Reno,

It would be great to know some more info about the Raptor that had the A-arm problem, such as:
1) Serial number of the Raptor.
2) What section of the A-arm broke/bent?
3) Was it the left or right (from riding position) A-arm?
4) Which direction did it fold?


If we keep a log of the problems and what the serial number of the machines are, it may prove beneficial in tracking down the problem.

 

I know that I have been catching some 5-8 vertical air on mine... I have landed front heavy a couple of times... no issues..

I know thats not a lot of air... but for someone who has rode 4x4 util for that last three years....

Any ways no probs... but I will keep that in mind now...

 

I read in another posting that the same thing happened to someone else.Ok 1 raptor may be a flaw but two rators im not sure anymore.But im sure if there was a problem Yamaha would have a recall out already on them.Im just really a little scared because I pick up my Raptor on tuesday and I really dont feel like doing 40+ mph and having the front end colapse on me.Those kinda spills always tend to put you in the hospital and im sure it wouldnt be for a scrape.Bash please keep us posted about any updates you may have.

 

I picked up my Raptor on Saturday and after a three hour drive home, I unloaded and rode around the yard, 2 minutes later after going over a little hump and getting about 4 feet of air, the left rear wheel was bent and the axle was bent. I check this forum every day and I can't believe all the trouble that has been posted since Friday, when I checked there wasn't anything wrong on Friday. Everybody please post what the dealers are saying there are going to do about these problems. I am very concerned about the A arms now. I rode my 400ex as hard as possible for two years and never had a problem, I love the Raptor but lets see these problems fixed. Also, I agree that a lower front sproket is required in the woods or the sand!

 

Crap you guys, you need to personally call yamaha and get an answer on this, I for one am going to keep all 4 on the ground until you do. I had planned to do some jumping Video for my site, but I decided not to even ride that much this weekend and to delay it until you guys got an Official answer to the problems. I cant believe this if the problems keep coming well have to send them back for a 250ex. I was also kind of mad when I saw the aftermarket A-ARMS by Timmy Boy, they look good but you must use the aftermarket size shocks for a widened 250R. Thats an additional $800 to buy some of those.

 

Bash I find it real hard for a a-arm to break doing wheelies in a back yard even if it was made out of plastic. I had my Raptor for three weeks and was hitting monster 30 ft tabletops including some various hard hitting jumps and I had no problems. Although last week I hit a jump way to fast had to bail and broke my tailbone. The wheelie bar bent and needs to be replaced. Maybe you aren't being honest and you ran the front tire into a tree or something and now your trying to get Yamaha pay on this new bike because theres nc apparent crash marks. Then again maybe it was a weak a-arm who knows. Atleast your OK unlike me. It's going to take a while before I start jumping my Raptor again. I am a very experienced rider and I wrecked. It happens to all of us sooner or later. And any honda owner who said nothing broke on their bike is full of ****@! If not they obviously don't ride it hard or they got a horseshoe up their a$$! Good luck with your bike and be careful.

 

Okay Perry Mason, I mean War99, I got to confess, NOT!

I understand you being unable to believe that I bent it without hitting something or doing a mondo jump and I don't take any offense at that.

When it happened, I didn't actually realized why the bike pulled and rolled. I was pretty steamed that my new, shiny Raptor was laying on it's side. My concern was that it might have bent the handle bars or clutch lever. When I flipped it back up, I did a quick visual check of the bars and decided they were straight. I bent my clutch lever back around like it should be, and then walked around the bike to make sure everything else was okay. I noticed that the front left wheel was leaning in toward the center of the quad a lot! I could not believe that 1) something had caused the quad to roll over on it's side while I was traveling in first gear (maybe I had just shifted into 2nd, cant remember), and 2) that moving so slow, my quad could have been damaged like this.

I'm starting to think that the tire pressure had something to do with it. I checked it later and it had less than 4lbs in it from the dealer. Somehow, when it spun on it's side, it even got grass in between the wheel and the tire. I'm thinking that instead of the tire absorbing some of the shock, the tire must have collapsed enough to let the rim hit the ground and the shock must have contributed to the A-arm breaking. Like I said, I have a piece of angle aluminum on there now as a brace and it is holding up to normal riding (afraid to stress it on any jumps), so it really shouldn't take much in the way of strength to hold the tire upright, which is the job of the upper A-arms.

Yes, again, I realize it's hard to believe, and I'm not here to say that I haven't had my share of silly incidents, but the last quad I turned on it's side was a Honda 250 back in 1987. I guess that means that I don't ride hard enough, but what I fool I felt like laying out in the middle of my yard with my quad just ahead of me on it's side, all from attempting to ride a wheelie. Also, it was one of those wheelies where you get it up to high and have to bring it down fast. It rubbed the grab bar ever so slightly, but I'm not trying to get that fixed by Yamaha, because that isn't a design problem. Maybe the A-arms aren't a bad design either. My A-arm didn't feel terribly week when bent it back, so I'm still puzzled a bit .

I hope the reported problem with the axle is just from over-zealous riders.

 

Oh, I should have added that I still love the bike. Also, I had done a bit of aggressive trail riding in a corn field, and hit some small bumps, but with no damage caused by them. This also adds to my being puzzled as to why the wheels just coming down from the height of a wheelie could cause this. Maybe there was a brittle place in the tubing? Yamaha will get it straightened out.

 

Bash no hard feelings man I been around awhile and have listened and agreed on many things you have said. It is just unbelievable. I never heard of such a break before. I hope it is taken care of so you will be riding soon. As for trying to ride a half a$$ed fixed a-arm I would just wait to make sure nothing else breaks. Hopefully the dealer will back you up. If the dealer does Yamaha will. Keep us all posted. Hopefully it won't be a recall problem. I believe that the aluminum is just as strong as steel. The aluminum of today is unbelievably strong as compared to aluminums of the past. Good luck I feel for ya!

 

War99,

Nope, no bad blood here. I was hoping you didn't take the Perry Mason thing wrong..
I can't believe it either. It is just plain stupid!

I have a GREAT dealer. He is backing me up and the parts are already on order. He said my splint job should be okay, but I've been taking it easy for the very reason you mentioned. Hopefully, it was just a freak incident. I'm actually more concerned about the axle problem that others are claiming to have. I sure don't want that.