From what I have heard, get it.

 

hey man, i'm 15 to, dont worry, it realy isen't a problem.
sometimes you have your hands full, but if you know what your doing you shold have no problem.

 

I borrowed my son's Raptor, for my bud Mark, and we went north this weekend, into some high country in the Apache National Forest. Lots of Big Trees, lots of trails, 8,000 to 9,000 ft elevation. Both my DS and my son's Raptor are well equipped, Works shocks etc, and pretty evenly matched. Mark is one of my best friends and remains quadless, despite his above average riding ability and a background in snowmobiles and dirtbikes. He wants one, he just doesn't know what to get. So I have put him on all kinds of quads, and this weekend it was my son's Raptor, in the woods.
....We had a blast, my other friend who just bought my 660 Grizzly was with us as well as another good friend on his Foreman. We saw about 75 Elk, had a real cool cabin and a great time.
....So after riding the Raptor for a while I asked Mark if he wanted to try the DS, he said sure. So I rode the Raptor, in the woods for a few hours, 'cause Mark did not want to get off the DS. Mark is not a big guy, about 5'9" maybe 160#.
....Conclusions. Both Mark and I liked the DS better in the woods than the Raptor and my other friend is the perfect match for the Grizzly, he's 6'5" and 265# and totally into hunting.
....Mark still wants something with 4-wheel drive, and maybe the Rincon will be the quad for him. It would be nice to have a DS buddy around here, but different guys need different quads. The Raptor is still the perfect quad for my son, age 13, 5'0", 86#, and the DS is just right for me, 6',210#.
....Oh, yeah, Mark and I both felt the gear spacing on the Raptor was its' biggest drawback. First gear too high, and then the jump to second too far. The DS gear ratios are tighter, perfectly spaced, and shifting is easier too. I could sit on the very back of the DS and get through a foot of snow no problem, the Raptor would spin and sink. My DS has 22" XCT's, the Raptor has 22" Razrs. The DS would go through almost as much snow as the Grizzly with my big friend on it, and that was in 4-wheel lock. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

<< Although I rode with a guy at Brown Mountain that had one and it was HORRIBLE through the tight trails. I felt very bad for him. For where you live, i would go with a used Raptor or 400ex. You wont find a used DS around here anyways. There are very few of them. Let me know if you want to go riding. We are going up to Winston-Salem to the 311 trails this weekend. We are the 2 obnoxiously loud Raptors roosting everyone! LOL. >>




Hay Charlie, My suggestion to you is to join an off-roading or motorcycle club, like the AMA, and as your mother is filling out the check remember that approximately 50% of that money goes to fighting the tree huggers whos main complaint is obnoxiously loud vehicles roosting the $h!t out of the forrests. Personnaly I cant see giving the tree huggers any more amunition then they already have but if you feel that your pleasure is more important then everybodys right to ride in the forests then go for it. LOL By the way, dont feel bad that your buddy was riding a DS650 in the woods, feel bad cuz he cant ride...

 

Hey I bet Charlie doesn't wear a helmet either. We won't have to worry about his off-road miss-behavior for long, he'll be in a wheelchair drooling out of a sippy-cup soon enough,,, if he's lucky.

 

Ride both, see which one you like. I'd be reluctant to spend $5,000.00 plus or minus on something that I haven't ridden &amp; tried out.

 

Give charley a break, if I went riding in some public trails I might a ccidently roost a little too, would any of you not want to have fun? As for the tree huggers, I have absolutely no respect for them what so ever. Check out one post in Yamaha forums and see the tree hugger site. How could ANYONE respect someone that would take a human life by hanging piano wire at neck height to keep one motorcycle off the land? But now im off the subject, I have decided on a Raptor or EX, the DS is just too big for the tight trails I ride, I have enough trouble with my quadracer. Now the question is, do I want to spend an extra $1000 on 260cc of extra power.

 

Love:

Have you looked at the new Suz 400?

I hear the Raptor 660 will be discontinued after this year and a Raptor 426 will take its place. I think this will be a great bike but I wouldn't buy one the first year. They will no doubt put a different transmission in it (different from the dirt bikes) and may have reverse. With all the problems of the trans. on the '01 Raptors, Yamaha buyers / owners should be very cautious about purchasing a new model year quad.

If you are looking at a used quad do not buy the '01 unless it has a retrofitted tranny.

If you are set on a smaller quad, I would buy the Raptor. Not much price difference and you get reverse and much more power. If you are not very mechanical, the 400EX is a very reliable quad.

 

love250x,
Its not that any body likes or respects the tree huggers, in fact,im sure you wont find a single person on any motoring forum or club that has anything good to say for them. The respect should go to the forests and other fragile places where motor operated vehicles are aloud to go. Believe it or not, we are very close to losing our privliges in these areas and not many people realize it. Obnoxiously loud pipes and excessive roosts play right into the tree huggers hands. Remember the slogan of most off roading clubs and cycle manufacturers, &quot;tread lightly&quot;. There is a reason they say that and you can bet its not because they like the tree huggers.

Alright! I'm off my soap box.

 

If you are down to the raptor and 400, the raptor is definately the way to go. I have a 2001 that has been a great bike. It runs perfect and it has been ridden pretty hard. Never a problem. I prefer the Ds, but I know that it does not fit everyones needs. So, I would definetaly go for the raptor. You are not only getting the extra cc's, you get liquid cooling, reverse, and a much better overall package. Plus, it rips better than the 400.

On the forest stuff, I agree with jsds, I don't think he meant to come off giving charly a bad time, but meant to say that we need to respect the forests and wilderness in order to keep it open to our use.

Tread lightly is a great campaign and that is pretty much what it means.

My 2 cents
Bat