machine than the DS" or "it fits down trails better than a DS" is not that good of a reason to me. If you ride trails that a DS is to wide to fit down then it doesn't sound like you need a Raptor either maybe a Wolverine,Rancher,Big Bear, etc.. is what you should ride for all those tight trails. Don't get me wrong I beleive that the Raptor is and will be a good machine but the DS is also a good machine. I am not a Bombardier fanatic I am not a Yamaha fanatic I am a RIDE the HELL out of what you got fanatic. I beleive anybody considering a DS or a Raptor should get what their comftorable with. Im 6'4 300 pounds I have a DS obviously. I read in the Yamaha forum a post from a guy wanting to know if he should buy a DS or a Raptor he is 6'7 240 and a bunch of yamaha guys were saying "get the Raptor its the best, the DS sucks" sorry but I saw a Raptor the other day and it is not a whole lot bigger than a Blaster and looked smaller than a Banshee and your telling him that he should get one, HELLO!!! he said he was 6'7 240. Thats like somebody who weighs 450 pounds wanting to know would they be more comftorable on a Grizzly or a Beartracker. Give me a break the sun does not rise and set on Yamaha, Bombardier, Honda, Polaris or any other.

 

Exactly! Buy what fits, feels good, and you like. If it isn't fast enough for you, buy some aftermarket parts.

I thought I had to have a raptor, went as far as checking all the local dealers OTD price and wait list.

Was at the Honda dealer, decided to sit on the 400ex, being 6'1 300lbs, it seems small. Knowing the raptor was about the same size, I started thinking about it.

Didn't consider a DS because hadn't seen one before, and no local dealer. Saw one while ridding one day and talked to the owner for awhile and ended up ridding it. Fit great, liked the larger size. Drove to the closest Bombardier dealer the next weekend and got myself one.

The raptor is a great machine, and if it wasn't for the size factor, I would have one.