First off let me point out that I own both a Yamaha and a V Force, so I am not a Yammy hater. I just want a little "honest" debate here. I threw this out in the Kawi forum, but noone really commented. Let me hear what you Raptor guys think of this angle.

Lets say that I am on my big, overweight, ugly automatic KFX 700 and someone else is behind me on thier awesome lightweight, powerful, state of the art Raptor. I am leading and we come out of a corner and there is a 30 yard opening until the next corner. What happens next.

Here is my take: Since the V Force is always in the right gear, I just nail it with no pause for downshifting. Since I have better low end acceleration (which all seem to agree) than the Raptor, I get to the next turn a bit quicker. Going into the turn, the V Force has a very low center of gravity and very good control. The Raptor is a bit tippy due to the relative high center of gravity. I manage the turn a hair quicker than the Raptor and the process repeats itself. After twenty minutes of riding, I may have a considerable lead on the Raptor. If the raptor were leading, I would be on his butt all day.

This is certainly debatable. I know that some will argue that the Raptor is better in the turns due to the V Force's weight and that is totally opinion. I am in no way an expert and I have only ridden one Raptor one time.

I do think that this illustrates why the V Force enthusiasts feel that the V is a "quicker" bike in real world riding situations. For you who drag race exclusively, buy a Banshee and spend a couple grand on it and you will probably only be beaten by other banshees.

 

Do I take the lack of responses as a concession?

 

man that was an awsome race, hold on let me read it once more, great race. your a great rider, you didnt miss a gear. just messin wit ya. i agree, in 90% of the different types of racing you can do the v is going to win. its just too easy to ride. and yes i ride both quite often , a 2001 rappy piped and a v. there both really good bikes.

 

Hopefully you can ride that v with some ball$,i would get you out of every corner and catch up and pass,it all depends on the rider,i ride real aggresive and i dont feel the tipiness of the rap and never have.

it seems to me that the V takes a split second to wind up and go,but my rap shoots out like a bat out of hell.jmo

 

I am talking wide open dune runs,so if it gets a bit more technical then im with the non shifting V, im sure it picks up a few bike lengths on every corner due to the automatic..Or i could have agreat day and never miss a shift or be in the right gear out of every corner...you never know.....

 

I think a lot of it would depend on the riders. There are to many unknown variables to give a blanket answer for this "real world" question. In the straightaway if you get into some whoops I believe the raptor is going to perform better then the V because of its lighter weight. I really like the V and would not mind having one in my dream quad stable, along with the YFZ, banshee, Praire 700, and Grizzly 660[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I think the riding conditions will determine the winner. I have the V and Banshee and had the Raptor before. The V is an excellent machine, but it does seem big in tight trails. The Raptor was great too and the only time I noticed the tipiness was on the dunes when side-hilling. The higher center of gravity takes away some of the duning capability of the Banshee, but the V is too heavy in the same maneuvers and pushes too much. For cross country, the V is a blast. Dunes, I'll take the Banshee. If you do both and lots of tight trails, the Raptor is the best choice. Drag racing? I'd go with the Banshee there also.

 

In a straight 300ft. drag, the Raptor will chew up that V Force, and crap a Honda.....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

As for your situation...it's hit or miss. Depend on the rider and what not...because I know some people could drive the Raptor into the corner hard and beat the V Force off the turn. Plain and simple, it would come down to rider.

 

excellent points... good post. I hate to admit it, but I reallllly like the CVT trannies.

 

Good thread...

I think the rider will determine the winner. at least on the technical stuff...

So take the rider,,,who is used to both machines and time him, at his best, on both.

Oh wait,,,,,,thats you Homedawg....

Is that your true opinion,,,,or are you just scared to give it (on the fence)???

tell us

which one are you faster on (where and why)?

Honestly the things you refer to about slowing the raptor rider down, when used properly will help the raptor, over any auto (assuming the rider is experienced)

Take a greenhorn,,,stick him on both,,,,and he will consistently turn in faster times on the V.........forever,,,,because he will never learn to shift.

The V makes it simple to go fast...period.