This coming weekend is the start of the MX racing season at some of my local tracks. I called a buddy that I have raced with the last few years to make sure he was racing again this year. He said yes and that he just bought a Raptor!

He has been racing a slightly modified 400EX the last two years and did pretty well on it. It will be interesting to see how he does now that he will be riding the Raptor. On the 400EX he was a little timid on the jumps but was great at diving into the corners and passed many people this way. He told me he raced a hare scramble already and pulled the holeshot and never looked back to take the win. He said the Raptor does not handle near as well as his 400EX did, but he said if he can pull the holeshot then the 250R's and 400EX's will have to find a way around him in the corners. I am not sure how many mods he has but he mentioned that he had a Lonestar axle.

I will be racing against him and can't wait for Friday night! If any Raptor owners want to know how it does on the track I will be happy to report the performance and reliability because him and I race together almost every weekend.

 

I can report how my Raptor has fared. It has raced in two races on two very different tracks against two very diffrent machines and won both.

In the first race was a supercross style track very short and jumpy. The Raptor ran 4-stroke B but since only three were in the class they were placed with the two-stroke A.(Eight 250r's) The Raptor pulled the holeshot in both motos and finished second in the race to a 250r that fared well at the SFX St Louis race. The R passed him after he spun out in a corner and blocked him for two laps to win.( I have since grooved those tires to get them to hook up better) By the way the two 400ex's were not on the same lap!

The second race was on a long MX track with all four strokes.( A sea of 400ex's and a couple of warriors) Holeshot again and never looked back in either moto. He was rolling everything by the end of the race.

A modded Raptor and a stock Raptor are two very different machines. The suspension mods allow the power from the engine to be put to the ground.

I ride with three 400ex's, one 440ex, and two 250r's. All of them would outhandle mine when mine was stock. But after I modded mine it now outhandles theirs, even the R. Two of them have now modded theirs with shocks, axles, and A-Arms and mine still will outcorner them.

 

KyRaptor, I remember reading about those two races where your friend rode your quad. It sounds like he and your Raptor were hauling. So you have not raced that thing yourself since then?? Come on, I know the weather in Ky has to be better than in Ohio! Just kidding, if I remember right you may have had a hurt ankle or something.

I think my friend may be a better indicator of the Raptor since he raced the last two years on a 400EX. We will have a direct comparison of the same rider on two different machines. I just hope it holds up for him because he beat the crap out of his 400EX and just last year had to replace the swingarm, rear shock, and transmission.

 

I would not have fared very well had I raced. I am a novice. I like to ride mx tracks but race very little. I like jumping. I am hitting 40ft jumps and holding there for now. The Raptor seems to jump well.

One of those I ride with (400ex) won Saturday on the long MX track mine won on.(He came in second when mine won) He beat another Raptor.(Had a lonestar axle and mx tires). My friend said he got the jump but the Raptor came flying by but didn't make the corner and slid off the track. He raced when mine was up there and wrecked when his back wheels clipped a landing.