bansheebrad says: "otterbob if you had read my post.. you'd see why it's about a yamaha... parts interchangebility, not saving money on a honda"



otterbob says: i was just stating my opinion. good to know that money is no object to some people. starting someone out with a raptor that has never ridden a quad before is like starting a 12 year old kid that has never hunted before with a .300 weatherby mag. of course you could reduce the load.
do what you want you will anyways. ive considered getting my wife a quad and the 250ex sounds like a great choice to me.

 

If you can afford it...get it. They only go as fast as you push the throttle.
So I guess you would say that I do not agree with it being too much bike for a beginner. I have driven one...they can be wild or calm...It's all up to the rider.

 

My wife is a beginner rider and loves my Raptor. Like Sayit FMF said: "It's only as fast as they push the throttle".(or something like that) When I bought the raptor I was expecting mind-boggling arm wrenching power and speed. I actually find it rather tame for all the hype it gets. D'ont get me wrong... it does rip and is one of the best quads around but not as "killer" as it is often described.

Your girlfriend will love it and learn it in no time...

 

I was in the same boat when i purchased my Raptor. I ended up purchasing a warrior for the wife. I'm glad i decided against another Raptor and this is why:

Turned out, although we go riding it isn't as often as she expected or than i hoped. That makes me feel better about the price diffrence between the 2 quads. Less money money for the Warrior means more money for aftermarket parts for my Raptor.

also, When my buddies want to ride. i have a great back up. Keep in mind they ride dirt and street bikes. Given a chance on a loner Raptor they would push the Raptor over their abilities. like they've tried on mine numerous times. of course, "they're experts, they've been riding bikes for years...they Know what they are doing".

most of all, I like the Warrior. i take and put that thing in places i would never take my Raptor. The trails in back our house are tight and rocky. in the spring it is muddy as hell.

my Raptor is for the track, for pits, for dragging, for jumping, for going fast. the Warrior is for jumping over rocks and fallen trees, water crossings and monster mud holes up at the power lines.

Don't count the warrior out. Double Raptors may mean double the trouble. It's nice to have a mix in machines. Plus the warrior is 100% more comfortable. If she's like my wife. That may be the deciding factor. I would let her make the decision. sounds like your looking for a parts bike. even then your not being cost effective.

in fact, if i was going to do it all again. i would have purchased a used warrior. Lots can be saved there.

Good luck, atleast your putting thought into it...

 

Well... we went on our first outing yesterday.. with the raptors.

We went down to big rock atv park in kentucky, really nice place to ride. We spent about 4 hours riding, all I can say is she loves the raptor!

For never riding a quad before, I was amazed at how well she did. We started out in the parking lot going over basic controls, and what to do. First thing I showed her, pull both levers all the way in to stop. I showed her how to turn it on and off, how to start it. I had the throttle locked way down at this point, and we just left it in first gear to start.

After about 5 minutes (and no longer) putting around the parking lot, practicing starting and stoping, she says "I'm ready to go, lets hit a trail." I was feeling pretty good, she had the starting and stoping figured out, so we headed out.

After about 30 minutes of cruising around the gravel roads. I hear "OK, this is slow, how do I get to second?" So I showed her how to move into second and back down to first, and we were off again! About 30 minutes later we stop, she says "Ok, I've figured out 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, how many gears does this thing have?" I'm like.. "uhh.. 5, what do you mean you where in 3rd and 4th?" She says to me "2nd was to slow, and I wanted to cruise around so I just figured to keep pulling up to get higher gears and down to do lower gears." Is she awesome or what?

OK.. so we go back into the woods a little. This is where she learned to NEVER EVER stop going up a hill unless you have to! Stoping to chat just ain't a great idea, and this was our first and only incident. Starting to go back up the hill, she gave it to much gas, and let the cluth out a little fast, and pow, she was sitting on her back. Like a trooper she gets up, throws the quad back down (It sat up on the rear grab bar), and is laughing about it! "OPpps... little too much gas I guess!" she states. Well she got back on, and we rode for a couple more hours. Towards the end of the day I ended up removing the throttle lock (at her request). After 10 or 15 minutes I heard "Wow, now I feel like I'm on a machine, this thing moves pretty good if you hit the gas some, but I don't wanna go to fast, so I only push it half way most of the time!"

Moral of the story: She loves the quad, I have no doubt within the next couple riding trips she'll figure it all out and be a riding machine. She figured out her limits quick, isn't trying to tackle anything she isn't comfy with, and she only pushes the machine to where she feels good.

On the way home I hear, "We need to go riding alot more, I want to learn to climb hills and be 100% comfortable riding around, I just need more time with on the quad"

The best thing I have ever heard at 8:00am (the next morning), "I wish we go could riding again today, that's too much fun"

Thanks to the ladies (and gentleman) of the forum who encouraged me to go forward!!
Brad