My buddy finally got his Raptor this weekend. Definitely the best-looking quad I've seen, every detail looks extremely sharp. It was a little smaller than I thought it would be, but I didn't notice any of the tippiness everyone thinks it will have. The stock tires are too narrow for the kind of power it has though. I watched him drag a stock Banshee and he pulled it easily by a couple of lengths. Its very fast, but not quite as fast as I would have thought. It really doesn't start to come in until 3rd gear, so I can see why some guys are already changing front sprockets. I was behind him on my pretty heavily modified SC500 when we both got on it and he was leaving me, but not by any huge amount. Easily the best trail machine I've seen though, handles great, plenty of power and the guy loves it. Watching him get stuck in a small mud pit made me remember why I keep my Scrambler though.

 

Scramblers have more low end.
Raptors dont.
makes fun muddin' ha.

IN MUD A RAPTOR HAS NO CHANCE AGAINST A SCRAMBLER.

LONG LIVE POLARIS!!!!!!!!!!

2000 POLARIS SCRAMBLER 400 2X4

SCRAMDADDY400

 

If you think the Yamaha is nice check out the DS650 Bombardier.Thats the sharpest looking machine I've seen yet.

 

One of my buddies picked up his Raptor yesterday. Easily the sharpest machine Ive seen so far. It was a blue one. The frame is painted metallic blue. Truly awesome. I also took it for a couple of spins. And though I'm sure it wont compare to a Scrambler IN THE MUD. It has so much more low end than a Scrambler it's sickening. The speed and power of the Raptor is mind boggling. You can be cruising at a decent speed, push the throttle just a tad, and I mean a tad more, and the front wheels come up. You can be in second or third, go slow to where you think the machine is gonna bog, hit the throttle and it's right there for you. I was amazed. I, too, like the looks of the DS 650, but the Raptor looks like it's doing 120mph sitting still.

 

Not a whole lot of folks out there buying a Raptor to go mudding.

 

An old friend came by today with a new Raptor and offerd me a chance to ride it . It was geared down one tooth in the front and the spark arrester was removed .

The gearing still felt a little tall for me , but I was impressed with the potent midrange and the quick reving of the engine .

The thin seat was an asset to me , it was easy to transfer weight on the machine with little movement on my part .

The steering is very fast , which is good once one is familiar with it .

At one time , in my prime, I was a mediocre rider on a good day . Maybe if I had better riding skills I would like the tall gearing of a Raptor . But really , I would venture Yamaha knows the gearing is a tad tall in first gear too , I am sure they have there reasons for doing it .

 

Hey guys. I guess I am fortunate to own one of each. The Raptor is very impressive, but I did have to drop a tooth on the sprocket after my first ride. It was geared way too tall, but I suspect they had to do that to keep the top speed even with the Banshee.

There is just no comparison between the Raptor and the Sport/Scrambler. The Sport is great for cruising in the open areas and dunes, but for the trails it feels too heavy and wide. I usually ride in the sand and my Banshee is great. However, in other terrain, the Banshee has limited ground clearance and the power band is awkward. In woods areas, I always preferred to ride the Sport, which is my wife's bike. That is why I wanted the Raptor, so I would have an all-around performer for dunes and woods. No disappointment so far.

My wife does say I have to sell one though, and she won't let go of the Sport. We'll see.

 

my buddy got one last week and rolled it twice already. way too much for a 1st quad, all 105 pounds of him, but if ya got the money........ I rode it a coupla times, and it is AWESOME!! If it don't wheelie up when you shift, you can feel the back end kick over a little from the torque. I can still go through more mud on my Tblazer, thanks to higher clearance, but i do wish i had one, but not when you can buy a good 4x4 truck for the same amount of $