My question is; Is the raptor engine severly screwed up; The raptor engine held back from its potential; Bad gearing on the raptor.

not nessecarily.. the raptor 660R is a bigbore quad.. for trails,dunes and most recreational use.. but because of it's high center of gravity it gets tipy on the MX tracks .. but the YFZ450 is MNET for MX conditions.. there for it's gonna get putting out the most HP it can be (STOCK) so with little modifications it will be race ready and that's why yamaha built it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] IMO

Im looking 4 a reliable trial quad and ive heard that yamaha's a **** poor startup issues, how the batteries are always dieng mostly and how the eletric ignitions get fubared..

I'm still using the original battery in my 2001 Raptor. Bought it new in January of 2001. Has no problems starting my current 12.5:1 727 combo either.

Its mostly the YFZ's that have problems starting and keep the battery charged.

yfz- racing raptor- trails

The raptors (especially the california models) have really bad exhaust/airfilter setups. Replace these 2 things and you will be running 45-50 HP

uh, all 660 raptors come with the SAME exhaust/intake setup. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

strike 50 pro raptor lol

been starting mine in -20 Celcius with no problems