Well, a lot of our local races just have a novice and advanced open class for MX... The best suspended & handling still has yet to be seen (in my eyes anyway - I don't fully trust the judgement of people who are excited about their week old bikes).

The reports are that the stock Raptor only puts out about 37HP at the rear tires, has little bottom end, and has very poor gearing, not quite what was expected. A mildly warm 400 can easily put that much power out, has better gearing, and higher RPM potential. So, it will be interesting. Looking forward to my first HS & dune encounter with one....

 

What do you know about power mr. beginniner sport quad 300ex? I myself has riden my freinds 400ex 400 million times and he has riden my raptor also. We both agree that when it comes to power the 400 takes a backseat. He favors the handling of the 400 but admits that the raptor handles like a honda. He also says the feel of the raptor is much better than the 400. He likes the raptor so much that I tell him don't ask anymore when we go riding because he spends more time on it then me. We do mainly trail riding, track with big jumps, and wide open dirt roads. Maybe on a super tight track the 400 and raptor will be close both bikes aren't designed for that go with the 250r or banshee but thats another debate. Face it the Raptor rules for know.

 

this weekend at a race there was this guy that bought a raptor....when we askd him how it was he said..."ummm well its ok" " too tall and skinny" he said it runs about the same speed as his DS. of course his 400ex will leave both of them. he just got his motor back from TC. anyways he said with some wider a-arms and lower ride height shocks it would handle pretty good. later

 

Hey War99...

Why did you have to use that statement "What do you know about power, Mr...blah...blah" I think you could have made you point without that remark.

If you ask me he brought up a good point that has been brought up before. What quad still dominates the MX tracks? The 250R...even after the Banshee was brought out. True, this IS nit picking from the past, but it gives Hondas outlook. They dont need the BIGGEST BORE or FASTEST top speed to sell ALOT of quads and win tons of races. Just my $.02.

Eric

 

you expect me to believe a single guy has a Raptor, A DS, and a 400ex. what ever.

 

I don't give a $#it if you believe me.....the guys name is RJ. Slayton and I think there are some pics of him on his 400ex and his wife on his DS here... www.weatherfordmxpark.com later....

 

YaMaHaRaPtOr: you are very rude. it is very possible that someone have all 3 quads. Its called having a good job and some money.

 

yamaharapter:

dude, just drop it,

wow tough guy, you got a raptor.

I truely believe that the size, handling, whatever of the quad has not much to do with what quad is better.

I've beat my friend on his 300ex, on a bayou220 in a short 60 yard drag. The kid that owns the bayou220 is also real fast in tight trails, (he is crazy too).

bottom line: it's all rider, not quad.

so who cares.

ps: i take back anything i said bad about any quad because i realize this point now.



gabe: thanks for the info, i might be geting them for christmas. Would my quad sit weird if i only got the fronts??

 

Gabe i've said this before. But your 400ex is just awesome!

But onto what this is all about.

Why does it really matter what is better. All and all this is a great big step forward for sport quads! New ones are coming out the raptor is forcing other companies to compete for the best sport quad. Honda will probably bring out something new next year, Kawaski maybe bring out something, Suzuki...who knows...their R&D team needs to pull their heads out of their ***!!

The bottom line is. It doesn't matter. One guy will love his 400EX and one guy will Love his raptor. Its always going to be that way no matter what.

 

I wonder how the Raptor does Wheelies. I think the 400ex is the king of wheelies. I talked to a guy that pulled a wheelie on his 400 which he claimed was about 1.5 miles long on pavement. I don't doubt him because i saw him doing wheelies easily for 300 yards but he ran out of room each time so he stopped.