I love it! Hakmazter, I wondered when you were going to chime in! I remembered you calling the Raptor "Craptor" way back and I knew you'd have to be back with all the recent problems. Nothing fires the Raptor owners up like the play on its name "Craptor." Even before they owned the machine they defended it with out any doubts. They still do even though its first run has obvious suspension problems. I am as big a Yamaha fan as anyone, and when I bought my last new Banshee (99) I sometimes wished I'd waited for a Raptor. Well, at least for now, I'm glad I didn't. I can severely abuse my Banshee's suspension every weekend and know that each time I come down from a high jump that my A-arms, axle and rims will keep their shape. Maybe they'll fix these problems in their next run of Raptors. Until then I get to be amused by all these Raptor owners who still defend their machines as being flawless and refuse to believe otherwise. Even though this is a forum, and no one has anything to gain by lying, Raptor owners like to believe that anything negative posted here about a Raptor must be a lie. They are in denial, and can accept no other explanation. It is strange that everyone has been calling dealer's about them. I called the closest dealer to me (Owensboro, KY) and asked if they were having suspension problems with the Raptors, and the salesperson I spoke to said that they indeed were. So you see, not only are people telling lies on this forum, they are also taking their suspension components off and breaking them and taking them to dealers and lying about how they were broken. Then the salespeople are joining in the conspiracy and lying about them too, because they are just so well-off that they don't need to sell any more $6,500 quads. At least for now, Hakmazter, you were right. Oh, and 99Scram500, for those of us who do not have crystal ***** could you please tell me why it is obvious that he is lying?
I just hope everyone in the Yamaha forum doesn't get judged by how a few people in denial respond. Some of us here are open-minded enough to face the fact that our quad has strong points AND weak points.

 

Easy there Gary. I'm not quite sure how to take the last part of your statement, but anyway I look at it, you are trying to insult me. I raced my first organized event late May, this year.. I have been doing well so far, since friends talked me into starting. This is my first year on a quad, I rode 3-wheelers (a 250R and a 350X) before, along with dirtbikes.

I wasn't even goint to mention it, but all these hyped up posts telling me how much better the Raptor is than a POS the 400EX is demanded a response. I did get the opportunity to race with one, these were the results & observations - as I went out of my way to make sure I saw it run (all runs were individual, timed laps - so, yes I personally got to watch every detail of any run I wished). I tried to maintain a respectful tone, state only facts, and not name call or insult. Unfortunately I did so realizing that I would not receive the same treatment.

BTW, to the guy commenting on "How many people actually buy a quad to race", everyone assumes that this was MX racing, it was not. This was a local event with probably 70-80 or more participants, including about all the popular bikes commonly seen. Events included races such as barrel racing, 2 lap oval track lap race, slalom course race, etc. All races were "open class". What better or more fun way to test man and machine than to race them in a timed event?

You guys need to go out and find some local races (MX is not the only thing out there), you will quickly learn that you don't need to be a "seasoned professional" and that they are quite fun, you meet lots of very nice people. You will learn a lot about the weaknesses and attributes of various machines no matter what though. Heck, you may even take home a little cash to help pay for gas and entry fees. Thankfully most people at the races are much more civilized than folks here.

 

See my post above. It was not an MX race. But the reason you keep seeing this stuff is because you brought it upon yourselves. Proclaiming (even before it was released) that the Raptor was going to put everything before it to shame. You guys are constantly comparing it to the Banshee, 400EX and 250R. Saying that it beats all of them hands down. Well, it's not happening that way and these people are only responding to your collective initial comments. When you hype, brag, and put down, then don't deliver - this is the response you get.

 

Just an observation, Hakmazter stated that ATV sport magazine called it a Craptor when in fact they had very high praise for the machine. In effect he lied. Kinda reminds me of AL GORE! If he has a reply to this I'd love to hear it. I've remained neutral on this stuff, keeping quiet and off to the side but I really had to point this one out.

 

Please we should all ignore this fool, he has no experience to base his claims on.

He probably still rides that battery powered Lil' Quad from Toy R Us.

 

Agreed...I may have got a little carried away with the post. By your initial post, there was no mention of rider ability. The way I took it was that a Warrior, 300ex, and your 400ex were superior machines compared to the Raptor. Do you think your 400ex would have won if you were on a different ride?

 

I agree with GABE about the Raptor, I am still buying one, but I dont think that Yamaha should have made such a narrow chassis for this quad. One if the first things I plan on doing is adding +3 A-arms and extending the rear axle. This is a great setup for the desert racing that I do (also for duning).

I think the Raptor is a great quad, but it definitely is a fixer-upper in comparison to a 400EX. For that matter, the Banshee too is a fixer upper, you cant really unleash that bikes power unless you do some serious mods to it.

Blake
American Sand Association Member
GlamisOnLine.ORG

 

That's hard to say. My 2nd choice in this venue would be a Banshee. They were very competitive, especially the 410 Banshee .

addendum... How could I forget the mighty 250R?? I guess because strangely enough there were none there (tons of 400EX's and Banshee's). Top 3 bikes in the venue would be 400EX, 250R, Banshee - not in any particular order.

 

I totally agree. The Raptor should make you a very nice bike with the mods you mention for desert racing.

I hope to see some tricked out Raptors on my next trip to the dunes - you can bet I won't be trying to drag race them, I'll leave that to the Banshee guys...

 

And besides, who would want to be a guinea pig?
raptor owners