What does the 1 inch forward in the after market a-arms to for the bikes handling?

 

I'm sure others will have something to say as well...I went with +1 forward arms on my banshee because I did not like the geometry of the stock setup.

Along with the +1 arms...I also did a -1 swing arm. This moved a good bit of weight forward in relation to the engine. It made all the difference in how the bike handles and jumps. At least for me. The banshee now seems to be balanced for my riding style.

In the case of your raptor...If you keep the stock swing and move the arms out and forward, I would imagine that the front would seem more stable...especially when diving into hard turns. It might even help to keep the front end on (or near) the ground on hard take offs.
My raptor is bone stock....so I'm not really sure. To me...I do not think I would need the raptor extended forward...but wider yes.


I kind of rambled here...hope it helps.

 

Using a-arms that are +1 forward basically take your wheels/tires and move them one inch forward, which will shift the weight ever so slightly, helping your turning and usually you get that with wider arms which with the combo of the two will really help stabilize the front end, help your turning a lot and increase the overall balance.

I don't have a shortened swinger, but am looking into getting a -1 or -2 very shortly. I have a +2/+1 front end and a +4 axle and the difference it makes is even more drastic than night and day.

 

Up 1" a-arms will move the front/rear weight bias the same amount as a + 1/2" rear swingarm, a little less weight on the rear tires.

 

Which is nice for helping keep the front end down. Add an inch or two longer swingarm, and you have a very balanced machine imo.