In dirtwheels january they show that they put a aftermarket steering stem on there Raptor and if I'm not mistaking that is what broke on the Raptor. So if I'm correct the Raptor got a bad rap for what dirtwheels did.

Yup and the Raptor was winning the race also by alot ,but now that the ds650 won they think its the king of the hill.I beg to differ :)

Not cool let them ds riders have there moment in the sun. When its a five time baja champ like the banshee then we will talk.

I think that the Raptor is by far the better machine and 1 race does not make a bike !!!!! Let's step in the way back machine for a minute to the last couple of issues of Dirt Wheels and 4-Wheel ATV action. WOW, the RAPTOR won against the DS 650 and The 400EX. They even went on to say the Raptor is the new King. Also, I raced a DS 650 on my 86 250R just before I sold it and chewed him up in the following events: Drag Race, and we raced down a 3/4 mile whoop section. I'm only in my first year of riding, so you DS guys don't even think about the age old excuse, "It must have been the rider". The bottom line is that all those guys out there that bought a DS last year are mad because they now have the #2 quad out there, and we all know noone remembers who finishes second.

Chasman

01' Yamaha Raptor Black/White

it mostly depends on the rider, take a rider that cant ride well and they wont win, take a rider with years of experiance and knowledge of how a quad runs and handles and they have a better shot at winning... u never know what can happen in the future like the swingarm bending, bent axle or such as a brocken steering arm on a raptor its gonna cause u delay lowering the chance of winning

I totaly agree with you about that!

People please!!! Isn't aftermarket stuff suppose to be better then stock?? If not, then why did they put an aftermarket stem on?? You all say its just one race. And it is. The biggest endurance race ever!! But listen guys , Im sure next year we will both have to shut our mouths because someone will come out with something better or faster. I love the competiveness of these Forums. It will make aftermarket manufacturers take a good look! Yamaha is an excellent ATV manufacturer but the Raptor does have some critical weakpoints that they should fix on that bike. From what ive seen the rear axle and front a-arms are pretty weak. But every bike has its problems and there is no perfect bike and never will be. Ill admit I have bashed the Raptor a few times but I really do think its a nice bike all in all. As far as whos is better or faster?? c'mon guys ? How many of your bikes are still stock? So the mines faster then yours arguement all depends on how much $$$$$$ you want to spend.Just like Banshees, my friend has a stock one and I blow it away. But I'm sure if I raced one will ALL the bells and whistles it would probably be a different story because there is so much after market stuff for that bike that the only thing left that is yamaha is the stickers!! So to say the DS is better or the Raptor is better is pretty vague.

BrianW, so a professional test rider for the best mag in the world is not good enough to even try and make the raptor win? The ds is the king of the desert, no questions asked. Let the ds riders rub it in your face, so later when the raptor wins in the fourstroke woods races (definatly not the 2-stroke ones) then you can rub it in there faces. The raptor does have many critical weak points. Sure the 400ex has a weak swing arm,but not several critical weak points, like swing arm axle, carbs blowing off, a-arms. Just to get started.

.........or like those blasters that could be outrun by a bike.

If you know anything about Baja California Racing, then you know that the machine your "TEAM" of riders uses is only as good as the "Team of riders" on it! That race is/was 1754 miles long. It takes nearly 2 days to complete. You guys always seem to want to think your machine is the baddest thing around. NEWS FLASH!!! Almost all of these new Sport quads are killer machines. My point is this, Any machine could have won that race....it all depends on the pilots of said machine. Here is the Ride team list for the DS650 =

Greg Row
Dean Sundahl
Jimmy Stephensen
Eric Dollente
Todd Dunlavey
Eric Dunlavey
Tim Neidhardt

If you really follow Baja Racing.... You know that all "SEVEN" of those men are all seasoned veterans. For crying out loud Dean Sundahl can't even remember how many times he has won the King of the Desert title.

The Raptor is an outstanding machine, my friend Che aka "Calvin" smokes me every time we ride together.

Just enjoy your quad...whatever you ride and stop whining about losing and cheering about winning.

Ford, Chevy, Subaru ..... I could care less as long as it could tow my quad to the desert! ;-)