i ride in pennsylvania so no sand dunes. what i can tell you is i love all the exteremes you can throw at me. (e.x) hill climing ,jumping ,trail. most of the areas im currently riding are on old coal mines and silk basins which are in mountain areas with alot of trails . but the basins all have amerature race tracks on them. these places also have monster hills which can be upwards to 600ft. in height. my problem is this i would like the raptor 700 but i dont want the same thing as everyone else. but to buy a model close to the performance of this thing i would have to settle without rev. which would sacrifice on trail rides. so i m at the point of getting a raptor or the yfz 450??????????

 

If you want to be in league with the Banshees and 700s, but not own either and it has to be a new model, id say one of the 450s are your only hope.

Get familiar with the features of all of them, decide what you like best and go for it. I did alot of research before i bought my 700 although i didnt get to ride it before i bought it. I had it narrowed down from the Banshee, YFZ 450 and Raptor 700 down to the 700 and 450. Reading the magazines I was just about sold on the 450....till i sat on one. At 5'11", I found the 450 to be uncomfortable just sitting on it. I then sat on a 700 and it was perfect. For the same price i was ready to spend on an uncomfortable 450, i got reverse, EFI, more CCs and comfort.

I dont race or ride trails. I dune 90%, and desert 10%.