It's gonna be much better than a Warrior, face it. Tuned up engine, new chassis, new suspension, plastic, seat, exhaust, and etc...it's a new improved non-obsolete warrior...shoulda stuck with the warrior name though.

 

I think it looks pretty sweet. I'm sure there will be many improvements over the old warrior

 

smaller carb, less adjustable rear shock, higher seat height.

stock raptor exhaust, raptor/yfz-like plastic, normal sized wheels and tires.

Thats the basic changes, and a few hundred dollars tacked on to the msrp.

 

OK, I'm not trying to stoke the fires here, but let me point some things out:

Smaller carb - No, it's the same size (check website specs, both 36mm), but this carb is NEW, not the same design that has been on the bike for as long as I can remember. It's called technology. It's a step in the right direction.

Same engine - OK, but are you going to pay for the engineers' time, R&D, pre-production prototypes, and assembly line changes for a new engine? It would have raised the price more than you would have paid. They did tune it a little hotter and changed the exhaust to a lower restriction design. Also, all of the big Yamaha quads use engines that have been around for a while and were proven reliable in motorcycles first (Banshee, Raptor, YFZ450). None of them have a quad-specific engine. The Warrior's 350 is one of the most reliable engines produced. Maybe that's why the Warrior is the BEST SELLING sport quad in history. My friend's 70 year old dad has a 92 model that still looks brand new and has never had the engine worked on. And no, it doesn't sit in the garage all year, he rides the hell out of it, and rides it hard.

Same ergonomics - Seat height is 2.2" taller on the Raptor 350. The Warrior was comfortable for eveyone, even me, and I'm 6' 6". Why mess with a good thing?

Less adjustable rear shock - Again, technology. Maybe you don't need such a wide range of adjustments to get the same results (or better) as the old design. You are getting more rear travel, albeit only 0.4". Motocross bikes have suspension changes every year. It's very hard to remember where to begin when adjusting at the track with your new bike as opposed to last year's. HSCD, LSCD, HSRD, LSRD, sag, preload. How many people actually make radical adjustments on quads anyways? Not many when the buying public is studied as a whole.

New "Raptor-like" plastic - Why not? True, it's not an original idea, and the Raptor theme is getting old, but Yamaha is banking on recognizability. It's unmistakeably a Yamaha. It is a big change from the old-school 80s styling of the Warrior. It's something a younger person who doesn't want a high-strung bike might look for. Yes, such beings do exist. What about someone who wants to buy his wife/girlfriend a bike that looks like his Raptor but won't try to kill her if she isn't that good at riding? Remember the 1971 Plymouth Duster Twister? All the looks with none of the high-performance hassle. It sold very well.


If nothing was done to the Warrior, a lot of people would be complaining about the same old thing: "When are they going to make any changes?" Well, now they have, but it was not the massive redesign that everyone wanted. If you want something that is stupid-fast, go get a YFZ450. Yeah, it's more expensive than a Warrior, but you get what you pay for. As for the $300 difference between the Warrior ($4699) and the Raptor 350 ($4999), cry me a river. I think you are getting a hell of a deal for 300 bucks. The thing lost 22 pounds! That alone will make it faster. Different look, better geometry, same reliabity with more power, comfy ergos. What do you expect for $300? Remember, the Warrior/Raptor 350 is a sport/recreational quad, not a racer. It never will be without a significant investment. It has its market niche and fits in quite well. Yamaha could have made it into the fastest, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve, 400cc screamer in the world, but it would cut into YFZ sales. Plenty of people will buy it instead of a 300EX/400EX simply because of brand loyalty and factory incentives for repeat customers. Yamaha is covering all the bases to maximize sales and profits. It wasn't such a stupid idea to make a good package a little better.

 

We do not get offended.We just know Warriors and what they need.lol.I think the Raptor 350 is a sweet looking bike but it needs more than plastics.Sure the 20 pound weight change was a step in the right direction but why not make it liquid cooled,why not widen the wheelbase,adding 2in of seat height and not making it any wider,huh.As for the motor There was a good point raised,the 350 motor is to challenge the 300ex,blaster and maybe the 400ex the yfz450 was built to challenge the 400's and so on.I am sure it will be better than a stock warrior(except for that seat thing might be a little tippy in corners)but than again not much isn't better than a stock warrior.

 

69Hemi: Excellent post! Well said

 

My post was separated into 2 lines, the first to show drawbacks, the second to show improvements and positives.

The rear shock may not be touched by those who gas and go. But for most people who have any idea how machines work, shock adjustments make a world of difference. Granted, the new shock is better. But, if you cant get it dialed in right for your size, weight, and riding conditions, it wont be as comfortable.

My apologies on the carb. I was under the impression it was a raptor carb. It is, just a larger size, and of course, only one of them.

The main drawback of the yamaha raptor has been seen as its seat height, and resulting "tippiness". Now thats nothing some suspension mods cant handle, but its annoying sometimes to some owners when stock. The new machine is wider, so that may overcome and maybe even surpass the possible drawbacks of a higher seat height.

As I posted in another thread, yamaha showed a severe lack of creativity on this machine, and hopefully will not spread it to the whole line.

My main point is that yamaha did a good thing, but just not enough of it. Its possible yamaha doesnt feel it needs to drastically upgrade a machine they have paid tooling costs off for and have been raking in money for years on. Why should they? They have the largest displacement "true" sport quad, able to hang with all the big boys, and a 450 class race quad that can beat all of them. They may release a faster, better warrior in the future, but only if the 400cc market segment continues to have success under the umbrella of the 450 class. Until then, enjoy the warrior/raptor 350, its a great bike, bulletproof, and you should be able to purchase them for many hundreds of dollars under msrp.

 

If Yamaha didn't change the plastic and call it a Raptor but made the rest of the changes, what would be the impression of the new Warrior.

 

my view would remain the same.