It's my opinion that the Raptor is set up just fine for the average rider. I recently purchased one myself, and I have been racing ATV's for 15 years now. It's the norm for me to replace items such as a-arms with wider units, replace the axle, and swingarms as required. It is no suprise to me that the suspension will need to be replaced by aftermarket shocks as well. I have had a variety of high performance quads, and I am not in prefference with any manufacturers products. In my opinion, all makes have their strong and weak points. However, everyone has a different riding style and preference, so do what works for you!

 

It only takes 5 minutes and people are making "improvement" parts to make money. Most are not needed at all. I never put any hop ups on any of my quads of course I buy Polaris so they already come ready to roll.
400ex's are supposed to be perfect but i see in the Honda forum most eveyone who has an EX 300 or 400 has a list of aftermarket parts.

 

That's exactly what I think.

Flyin' Ryan