I finally got my Raptor after drooling over them for the past year or so. After riding around some, I've noticed it seems to have a little more gear noise than anything else I've ridden. Has anyone else noticed this, and is this normal? Only serious responses, please!

 

I honestly don't remember my Raptor having any more gear noise than normal. Why do I say 'remember' you may ask? Because I haven't ridden it for over 2 weeks now because my entire tranny froze up tighter than a w.... never mind. The big thing to me is that my machine has no more than 60 hours on it and right now is PRIME dune season up here. One thing I will say to all Raptor owners: Buy the extended warranty. There is obviously something wrong with at least some of these Raptors and you don't want to be left with a 7K piece of S&*t sitting in your garage that needs about a thousand bucks to get moving again. Tranny work is beyond the scope of most backyard mechanics like myself and is very expensive to have done, after all they have to remove the entire engine and split the cases (that Cannondale cassette tranny is sounding worthwile about now). Anyway I still love my Raptor but I'm not so sure about the transmission. The fact that the Raptor Jams on the dunes so fast is the reason it's so hard to be without.

 

no,wheelie, i have not. have you allowed the proper breaking period, before hammering on it??
No problems with mine at all.

 

I noticed a lot of engine noise also, but fixed it with a full race Big Gun system. Most four strokes have alot of mechanical noise due to all the extra parts. Unless your sounds are not normal or the quad is running bad , I'd say run it like ya stoled it. (and get a good exhaust system, you'll be suprised how it will liven it up!)

 

No abnormal noise here. But after reading alot of the post I did get the extended warranty.
so far no problems.. (i hope it stays that way)

 

Mine was a little noisy at first. It got quieter, then louder after about a month or so. Once the valves were adjusted it was fine. I seem to see a pattern with the dead tranny postings - many seem to be tied to use of reverse. I think that the combination of reverse and the ratchet shifter may not be as precise as Yamaha originally intended. I seem to have to shift harder for a while after using reverse. Otherwise, I get more missed shifts. Just my 2 cents worth..

 

Well, after riding some more, I think some of what I'm hearing comes from the elongated chain guides. Even though they're lubed, there is a lot more surface for the chain to ride on than anything else I've owned. Also, I AM taking it easy on the machine during break-in to hopefully avoid any problemas. All in all, it is one sweet machine!