I question the magazines not being able to hit top speed safely. Did you see the riding area they had? They could have for sure got up to full speed in both of the magazine test of the Raptor. Begs the question: Is it REALLY the fastest sport quad? Or do they not want to **** the Yamaha marketers off?

RoostKing...

 

Or is it so fast that they don't want to tell people until it hits the showroom.

 

Who's riding the Banshee? I have never lost to a 400 exTRA slow ex in a short drag race nor a long drag race. Get real

 

DS. come on, You really think it has a chance with the Raptor? Read a real magazine ATV SPORT.I think Dirt Wheels and ATV Action belongs to Honda!

 

If you are old enough to vote...YOU BETTER VOTE FOR BUSH. If Gore gets in office, his clean air legislation already has provisions to "reduce the harmful effects of the 2-stroke internal combustion engine on our environment". I don't own a 2-stroke but this is a stepping stone to shutting down all public lands to all ATVs. Why do you think Honda has not answered Yamaha's Banshee? They are still waiting to see what happens with the clean air legislation. California has already taken steps in this direction. Legally, this sets a president on which to build other, more wide sweeping legislation. Talk to everyone you know and get them to vote for Bush. Voting takes about 15 minutes of your time. The Democratic Party is about restricting your freedom to ride. Do yourself a favor and vote for Bush.

 

I am telling you why there haven't been any substantial tests on the Raptor. It is because Yamaha takes the machine to the riding area they want it tested and they say, "you can go here in this area and you can do this but not this." I don't know about anything more recent than the Sept. Dirt Wheels, but in that issue they are still testing Pre-production machines. When the Raptor is released, the Mags will get thier test units and do a full on test and then a shootout in the nest issue(probably).

 

That is why I started looking for a clean 250R. Dry weight of 328 lbs. Anyhow, yes, 18-20 lbs is a lot of weight in my humble opinion. I am quite familiar with the added weight of wet boots and I would much rather ride with dry boots any day for a number of factors. Of course wet boots is a fact of life for us so we cannot get over that. In fact, here is something that is hard to believe. I weighed my bike after a mud ride in Pennsylvania once. Over 80 lbs of mud and that was on a dirt dike.
Look, I am just putting my thoughts and opinions here, and if nobody agrees with me that's fine. But if 2 machines make equal power and one is 20 lbs lighter, who is faster? Answer, it doesn't matter because we are both doing something we like.
Also, I don't think I ever said the Raptor was big unless I was referring the the motor only(it is one big *****). As far as weight, it is heavier than what I am looking for. So is a Banshee though and I own one of those.

 

in CT and NH,VT,ME

 

Where do you ride in CT? I'm just curious. I'm looking for more places to ride out here. I also go to VT and NH.

IronBear

 

just when you thought it was about to end.
Here is the moose with another thought. If the talk is all about who has the most power to displacement ratio and the ds puts out about 44hp stock and the raptor is about the same. Then the cannondale should be rippen it all because it is said to have over 40hp from a 430.