If you start out with a mule.....you may wind up with a fast mule.....but never a race horse.

 

You would have to put a lot of money into a mule for MX racing. JK LOL

 

so gary, you dont think its worth it?

 

Thats a matter of opinion. My opinion is the Raptor is not designed too be an MX racer....if you put 20k in a Raptor and 20k i a _____(take your pick..except a DS), the Raptor will still be heavier and slightly more top heavy. The engine power is nice....but a 100+lb engine is by no means a weight saver. Can the Raptor MX....SURE....but it's not it's forte'. I think the Raptor is at least one of the best all-around quads, the best high speed trail rider, with excellent drag racing potential due too the 660cc engine that responds too mods nicely.

 

but, for the average weekend mx'er who just wants to go out and be competitive, you know, when a race now and then, in like the novice and maybe even intermediate classes, could the raptor be made into a decent mx'er? i just bought one with the intentions of racing one day, in a few months maybe, so please tell me i will have something to work with. and to think i almost went ahead and got the 450[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

I am by no means a MX expert (or expert of any kind for that matter [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]) but it seems to me that the Raptor is not an ideal candidate for MXing. It's a pretty big platform and somewhat heavy. Seems to me that you'd want a lightweight, quick revving, smaller quad (like a YFZ450 or 250r) that would be easier to throw around - I dont think it'll be considered "nimble". Once modified it'll probably work good but seems like a lot of pricey mods when other quads might be closer out-of-the-box.

I've found the Raptor is well suited for trails and desert racing more than MX - IMO.

 

Save your money for a suspension, have a good time, and don't worry about what is the best quad for MX until you get a couple of years under your belt.

 

Here's another thing to think about. In most cases, you are only going to be able to race in the open class because of the displacement. This is both good and bad. If you're really serious about upper level racing, you would want to be in the 250 - 440 class. That's where the top riders will be. If you just want to go out and have fun and compete, then you're all right. One bad thing is, the 250's and 400's can race in the open class, but you can't race in theirs.

Just remember, you can have a $30,000 full blown race quad and still get beat by a guy on a bone stock Raptor. Run what ya brung and have fun.

 

yeah i guess your right. I dont regret not gettin the 450 cause with my luck the first year would have tons of problems. I guess ill just keep it. When you think about it, if i get used to riding something that isnt as friendly on the track then five years from now if i get something new ill really be good cause itll be so easy.

I dont know if its the same, but my friend was good at skiing with straight skis and when he got those parobolics he blew everyone away cause they made skiing easier.

 

I don't know how classes break down elsewhere, but around here they break them down into beginner, amateur and pro four stroke or two stroke with an open pro class that lets anybody run. The size of the machine doesn't really matter, it's four strokes against two strokes in whatever class you choose.