Well, my new Raptor 700 is finally run in properly now (I hope) so I had a chance to take it for a good thrashing on Saturday. WOW! This thing is fast, when you push that trottle all the way to the end she really picks up and goes. The power is very tractable, have a mate with a Banshee and it was all wheel spin on the trails but the power is so smooth on the 700, on tight trails it accelerates so fast its scary sometimes. Havent had a chance to race the banshee yet cause he was still running in but I'll let yas know when the time comes. Did race my mate on his KX125 and the Raptor pulled away no problems in a drag and on fast trails I had no problem keeping right on his tail.

Handling is sweet, we did mainly tight gravell trails and the 700 preformed flawlessly. The only negtative thing I could say was that a couple of times it stepped out a bit more than I expected and had it at full opposite lock only just being able to catch it but that's probably just me not used to the bike yet. The bike never felt tippy and even when cornering semi fast on dry road it never felt like it was going to tip over. We went for a 3 hour ride and the bike was extremly comfortable and soaked up ruts and rocky sections with minimal fuss, also bump steer is minimal and fuel consumtion is good too. One of my mates was riding my scrambler 500 and where he nearly used a whole tank I went through just over a quarter!

Transmission is smooth and even when doing clutch less shifts up and down it rarely missed a beat, only on steep uphill sections would I need to use the clutch to make a smooth shift. Most of the time just blipping off the throttle gave a nice shift in either direction. Full throttle up shifts using the clutch were also not a problem. At first the box was a little notchy but now that its run in a little it feels very smooth and well sorted.

We went off to wheelie hill (nice high traction grass on a sligh hill) to get a feel for how light the front end is, I never had it come up unexpectantly while riding but a slight tug on the bars and sharp stab of the throttle will bring the front up no problems. Ballance point was quite easy to find and im no wheelie expert but after a few goes I could get some descent wheelies in first and even take them through to second without the front coming down (wasnt enough room for 3rd) though on the road I managed to pop the wheels up in 3rd gear when trying.

I've had no problems so far and havent experienced the difficult starting when hot problem, there is a noise coming from the engine which apears to be normal and many 700 owners have noticed. All in all im very very happy with my purchase, this bike is a sweet do it all machine and comfortable enough to ride all day long. The perfect bike for anyone except the motocross racer where the yfz450 will obviously kick.

 

I have had a similar experience, I love my raptor

 

Glad you like it mate. As with sikraptor I have same thoughts. I had Maxxis Razr2 on my 660 and I realy miss them. The stock Dunlop rubber just doesnt hookup as well and seems to be unpredictable in high speed cornering. I had a couple of hairy moments on my ride this weekend.

 

What does the first statement mean?

Second statement, seems to be a strange noise coming from the right side cases that wasen't on the 660R, would be nice if Yamaha gave us some sort of indication as to what the noise is.

 

First statement... i'm just saying it was a little unpredictable but from what quadbike says perhaps some new rubber will help.

I have read somewhere that the noise is the water pump.... Who knows but as long as it's not going to destroy it self im not too fussed.

 

Congrats on the New Ride.
Stock they are awesome.
I just Piped, Installed a TFI and a GYTR Airfilter
Easily a 10 hp gain. Wow.

 

Are you serious Air that is like 20% power increase. The 700 has mad power as it is stock. Have you got links to the Doebeck TFI? How much stuffing around in resetting the tuning on the YFI? Is the LRD a slip on or full system? Lots of questions hey. Sorry, just very interested in another 10 horses.

 

HMF Is claiming a 8 HP Gain with their Pipe and The TFI and the poor flowing stock air filter. Here is a link to HMF Also at Dobeck Performance

 

cheers