My dealer has a raptor on their showroom floor, its already sold though. Totally awesome quad. The only thing I saw wrong with it is: the handlebars dont have a crossbar. If you land really hard off of a jump you may bend the bars down and find yourself ridding a chopper. The front counter sprocket space is really small. It looks like you wouldnt be able to go up one size, so all the top end gearing would have to be done to the rear. The radiator hose going to the front should be protected a lot better. Looks like if you were going through some rough woods you may have a problem with sticks. Finally the chain adjustment could have been a lot better. A simple round housing would have been nice. It looks like they used a banshee carrier and hid it by wrapping aluminum around it to look like something new and then mounted the screws on the top.

Other than that the quad is really really nice. It made me drool and want one.

 

Hey Ironbear just got back from the mountains where theres serious hillclimbs. Because the raptor is new I wasn't so sure on a couple of severely steep hills well I didn't want to wreck my new bike. The raptor seated position is a dream its just like a dirt bike. But you do sit higher then previous bikes I riden. So I was a little leary at first. Don't believe everything you hear the raptor will fly up the hill with remarkable torque, speed, and plush suspention feels just like aftermarket shocks. Second gear is all you need it flys nearly too fast too much throttle and the front end is jumping up(scary). I have been riding dirtbikes and atvs since I was 8 years old and I must say the raptor is for experienced riders only. This bike can kill you and I'm not kidding. There's no way a 16 year old should be behind this machine. Wheelies are difficult to hold up for a long time. Why because the throttle control is so quick and the torque brings that front end flying up like the banshee only with the raptor you don't even need the clutch until forth gear and by then your doing atleast 50mph. So hillclimbs are no problem the raptors extended aftermarket like a-arms, great suspention and amazing power come through effortlessly. One of my many favorite feature of this bike is its great steering. There is no vibration and I mean none. Your arms don't get tired like on past bikes. The 400 can't even compare to the raptor. The 400 is nice but even when it was released it wasn't that more advanced then its competitors. Yeah it had 50cc more then the warrior and yes the lights were neat but that was that. It was still a dry sump. The raptor has made a huge leap destoying DS650 attempt. Bombardier neads to go back to making watercrafts not atv's. Either that or team up with John Deere and start making tractors. You will never regret selling your 400. My buddy today said he trying to come up with excuse to tell his wife of trading in his 99' 400ex for a raptor without ending up in divorce. All I can say is the Raptor is truly the greatest creature on earth.

 

I predict a properly setup stock DS will not be easily beaten in a drag.

 

There must be something wrong with my Raptor. The bars vibrate ALOT!

 

I experience the vibration during break in on mine, it even vibrated my @ss numb on the seat, I think the vibration dampers have broken in now because it is very much less apparent. And does not bother me.

 

IronBear, I also own a 400ex. I am waiting on my Raptor to come in. I rode with a buddy of mine this weekend who just got his Raptor. The suspension is nice, so is the seat and the reverse. However, you won't like it for climbing. He could not climb the dunes in second. It would fall flat on its face everytime he tried. He had to climb all of the big dunes in 1st. It was a little disappointing to me, however I ride trails mostly. He also got beat pretty good by a DS650. It is still a great bike, but it does have a few weak points just like any bike.