Guys,

I have to agree completely with 135boom. By way of background, I currently own a VForce 785, a CRF 450 (bike) and a KTM 525SX (bike), . . . among several other toys . . . and am likely going to be buying a YFZ 450 this week. I've ridden just about everything out there and know what they're capable of. Those folks who are talking smack about the YFZ (I'm quite sure) have never ridden one or its 2 wheeled counterparts (CRF 450 or YZF 450). There is a night and day difference between the new breed of race four stroke motors (CRF 450, YZF 450, KTM 450/525), and non-race motors such as a 400ex, Raptor, etc. To say the Raptor has the same performance technology is just naive.

The new race four strokes rev extremely fast and to a very high RPM ceiling -- their performance is more akin to a two stroke motor than that of your typical (i.e. Raptor, 400ex) four stroke motor. I love the Raptor and think it's a good quad, but stop fooling yourselves guys. Your emotional loyalty to the quad you're currently riding is clouding your objectivity.

Jim

 

haaah ha.
YES I do know how much technology went into the making of both the yamaha 450 motor, and the rest of the quad, OBVIOUSLY you dont. DO you know how old the raptor motor is? YOu know how basic that motor is? THERE IS A HELL OF A LOT OF TECHNOOGY PUT INTO THE 450! Go read about the 450 motor, or compare it to a raptor motor before you open your mouth! Give me a break!!
What are you thinking comparing basic motors like the ones you spout off, to the RACE PROVEN, BEST AND FIRST REAL 4-STROKE RACE ENGINE OUT THERE! I must have forgot, honda races the 400ex motor in there top of the line dirtbike. I forget THat the z and raptor both have race engines, and a ton of technology, money and time put into them. WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING. Give me a break dude, you obviously live in your own little raptor world. DID YOU FORGET I HAVE ONE TOO! Yes, I think the raptor is a good machine, But I dont, and anyone reasonable, does not hold it to the same caliber as you.
Dude, dont kid yourself about those shootouts. YOu know why they win. THey are comfortable, and the suspension is more setup for the dunes. PLus, the range of the raptor is generally better then the yfz. That doesnt mean they perform better, or that they are faster. Oh, but I forgot, IN raptor tunnel vision, the lower stance, higher and faster revving, lighter, more powerful (stock and bolt on moded) yfz is a pos and the raptor is superior in the sand and everywhere else there is ever an arguement....ha ha ha Ummmmm..........yeah. As far as performance is concerned both the banshee and yfz are far superior machines. But you cant see that, cause your in raptor land. Dude, how are you going to argue with people that have both models!! OR, myself that has gone threw almost al modes, starting out on the warrior, then a banshee, then a raptor, then a yfz.
YOur right, a lot of people that have yfz's wil sit here and still say that there yfz is still king $hit when something else better comes out (like possibly the suzuki), just like you with your raptor!!!! HOWEVER, I wont be one of those, cause I will have the best, and fastest quad out there. I dont care about brands, I would have got a trx if it had proved to be a better choice over the yfz. Right now the yfz is king of the hill and enless you mod the hell out of a raptor and make it a 727 with nos, then be prepared to have a built yfz out in front.
Like the other gent. here that said be does own a 727, and said the "YFZ is going to be hard to beat." Stopping kidding yourself man. If you want the superior perfomance quad, right now its the yfz. Sorry. I still kept my raptor though, for the reason a lot of us like them. They are torquey, and have a alot of *****. They are comfortable for the trails, they have reverse, and in my experience have been pretty reliable machines.

 

I completey agree with you. Unfortunately I dont think you'll ever beable to take those "blinders" off people like this. I just want the truth out there, so someone that is looking at a raptor or 450 are looking at them for the right reason, and not listening to bone heads that think there quad is the best!! (or Im sorry, faster and better performing then the yfz).

 

Great post HoundDog. You really provided some great information, that obviously still didn't open the eye's of boom. But to anyone who has been here long enough to know, you proved your point. These YFZ's are quick, like stated before....but they are not the quad lowered down from heaven. They will not beat a 535 Cheetah Banshee in stock form. They won't beat a well built 686, 727, 740, or 770 Raptor with just a pipe/filter/cam mod. They will not dominate drag races against every other quad. And they won't be the latest and greatest thing forever.

They are however a very good MX quad. They are very quick, and nimble. But they are like that because they are mildly built from the showroom floor, with the high comp piston, mild port work, fcr carb, and so on and so forth. However, they do not dominate drag race events, and they may not even be the dominate 450 quad after the Zuki comes out. So while some are still caught up in the hype, they are not the greatest thing since NOS. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

And yes I have graced the seat of one of these super bikes....as seen in my gallery I regularly race a YFZ450 at the drag's....with the YZ Cam, 13:1 piston, Baldwin exhaust, GYT-R filter, and rev box. No it doesn't beat anything and everything on the drag track. Even though everyone else's in the US apparently does.

 

My 470 does pretty good against modded Raptors [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] My basic modded 2005 doesnt do near as well [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Whether some of you want to believe it or not, the YFZ is for real. I was one of the biggest Raptor fans around. I bought the YFZ to be a kick around machine until my 727 got fixed. I figured the Raptor would be the hillshooter, and the YFZ the play bike. Now I'm making the YFZ the hillshooter and the Raptor the play bike. There are already builders getting the YFZ into the 60+ hp range on gas. Becuase of the close ratio gearing, and lightwieght, it takes a Raptor with alot more hp to keep up on the steep sand hills. I am not just speculating here. These are my real world experiances. Right now the 4stroke to beat at Sand Mtn. Ut. is a YFZ thats shootin nos, and runs on alky, and is still a 439cc. (going big bore over the winter). All I'm saying is don't underestimate its potential. There is no question that the Raptor is more comfortable to ride. But IMO the YFZ is a better race quad. I like both machines for there different strengths. But to say that the YFZ will never be capable of keeping up with a modded Raptor is just plain ignorance.

 

I call BS, what builder and what mods?

 

Me too!

Here's my experiences and thoughts on this topic:

I have a friend with a piped/filtered/jetted YFZ that I have MXed, flat dragged, and hill raced extensively. All I can say is that I'm absolutely in love with the bike. It has an awesome balance of power and handling. And with it I have beaten EVERY piped/jetted/filtered Raptor, Predator, and Banshee that I have come up against. Many big bore EX's and LTZ's as well. I love it so much that if I had to start from scratch all over again, I'd definately buy a YFZ over a Raptor.

Now with that said, you YFZ owners are living in a dream world. A well tuned big bore Raptor will absolutely slaughter a YFZ in any type of drag or hill race. Assuming the Raptor has traction. My 727 has not lost to any YFZ's yet. Big bore or otherwise. And my build is not all that radical(off the shelf cam with modified stock carbs). At Olds hill at Glamis, I can spot my friend's(who's 40lbs lighter than me) YFZ nearly half the hill, and still beat him. It's not even close!

Trust me, if the YFZ was the end all - be all of drag racing, you'd see all the builders dumping their Raptor's in favor of it. And that's not the case. KENZ, Sparks, and Craycraft are all still building Raptor's for competition. Nuff said.

 

All I know is that I raced a YFZ with no internal mods that had a full CT pipe, Ron Woods intake, and 42mm carb on alky. It was dead even with my Raptor on nitrous. That impresses me! My raptor pulled almost 60 hp on the dyno, and it takes a pretty well built Raptor to get into those numbers with no nitrous, so saying that ANY built Raptor will beat them is naive, but I know it can be done. However, just look at how much money it takes to get a fairly reliable, fast Raptor engine. Maybe the Raptor is the way to go if you have money to be throwing around, but for right now I'm planning on jumping on the YFZ bandwagon. Just my $.02, l8r

 

When I hit the button on my Raptor, you'd better have something bigger than a YFZ between your legs. I don't think 60 hp is that hard to achieve, my CR730 did it on a stingy dyno running pig rich. A full deal Raptor big bore will also handle nitrous, what are you going to do with a YFZ when big bore Raptors and Bombs are 80-90 hp? Can you build a YFZ motor to handle a 40-50 shot? For more than one run?

If you YFZ guys are ready to put up, a few Raptors are meeting in April at OK to settle some things. If you got it, bring it, I'll be there to take your money.