I've been riding modified Banshees for over 15 years. I'm looking at going with a four stroke. The four strokes have come along way and Yamaha isn't putting anymore development into two stroke quads. I'm not a big fan of the old Raptor. In my opinion the old Raptor was very top heavy and needed extensive modifications to make it a ok machine. You can ask my brothe-in-law who put $1000's upon $1000's into his machine and still wanted my Banshee. After all the money was spent, he said "why didn't I (he) buy a Banshee? I could have had a lot more machine for a lot less money".

There was just as much excitement about the 01' Raptor when it first came out as their is about the 06' Raptor, so this makes me very weary about the new one. My dealer got their first 06' Raptor in last week and it was gone before I had a chance to look at it. I went to look at the new YFZ450 today. I like the stance and the feel of the new 450.

Well now onto the topic that seems to get everyone all stirred up. How fast are they? I know I need to forget about the Banshee because it is a different breed so lets just talk four strokes. I don't know about you but me and my friends always find a good spot to see who did what over the last couple of months to their machines and riding skills. I don't want to be beat drag racing, so which machine is faster assuming equal riding ability and modifications? I know some of you don't care about top speed but we do! I'm very hesitant to buy the YFZ450 because I'm afraid that its power can only be increased moderately compared to the Raptor. I wouldn't have bought last years model YFZ450 because it wasn't very comfortable but they seem to have fixed that problem. I do a lot of trail riding, hill climbing, and flat out ***** to the wall riding.

Any constructive opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Seems like your main focus is speed, so go with he 700R. It seems it's faster than the YFZ, plus it's Fuel Injected so you wont have to worry about jetting for future mods. I haven't gotten the chance to ride any 06' models so I'm just basing it to my knowledge. The YFZ will accelerate faster due to the high revving engine and because it's a bit lighter. I know for sure the Raptor has more torque therefore it will catch up eventually. I'm assuming the 700R is better for trail riding since the word out there is that it's more comfortable which I believe. The YFZ is a bit stiff for trail riding but you could adjust to it. If you had your banshee beefed up, I don't think these stock quads could be comparable power wise. Good luck, ask more questions!

 

well your talking to the right person now. we own both now due to 2 weekends ago. if you like the stance of the yfz you will probably like the stance of the 700r it feels a but bigger though. as far as top speed and low end thump the 700 is awsome. if you like a rev happy 4 stroke then the yfz is nice. the yfz is very snappy and loves to be revved. the 700r is a bit nicer in my opinion due to the digital gauge setup, clear led tailight, and awsome power. the other really nice feature is reverse. of course you comin off of a banshee you probably dont give a hoot about reverse

 

I hated the handling of the old rappy but sold my DS to buy the 700. If you are mostly trail riding go with the 700, but if you MX and ride steep sand I would probably go with the yfz.

 

why ditch the shee's?? just want the reliability of a 4stroke?? just wondering

 

Me being 6'1" and about 220, i love my 700r, i stop at the dealer today to look around, and i sat on a 450, im happy i didnt get one it feels too small, i like the bigger feeling of the raptor

 

You will not get the drag conditions of your banshee... Without lots of work and $$$$..

You must get on them both or anything else and check whats right for you and your conditions...

For me, the 700R made much more sense..

 

between the 2006 yfz450 and the raptor 700r, what is better for me? im 5'9 and weigh 175. i have 200 acres of land and about 100 acres of it i am able to ride. it is mostly open feild with some trees. I have been waiting for the new yfz450 to come out and et it, no questions asked, but ever since the 700r came out, i just dont noe which one to get. Thanks

 

YFZ660R - Thanks for the coments.

kingmud - Do you have any mods to your YFZ450? Yeah I don't much care about reverse been turning them around for a long time without.

Air - Have you put your machine throught it paces yet? Riding a DS650 I'd assume your pretty big guy. I'm only 5'-7" and weight about 165 pounds.

YFZ450kid - I'm sick of spending endless hours on fixing them up and having someone steal them. This can just as easily happen with a new four stroke, but to start I will only add a couple of things to the four strokes. Also hate to admit it but I'm getting up in age, and as a lot of people know the Banshee isn't the most easiest machine to ride.

sikraptor - As I mentioned to Air I'm not very big, so the machine being smaller isn't really an issue. I'm use to the just under 400 pounder though.

Outlaw - Its a really hard idea to give up the Banshee, but I think I've convinced myself that I can live without it. This is atleast until a modified Banshee blows by me on a straight away or up a large coal hill. I can always sell the four stroke and buy a Banshee again if I find out they just are not for me. I'm ready to give them a try.

Keelam I know just how you feel.

One thing I keep saying to myself though is look at all the changes they made to the YFZ450. Is the Raptor really where it needs to be or are they going to come out with a lot of changes next year. I will be really unhappy if they make a lot of changes and I'm stuck with the 06' model just like people who had the 01'. If I had a machine right now, I would wait a while but I've been riding my wifes Blaster looking for more gears.

Are these correct assumption about the Raptor 700R - Better handling in the trails, more top end, more comfortable ride

Has anyone added a pipe to a 700R?

Which quad is more stable the 700R or YFZ450?

Thanks again everyone!

 

I am 6"5 250 and the 700 is comfortable for me. I have ridden it over 300 miles in the last two weekends and it is a great machine. Probably the best all around machine on the market. I do not regret selling my DS730