ok well the raptor 700r hasnt came out yet.... but i would love to try it out!!!!!

 

The 700R is and has been out for a little while. My local dealer has a blue and a white one sitting on his showroom floor ready to go, along with an 06 YFZ.

 

I have a Raptor 660 (stock) and I rode the predator briefly across a bumpy flat and up sand mountain (either an '03 or '04). While it had good power (seemed similar to the Raptor), the suspension was very stiff. I know they did some upgrades to the Pred but from everything I have read, the new Raptor 700 handles much much better than the 660. It is also wider and has a longer wheelbase and lower seat height. If the 660 and pred are pretty close and the 700 has more displacement AND EFI, and handles better seems like a no brainer to me - no jetting, tons of torque, proven engine (the engine has been used in europe for a year or two but I can't remember where I read that). Also, I believe the Raptor has a wider power band than the Pred which means less shifting. By the way, you can increase the revs on the Raptor by getting an aftermarket CDI.

 

Went riding the other eve with a friend who has the 700. I ride a 05' Pred TLD, and it was pretty even in short distance but give him a little room and he'd pass me. Once again, rider skill plays the largest part. I do believe Yamaha gives a smoother ride. Both of our machines pretty much stock.

 

If you want the biggest, baddest and latest beast out then go with the 700. However, the complete package you get on the Predator is also hard to beat (esp the TLD or LE). If you liked your '04 Pred then you should like the '05 or '06 more with the seat/handle bar improvement, smoother shifting tranny and added reverse. You can get a good deal on an '05 right now too.

Needless to say, brand loyalty influences a lot of answers you get on posts like this. If it was me I would wait a little on the 700 Raptor being a 1st year model (you never know esp. with the new frame). The way the ATV market has been the past 5 years with new models having problems is rediculous.

Good luck on your decision.

 

Thanks. I agree. Looks like Yamaha did a great job improving the Raptor, and if I was starting fresh real good chance I may go that way. As it is, I still have the sand tires/wheels from my old Pred, which will fit the new, and PP canister & air filter, so probably makes more sense to stick with the Pred. I was happy with it, I think out of the box the Pred is hard to beat, especially suspension wise. Again, certainly appears new Raptor is quite a bike, but I havent seen enough to change my mind. I dont care which one is a quad length or two faster in a drag or 1 or 2 MPH faster top end. Looking for all around ride in a powerful bike. Think I'll take the money I save btwn Pred and Raptor sales price and get an extended swingarm so I can keep the front end down when climbing those big dunes. So. thanks to everybody for their mostly non-biased input. Predator it is!

 

I would go with the TLD pred...Also the warranty on the pred seems better then the yamaha. After glancing over polaris's website the pred comes with a limited life time axle warranty shuold you ever bend or break it. I dont know much about the raptors warranty. As far as the engine on the rappy 700 its got more diffs then similiarities to the 660r such as 4 valves not 5, efi, wider, lower, more rear suspension, diff swingarm, new frame, smaller gas tank. As for speed and accel I think the pred and raptor would be really close. For the suggested msrp of the tld pred being $500 U.S cheaper than the 700r you can get a decent full exhaust system for your pred.

 

You dont think that yamaha engineers wouldve left the rpms the same or increased the rpms on the raptor 700r if it didnt drastically affect reliability etc. I believe it was lowered 500rpms to sustain engine stability and reliability.

 

predator man... check out the 06 they are bad a$$

 

dude, the raptor 700 will kill a pred, dont believe me go drag one, and wait till some more mag tests come out