I am thinking of selling my bomb 650 to get a raptor. I love the performance and suspension but the raptor is definitley better in the woods. When I bought it I had freinds who went to the sand dunes alot but then after I bought it they sold theres. So now I mostly ride on trails and think the raptor would bet better. How do they compare in the sand dunes. If anyone is intrested in trading there raptor for my bombardier let me know. Thanks

 

Because of the width of the DS I agree that the Raptor IS better on the mountain trails BUT that doesn't mean that the DS wont rock. This last fall I (on my Scrambler) followed a guy on a DS up one of the narrowest steepest trails around and other than a tight fit in a few areas he seemed to do OK overall. My Scrambler was better suited for the conditions but on the straits he walked away from me. The Raptor does rock in the sand. On one hand it could use a little more width to it for a tad more stability (especially for novice riders) but on the other hand the narrowness is actually kinda fun once you get used to it.
In my honest opinion the Raptor IS a better all around quad for different types of riding but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should dump your quad for a Raptor they are both kick-*** bikes. To make the switch you will most likely loose money which sucks unless you can afford it.
My advice is that you have a sweet ride so I would try to make it work for you. The DS will still do 95% of the mountain trails that I ride which is mostly the Willard Peak trail (5500 feet increase in elevation in 30 minutes or less if your on a fast ride) Get some new friends that still ride the dunes or go by yourself, heck I'll ride with you. I'm at Sand Mtn. just about every week. Where is Bluffdale anyway?

'01 Blue Raptor '00 Trailblazer '99 Scram400 4x4

 

I don't get it the raptor is not a tippy machine if you know how to ride. its called a little body english.

The Raptor is the best machine on the market at this time in my lowly opinion

 

Call me the "black sheep" but I personally like the DS, looks like an overall better made machine. If I had the money for either Id buy the DS.. The raptor looks cooler but he DS looks better made. I think yammy threw together the raptor rather quickly to combat the DS in sales. This is my OPINION, if you think the raptor is better than that is your OPINION.

 

Don't get me wrong about the Raptor; it is one bad machine that's always a pleasure to ride. Lots of torque; which I love, but your DS650 is just as awesome. Are the trails you ride that small that you can't fit a couple of more inches through..???? If I had bought the DS650; which was seconds away, I wouldn't trade it for nothing else, because that bike rocks...!!!!

j/t
01 Raptor Blk/White (stock)

 

Bluffdale is right by riverton.Have you raced any ds 650s in the dunes did you beat them.

 

Hey bomberd we go to the dunes all the time as well. Went today as a matter of fact. I've raced a few DS's, but I don't want to start a pissin match so I'll keep it to myself. Raptors go great in the dunes and are very nimble like a 400ex. My 400 will carve the corners better, but my raptor jumps better. We park at Oasis and usually make tracks and make a trip over to the backside to ralley there as well. Hill-shootin is last on my list of fun things to do at the dunes. Been there done that and to DAMN expensive! Let me know if your interested. I live in West Jordan and my two friends who go live in Riverton. We actually have 18 of us when we all go.

 

Well, for starters the raptor was started on its design 3 years before its release and was not hastily thrown together. Second the thing is not tippy at all unless you ride straight up all of the time, the tank area is narrowed to allow you to move around on it with ease. Third I tested out a DS for a weekend, and it didnt Fit in alot of places where all of the others went. My raptor tracks fine through all the trails. You can gear it down to a 12T sprocket, and change to some holeshots and be a happy guy.