War99, how can you say the Cannondale is unproven when the Raptor is also unproven? The dimensions look pretty messed up. The Cannondale will put almost as much power out but will weigh less, thus giving it the better power to weight ratio. And that is the only thing that counts, no matter if you have 50cc's or 5000cc's. You should have waited and see all of the new 2001 models comming out before putting money down on the Yamaha. What a smart person would do is look at how both perform and then choose the better one. Later sucker!

 

I couldn't resist...

Wow, bench racing at its worst! I'm glad to see that the Raptor has been ridden by all those that have commented on its unparalleled performance and utter domination! It just makes all the other sport quads obsolete, now, huh!?! ...although, we did know that the Warrior became obsolete, the instant the 400EX hit showroom floors...

War99, GET A LIFE!!! You talk out your A$$ about a quad that you have only seen pictures of and a specsheet that everyone has access to! Posts such as what you have made are usually done AFTER one has ACTUAL experience with a machine.

I bet Yamaha Marketing could find a job for you somewhere, though. Probably for making those ads in the kiddie magazines (you know, Dirtwheels aka ATV Action).

 

You are right on the money with that. I feel it is extremely unwise to spend money on a quad that you haven't seen yet and that probably has some issues that need worked out. I have already stated my design/maintainence concerns. I saw a post somewhere that said the same "review" that gave the Raptor a 5 star rating also claimed that the powerful motor combined with the narrow chassis forced the rider to really pay attention during hard cornering. Sounds like a nice way to call a machine unstable. Also, can anyone tell me if the front calipers are dual piston or single piston?

 

Well guys look at the specs it shows to be the best thing ever built to date. And what about that wheelbase it only .6 of an inch shorter then the 400 and its width is 2 inches shorter then the 400. Why does everyone think it will roll. If you ride hard and like to jump you will want a new axle anyway. Besides you can even reverse the back wheels of Yamahas to increase your width in the back to improve turning corners. I think that ridzhard and alaskatrx should go back and stay in their honda forum. Like you said we will have to wait and see. Yamaha specifically built the raptor to outperform the banshee, 400ex, and DS650. They took years to develop the raptor. Why for one minute do you think it will be a failure, name me one performance quad yamaha has ever built that became a failure I have nothing against Honda because I owned them in the past and know they too build quality machines but don't bash Yamies. Besides yamahas have always looked better and our just as reliable as hondas. You always get more for your money with Yamaha. All honda fans talk about is their 250r and how great it is. If it was so good why did honda scrap it long ago? The 400 is the best thing hondas got and theres nothing special about that engine. And the warrior has reverse where the 400 doesn't. Unless you are a professional racer reverse is certainly nice to have on the tight woods trails. The Raptor has it all and some. Why don't honda give real names to their machines? The Foreman Es , Rubicon, 400ex thats weak as compares to GRIZZLY, WOLVERINE, BANSHEE, WARRIOR, KODIAK, and now the RAPTOR. I'm sorry guys its time for everyone to go back to the drawingboard after the raptor is released. Give Yamaha credit for setting new standards in atv's for the 21st century.

 

Dude, what is your problem? If you read the posts you would realize that many of us aren't 'bagging' the Raptor, we are just excercising patience and good judgement. I challange you to find a post of mine where I bash the Raptor. Let me save you some time, I have said it looks like the same air filter design, and it is. I said the chain adjustment procedure is not as good as it should be. I questioned the suspension specs. I never said it was a piece of crap. Run right out and get one, I don't care. You are right, the other manufacturers will have to go back to the drawing board, and I will be ready to decide which quad, if any, I will get. I have owned every make of machine in an ATV or dirt bike. By far, Honda has the reliability, ease of maintaince, and durability. I own a Banshee and an 85 ATC 250R. Guess what, the three wheeler is my favorite ride. the Banshee has weak frame, crappy suspension, crummy turn radius, bad air filter set-up, less than great ergos, etc. I really don't want to have these conversations in here, but I keep right on going. Maybe I'll just stop, or you could actually read with an open mind.

 

Hey guys, all this new talk about the raptor is sorda getting on my nerves... Not only is the Cannondale gonna blow everything away, it will blow it away in style.. It's a 430cc four stroke.. 100lbs lighter than the 300ex.. i mean come on guys.. it's gonna rock the atv world.. All the new quads are getting bigger, but not exactly better.

 

Actually the 300ex weighs 375 pounds wet, and the cannondale is suppposed to weigh 350 pounds dry. That is only 25 pounds. And just why will the cannondale smoke everything? Because it has fuel injection and an aluminum frame? I doubt that it will be faster than the raptor. Let's see The raptor is 400 pounds dry with over 50 hp, the fx400 is 350 pounds with 38 hp. The raptor has a better power to weight ratio. I am not saying it is going to be a bad quad, in fact i was going to buy one when i saw it in the mags how many months ago. In that amount of time yamaha has released their Raptor and given a delivery date of Late August. Cannondale has not even let the mags test an actual production unit. I am definetely not biased to yamaha i have owned a little of everything.(Kawasaki and HONDA 3-WHEELERS, 91 banshee, 86 LT250R, 89 trx250R) The Raptor just fits what i want. I want a new quad, 4-stroke, reverse, and plenty of power to smoke my friends 400ex's in a flat drag and on the mx track. Everybody is complaining about the dimensions and the shocks. Lets see how many 400ex's/250R's are racing with stock axles and a-arms, hardly any. None of my five friends who have 400ex's has stock a-arms,axles,shock's, or motors. The reason for this is so we have an aftermarket if the quad was the best it could be it would cost alot and believe it or not people would not really like it because people like putting their own aftermarket stuff on to trick out their ride so is isn't the same as everybody else's. Well i am going to quit talking now i just had to speak my mind, because i am tired of everyone bashing everybody else. It really all boils down to how good the rider is and that we are all having fun on whatever we ride. Just be glad we have new sport quads to argue about. I really am looking forward to all the new quads showing up at the races.


shollz
2001 Raptor on order

 

war99, you are such a hypocrit! You are grounded, young man! No more playing on the computer until you grow up and learn some manners and control in the forums!!!

 

Go ride your 3-wheeler!

 

You know what's up. I have they same opinion.