Every ATV has very good features and some real negative features.

One exception, the Grizzly, That has to be a joke from Yamaha ?

The Raptor will do well for the Yamaha lovers and a few others, the DS650 will do great for alot of riders, the 400EX will fit many also. Heck the Eton fits some riders.

Ride what you like.

 

Who cares about the air filter! I won't take any chances and will install a pro-flow flange and k&n filter as soon as they are available.

 

The only thing that is bad is how some Yamaha dealers ar going to stick it to some people. I was told by a friend at a dealership that they were not taking any deposits for any. Then when they come in he was going to be the only dealer with some and he was going to charge $7000-$8000. Hope that the dealer around you is better.

 

Everybody who wants one should be concerned about the air filter. I mean, Yamaha is telling us that the Raptor is new from the ground up with our input taken into mind. If such an obvious area for not just improvement, but complete redesign has been ignored, what does that say about their level of commitment to build the best machine they could. But if you have more money that brains, go ahead and just empty your pocketbook to fix any flaws that show up after the machine is actually released to the public.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have brains or money to spare, so I need to let you people with surplus do the testing for me. Thank you very much.

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned oil filter location, that thing is going to attract rocks like a trailerpark attracts tornado's.

Nothing like your engine oil lubricating your leg instead of your engine.

 

the single caliper brakes have triple pistons, Headlights are detachable from what my dealer saw, oil filter is sort of out in the open, but then again its in a safer location on the side than where some cars and trucks have theirs located. But its a lot better than trying to change a filter on a DS. The airfilter, well who cares, If it is installed right from the factory, ill ride for a month and by then it'll be time to buy an aftermarket setup any way. I never keep the factory filters in my quads for more than the first change anyways. I personally dont worry about the suspension anyways, it cant be built to each riders standard and riding application. so I will ride to the best of adjustment until or unless I feel the need for aftermarket units.

 

You ride for a month between air filter services? You are an engine builder's dream. Unless of course you ride on streets all of the time. Also, I doubt the machine has triple piston calipers. I think you mistake triple disc brakes for triple calipers. I wish I had your money to not worry about something as important as handling and suspension performance. Of course, if you only ride on the street, suspension is not really an issue now, is it.

 

I ride a month or more at a time before filter service but then again, Im not in the desert and I only spend a few hours per weekend riding and since i work one weekend out of the month then I may only ride 5 days a month maximum. So tell me do you have to change your filter hourly or daily or what?, maybe I'm missing something but I have Only used K&N's with outerwears and they never look like they need cleaning even when I do clean them. I can see maybe if your just using a single foam element. I even have K&N in my truck and it goes atleast 5000-6000 miles before it needs cleaned and I live on a Dusty dirt road. AND YES look in the brochure that the dealers got at Vegas it has Triple Piston front brake calipers.

 

I put a fresh air filter on every week, but I usually ride several hours on the weekends, and I try to get a couple of evening and night rides in each week. I don't know about those calipers, Can anybody confirm that they are triples?

 

I am going out on a limb here, and if I end up being wrong, I apologize in advance. The brakes are not triple piston calipers. After scrutinizing the available photos, and re-reading brochure, I believe that the ft brakes are the same as, or very close to what is currently on the Banshee and Warrior. This is not bad, but I would preferr some dual pistons like on my 250R. A machine like the Raptor definately deserves them. Only when a machine is available to see in person will we know if they firmed up the brake lever feel. Banshee's have a very soft feel at the lever(even with steel lines) that I hope they eliminated with the new machine.