I said it from day 1, Craptor. I feel really bad too, since one of my best friends own a dealership that sells everything except Honda (even though they sold me mine used with 10 hours on it). He apologized to me for "Knobby's" glamorized Warrior and how he is afraid of the liability of selling a quad with paper mache'suspension parts. Oh well, I think I will buy Timmyboy and Durablue stock and retire soon. As he agreed that it is tippy, overpriced, FRAGILE, overweight P.O.S. As many times before, he tried to sell me a Banshee, I said I wasn't interested in paying $6000 for a 13 year old bike. As a tear rolled down his cheek, that one of his best friends was still riding red RELUCTANTLY, a glimmer of hope appeared on his face and he smiled and said only 3 words that made me leave his dealership with a smile on my face and some hope for all my fellow high performance Quadders. "Cannondale late fall."

 

Yup just another bummed out 400ex owner for ya.Go back to the honda forum will ya and prase to your fellow EXers how great your air cooled,no ***** having 400ex is.Because they love ya man,they really do.

 

You really do NEED to get a life.

 

I suspected it from the start....you really are an insecure, pathetic, sarcastic, crap-mouthed friggin idiot aren't you mr. hakmaster? You just can't be happy unless you're stirring up some kind of a flame post can you? Yes, please do get a damn life and go back to your "we're jealous of Yamaha but we can't admit it" Honda forum where you belong! All of us who bought Raptors are very happy and satisfied with our purchases (and we COULD have bought 400EX's if we had chosen to do that, but none of us cared to buy a sedate, boring quad)Spare us all of your unfounded negative BS because lord knows there's enough of that here already. I predict you will be eating plenty of crow (not to mention all that roost) with regard to this bike before it's all over.

 

Well from what i hear, the canoondale kinda sucks. Atleast the dirt bike does anyway. The review I read said the engine was boring and not near as fast as the yz426, that means the raptor will prolly be quite a bit faster, and more upgradeable. They also said the fuel injection didn't work right. And besides, who would want to be a guinea pig?

Oh and hakmazter, u need to get a life. Its obvious you made this story up and u have cerntainly never ridden a Raptor.

 

Alright guys, you all are just as quick to call names and talk trash about other's quads as anyone, just re-read your posts...

Have any of you raced a 400EX in any sort of organized event yet? If so, how did you do?

I have raced a Raptor in an organized event with my 400. Crow was not eaten (by the 400EX rider anyway).

I could have bought a Raptor if I so chose. Instead I chose to wait it out and see if what I thought was true - too tall, too narrow, too top-heavy, too much Yamaha in the chassis. If not, I would find one later. I don't put too much faith in hype. I analyze things for myself & try to make educated decisions...

I watched this bike with great interest last night. I tried to spark up a conversation with the owner, but he kinda snubbed me (I took home the money in the end though ). What I saw was actually worse that I expected. The bike had severe chassis roll problems, yet the rider probably weighed in at 160 lbs. The chassis has nearly 0 rake. The bike appeared awkward and off balance anytime it was turning. It did appear to accelerate fairly descently though (how could it not though)...

Really I was less impressed than what I initally expected. I was kinda concerned about my first couple upcoming HS races with the Raptor, no more...

Anyway, the Raptor's laptimes were comparable to the slower 300EX's and Warriors, not competitive at all, in any of the events. It was beaten by nearly all the Banshee's and 400EX's. Although you may contribute some of that to the rider's ability level, a lot of it was the bike, it was obvious if you watched the various bikes in the events (for instance, it was the only bike that consistantly lifted a rear tire in the turns). Uncontrollable chassis roll poses a big problem to even the best riders.

While the Raptor is a nice machine & I don't mean to disrespect any Raptor owners, it is not the "be all, end all" quad you all are constantly making it out to be. If you will enter it in an organized event, you will see what I am talking about.

Good night all, I've had all of this I can take for a night...

 

well I have always thought the cannondale will be a very very nice MX quad, just like the $16000 REBEL STAR 250R, I was originally going to buy one, but dealer is 200 miles away and theyve only worked on bicycles until now. And It will definately take the title away from the 250R for MX if they get it to function like it should. Hopefully Ill be parking it along side my Raptor by late 2001 or early 2002, unless we can get a new Quadsport with a DR engine like suzuki has under development. But really go take a ride on a 400ex and then a banshee, then imagine combining both and gaining a 1-2mph top end over the banshee. I dont think I have to say anything else do I.

 

How many people really buy new quads to race them anyway? Just curious cause that's all I ever see 400EX owners talking about. "I raced a raptor and on a MX track and I won" "The Raptor is not a good MX bike" and so on and so forth. Who really cares if it is good on a track or not? There is never going to be the all round beat everything super quad. Somebody will always find something wrong with it.

 

The chassis roll problem with the Raptor that you mention is very odd considering I find my tires on the ground more with the Raptor than on the 400ex I sold. Also, was there a practice session before any racing took place since you noticed this problem with the Raptor? That's pretty impressive on that stock 400ex with shocks to take the "money". It's a big plus to have a seasoned professional to tell us his equipment is superior and everyone else's equipment is second-rate and explain the reason why, even though he appears to be riding basically a stock quad. Thank you, mister "money".

 

Last Rebel Racing is out of business. They were the company putting the Rebelstars together. Maybe the former owner is still making them?? A word of caution though, the guys a crook. And who wants to find engine parts for an old Rotax engine? Lastly, for $16,000 you can get a complete 330R from CT Racing AND pay-off you Raptor.