I had to make the same choice.

When is came down to it, the KFX just handled better and felt better under me, and had a significantly lower price tag. The 660 is a torque monster but that's about it. It's not even close to on par with the handling of the Z/KFX. Fact is that most magazines agree that the Raptor350 is better handling than its big brother.

Not to mention that the 400 is not even really slower as some think. Most people agree that if anything it's only a hair slower than the 660 so how many people are going to notice that hair difference?

All the things that I didn't like about the Raptor (kinda tall and tippy, front end feels too light, feels bigger than it is) I loved about the KFX. I was more than willing to give away the bigger engine even if I was losing some speed. It's easy to make an engine perform better and put out more HP, but it's impossible (or very expensive) to change the geometric dynamics of a chassis.

Some people love the Raptor, and that's cool. But I think often personal biased opinion tends to cloud people's ability to judge honestly. People tend to defend the Raptor more intensely than most quads. Some might say that's a sign of insecurity but I don't agree. I think people just grow a strong brand loyalty more than others. Although many people complain about the Raptor's reliability.

I've always been a Yamaha fan, still am. But I just could not be more happy with my KFX, and I could not in reality choose the Raptor over the KFX for my personal riding taste. Perhaps as a dune machine the Raptor is better, I can't say since I don't have any dunes where I'm from.

All in all I can tell you to go sit on both and get a feel for them, ride them both and see which fits you better. Because it's you who will have to ride it, only you can in fact make a right or wrong choice. Chances are no matter which you choose you'll be happy.

 

Raptor 660r....

 

its not even close on the trails. the kfx kills the raptor.

 

:::Smile and Nod:::

 

So the KFX kills the Raptor on the trails huh? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

That's funny....

 

It wasn't made for track! DUH! And you probaly haven't ridden a Raptor for trail ridding because it's similar to the Kawasukicat.

 

Nah, I've ridden the 660R. I've played with all the new available quads at Northland Motorsports in Flagstaff, AZ too. The KFX just has a better feel to it, and I haven't met one rider out on trails with a 660R who wasn't impressed with my 05 KFX. Not one has said anything like "yeah...but my 660R is better because..." I noticed the 05 660R doesn't even have the resi shocks up front, and they don't look remotely as adjustable. Plus, it didn't come in orange, and we all know thats the most important.

 

Kawi's bike didnt have resiviour shocks until this model year anyway, and since raptors arent made for the track they dont get yfz type shocks. The only reason the z and kfx got them is because they were losing sales to the 450's and that was an easy way to make their quads visually similar. The stock shocks still arent all that great, they just have resiviours on them now. Better than the 660 shocks of course though.

The z clones handle very well, they should since they are shorter, wider, and lighter with less power than the raptor.

 

Its what, 32hp for the 05 KFX, and 34hp for the 05 660R? 2hp for a heavier machine? 373lbs for the KFX, and 398 for the 660R. You'd expect a significant power increase for 60% more engine.