Yeah I know. The stock one went out on my bike, so i went and bought a yamaha one way because i couldnt afford the L&A one way. and now this one is going out after like 6 months. I guess i was pretty much trying to say buy an after market instead of getting oe parts

 

Yep, and it was actually worse for 02-03. They redesigned again for 04-05 and they still fail.

 

what i dont understand is you guys that have raptors pay $6,000 for a bike that has unreliable parts and you know your gonna have to buy aftermarket stuff why buy the bike. why was the raptor so much money if it was so poorley made. yeah its fast as hell and has more torque then all the stock bikes out there.

 

Warrior02man

Stay away from the 02 and earlier Raptors, its the transmision that goes out. Go to http://www.raptortranny.com read more. As for the 03 through 05 its the one way bearing that goes out. again raptortranney.com will give you all the info you need but the fix is an L&A designs one way bearing. I have 2 raptors same year etc and only one vin number apart, the one way went on one and the other is still going strong. Regardless, you can replace the one way yourself for less than 300 bucks and you dont need all the parts they try and sell you, just get the bearing and the gaskets.

Other than those 2 items the motor is pretty much bullet proof if you keep it maintenanced and the valves adjusted. The best upgrade you can do is the pipe and intake, check out the ALBA pipe. Since the make their own and sell their own brand, the pipe is the most inexpensive compelte exhaust system and it is loud as hell.

Outside of the motor the next week link is the tie rods and tie rod ends. I have busted so many stockers I used to carry spares in my pack. Upgraded to the ALBA's with the hiem joints.. 2 seasons no problems.

The last and final week link on the raptor is the suspension. The suspension is progressive and loads up real quick. If you are a light weight it will rough you up, if you are 200+ it will load up and try to buck you off. You can go all out with an ELKA suspension and drop a coupel grand or send the stockers to precision concepts and for less tha 500 buck get a decent suspension back.

 

Sorry to correct you but, 02 and up transmissions are the same. Only 01 is different.

The only way you break tie rod ends or rods on the Raptor is if you have front wheel spacers or reversed out front wheels. They won't break if you have the proper wheel offset.

 

Ok will buy the 2001 transmission issue, thought it ran into first run / early release 2002's as well.

But as far as the Tie Rods and Tie Rod ends go sorry but if you aint broke one or bent one your probably riding like a girl. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Bent and Busted the first set climbing the Wall over by Sand Damn at superstition, Bent and Busted the second set racing a banshee down tarantula wash in ocitillo wells, do have to admit I made it out of the wash and was hookin it across the flats back to camp when it let go causeing me to eat SH*T big time. Bent and busted the third set at patton valley, hit a witches eye comming off a razor back. Since I installed the Alba tie rods and the hiem joints no issues and I didnt start riding like a girl either! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Are your front wheels offset?

I had mine reversed when I first got the bike to try an give it more stablity. I could not keep the tie rods straight. The alignment was always fubar. Gimped home many times with the front wheel wobbling with a broken end.

Then I put on beadlocks with the proper offset and there where no more problems.

But, I have never heard of anyone breaking a tie rod end at the dunes??? What are you doing with that bike, boy? Are you one of them aerial 360 dudes?

 

the way it busted in the dunes is I came over a razor back and plowed into a witches eye at a right angle to the upward slope and the tire dug in on the left side and just ripped it back busting the tie rod end off at the threads. That is the real week spot on the tie rod ends. Since the tie rod ends are cast and the diameter of the ends is about 3/8" if you hang the weel up and it torques it to the side it will bend the tie rod and or snap the end off at the threads.

I am running 1" offsets, thinking about going back to the standards now that I have the +2" A-Arms. Its to wide for ocitillo probably will work great for the dunes though. Every time I broke or bent a tie rod it was with the stock A-Arms and 1" with and with out the stock rims. The alignment (toe In) and camber is dead on, I do it my self to make sure.

 

Don't know what it is, but offset front wheels and the Raptor do not go together.
I think its the low kingpin back inclination.

When you put it back to stock offset, you will like your bike much better. It will steer much easier, it wont kick the handle bars around, it will feel more predictable, and you wont fatigue as quick on long rides.

 

I definately agree with that one. My bud just put some oem wheels back on his 02, the originals got busted and were replaced with cheap offset ones. He's much happier with the handling now, espeically the turning ability and feel. Having spent a good deal of time on his bike both before and after, I have to agree.