I would like to know your opinions on the raptors stock power. Do you feel an engine that size should have more power than what it does. I have been looking at a lot of dyno results and it just seems an 660 motor with 5 valves and two carbs should about 10 to 15 more ponies than they do with a screaming top end but the dyno sheets show it doesnt rev that high. Is the exhaust plugging it up or did they detune it so it didnt over power the chassis? Why are there so many big bore kits for this motor? Is 660 just not big enough?What could Yamaha do to improve them?

 

The Raptor is very detuned from the factory. A stock Raptor to me is not that impressive either for a 660 but with some bolt on mods you can wake one up a lot. With a good aftermarket exhaust, jet kit, and air box mods it really wakes the Raptor up tobe a good running bike. The fastest stock bike for a 4 stroke I have ridden is the 450. The stock Raptor has low compression, the exhaust just sucks, and the air box and filter design is a crappy design and starves the motor of air. Also if you add a higher compression piston and good aftermarket cam in there it is a totally different ride. Slim

 

yep. the stockers are badly choked up. even a slip on pipe and a little jetting and airbox mods make a HUGE difference! THEN it will rev to where you expect it.
I DO enjoy climbing hills and not worrying about what gear the thing is in, just thumb it and go. that's fun! I've passed people going up hills and shifted UP as I went by, just to impress them, and it does that! hehe
Change the countershaft one tooth and get rid of those crappy radials and youll have plenty of bite and a much more stable ride.
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

am i missing something are you talking about the raptor or the yfz
with the countershaft if its the raptor what does this mod do


oh yeah and about wistechs question the raptor runs i think 9 or 9.2 comp ratio that has to hurt performance pretty bad

 

I went to taller tires, so changed the counter by one. it'll still go about 70, but it brought my gears down a bit where they are easier to use for tight trails etc. I get a better launch too, and dont slide the clutch. When I put the stocker tires back on, I dont really notice a difference, cuz most of our riding is not flat out.

 

Thanks for the great answers. I think its obvious the bike has tons of engine potential . When you uncork these beasts does the extra power tax the suspension beyond it design limits as far as stock travel. I just dowloaded the original release videos and it looked to me like there was a lot of body roll when the rider was pushing it hard in corners . I can see where the tippy complaint wouold have come from. Do you think it should have been wider stock . If you had to buy another quad would buy another Raptor? Im thinking about getting a second quad and I want something that can at least give me the adrenaline rush like my cannondale Speed. Ive had Hondas for the last 20 years and am sick of spending extra cash for performance that should a have been there stock. This next quad will be used due to budget constraints (under $5000) and I am looking at the raptor ,ds650,predator,or anther dale. Im really leaning towards the ds because it seems they focused on out of the box performance. Ive talked to some guys that have them and they really like them. I cant seem to find anyone around here with a raptor so your opinions are very important. I like the predator but it looks like they are have some teething problems yet. With cannondale prices so low right now they are at the top of the list.
The cool thing is I now at least have some great quads to choose from unlike the miserable 90s.

 

yaah shoor, yoo are in ute country, hehe!
it's like having a pickup with a small block versus having a pickup with a bigblock. Its a guts motor, and while its claimed to rev to the moon, i do not. the midrange is usually plenty of power.
In my experience, the tippiness problem is a propagated myth for the most part, right up there with crappy trannies.
I do NOT like those radial tires and i thonk thats where most of the problem originates, as some magazines are starting to report. DUH
The radials tend to fold under instead of slide and it can be unpredictable. When I went to holeshots with a stiffer sidewall, i got better traction, the tippiness disappeared, and i got a cool 'slide factor' governed by air pressure. oh yes, and NO more flats!!!
you pump those rear tires to five lbs and its flat track time! great fun!
also with the holeshots i was able to soften the suspension without compromising stability as the grip and slip is more predictable. I imagine the razrs are similar since their tread paterns are similar. I wasnt gonna pay extra for yellow lettering.
The stock front suspension is barely OK, I think the back is OK for the riding I do. if your going MX, youll need better, but for the casual woods or desert rider and the price of shox nowadays, it's a heart transplant or three shocks! JEEZ! I dont want to take out a second mortgage for three shox! Someone should work on this. It's out of proportion in relation to other products available. They would sell many many more if they were more reasonably priced.
Enuf rambling from me. take one for a ride and see what you think! super potential! and highly customizable. have fun![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

I see what your saying about the tires . It really does look like they are folding under in the video . As far as problems with the trannies and carb boots and the like, When people use these things in every arguement one gets the idea that every single raptor will puke the tranny the first time it is shifted. I have a cannondale and I know what you mean. They had a quality control issue with thier engines which pretty much destoyed thier reputation when in reality it was a small percentage of overall failures. So far my Speed has been the most reliable Atv I have ever owned including all my hondas. Things may change in a couple of years though.
I did see one used raptor at a dealer that had the blue plastic and it had white streaks in the blue aparently where the plastic stressed and it looked like crap. The dealer said that was a problem with all yamaha blue including the sleds. I would definitly go with the red ,black even if scratches show up better.
Yes I dont see any raptors around here ,just 400exs and 250rs and more utilities than you can imagine. Ive drag raced a predator once and had just a smidge more speed and lost bigtime to a highly modded banshee but have yet to even see a raptor on the trails.

 

A slipon, jet kit, and clampon air filter and dropping a tooth in the front makes it a whole new ride.

 

I have owned a 01 raptor which I traded in for a 2003 speed which some scumbag stold. In my opinion both were awesome quads with there own pluses and minuses. My favorite things on the raptor being, the power down low, the stock width is great for snakeing through the woods, you can be a gear off and it won't snub on you, maintenance is far easier then the speed, and it is a very solidly built machine I put it shiny side down a couple times and it was none the worse for wear.