Well, my dad just got back from Moses Lake in Eastern WA and couldn't wait to tell me about his trip. He had the opportunity to drag race a slightly modded & piped Banshee and a 400EX. He beat them every time! Needless to say, the Banshee owner was fairly impressed. Especially when my dad took off his helmet! Not only was some 250lb. guy beating him on an "overweight" quad, this guy was old.

They told him of the Raptor owner at the other end of the dunes that was racing everyone, so he went down there to check it out. The Raptor owner would NOT race, "no way!".

My dad did say that the Raptor does look really nice, but he does like the b&w combo better than the blue as the owner agreed, but he was only able to get blue. They both thought that the lights are really cheap and will probably break off or scratch easily.

Turns out, this guy had to pay extra, just to get the Raptor. He ended up out the door, $10,000! That included insurance and extended warranty, but for freaking sakes, I thought this thing was supposed to be cheaper than the DS?!?!

He also mentioned that it feels like the DS is getting even stronger and faster now that he has about 20 hours on it.

Laters,
CRT_Leech

 

YIKES!!
That guy had more dollars than sense! I'll let mine go for the very low price of $8,500 if he needs another one....hahaha

It's a shame that he wouldn't race, win or lose. It'd be nice to have another play by play drag from a reliable source.

 

How come you would sell yours? Thinking about something different?

Besides the possible problems with the upper a-arms, trailing arm and axle, how do you like it so far?

After hearing rumor of Hondas possible 650EX, it gets me wondering if I will trade in for that, if is comparable to the DS650. Though, since it is still a rumor, that means that it probably won't come out for a year or two.

I'm still waiting for the Canondale!

Laters,
CRT_Leech

 

What reasoning did the Raptor owner give for not racing? Still breaking the engine in?

 

No, he had been racing all weekend. He just heard from the Banshee owner how he got smoked and he didn't want to even try.

If I was the Raptor owner, I still would've tried, at least twice.

Oh, by-the-by, my dad forgot to start from second on the first race. When he started from second on the second and subsequent races, he really smoked them.

I just wish I could have gone with him, I had to be at work. I usualy win against my dad since I am a little more reckless. Though, it sounds like he was a little more reckless himself this weekend. He actually jumped the dang thing! I haven't seen him get more than a foot of air under any ATV. Damn, I wish I could've been there. Maybe this upcoming weekend.

 

I love it and am NOT wanting to get rid of it. I just meant that I'd sell if for 2 grand over sticker and go buy another one for MSRP and pocket the extra money.

I got my Raptor back today with the new A-arm. Everything is A-ok with it. What are you talking about when you refer to the trailing arm having problems? Also, when my dealer checked the stock of A-arms, Yamaha only had a few to start with and they were not back ordered, so that tells me that there haven't been many or possible any other people to need replacements.

The axle is a non-issue because any factory quad jumping doubles on a MX track and overshooting the landings will eventually bend the axle.

Keep us posted, I'm sure you'll end up racing a Raptor soon.

 

I own a Suzuki 500 quadracer with a pipe and spark arester silencer as my only modification to the machine. I rode with some friends who ride a piped 1999 banshee and a 2001 raptor. We raced down a gravel road. The piped banshee and raptor seemed like a close match. I was traction limited on the gravel road but still managed to slide away from both machines.

 

Bash...have you had trouble with your clutch, or just wanted a more potentially durable clutch pack.

 

Well, from every welder and machinist that I have ever talked to over the years, you just don't weld steel to aluminum. Period. Maybe they have some new way of doing it, but it will proably stress fracture and fail within a few years. Plus, I thought someone had mentioned that theirs had failed on one of the forums already????

This upper a-arm thing with Yamaha kind ticks me off and I don't even own one. I would prefer to have a stronger steel upper a-arm at the cost of a couple of pounds. Weight can be shaved elsewhere if you are really worried about it.

Good luck with your Raptor and keep the wheels facing the ground, laters,
CRT_Leech

 

The clutch in the Raptor is a good one. I just replaced it (through no fault of its own) with what I believe may be a better one.

For anyone wondering, the clutches are the same as used in the Banshee. The steel plates are shaped just a little different so that the Banshee ones are just a little loose. Instead of 6 springs (as on the Banshee) holding the pressure plate, it has 5 springs. Also, I got to take a look at the water pump. It's huge! The guys in the shop couldn't believe it and said it looked like a pump off of a street bike. Also, if you are ready for your first oil change and they are backordered on the filters, the filter off of an R1 (yamaha's superbike) fits just fine, but with just a little more length.