i ordered a forin gear set for my raptor today from sam coe racing.it cost 914.00 plus i had to buy a shift fork.cough cough,my azz is still sore 8 hours later.anyway i mentioned to the guy that i was trying to find 02 gears to change over but they where on back order for 2months and he told me that they have had calls requesting the fortin set up for the 02s because their breaking 3rd gear,GREAT!so fortin is going to start building 02 gears now.he did say that the ones he had calls on where being raced ect.but them seemed to be the 1st 01s to go also.doesnt sound like yamaha fixed the problem even after a second chance,guess time will tell.looks like yammy outa lower the price on raptors about 1100.00 so a guy can aford to fix the trans.as a side not my freind had his 01 trans repaired at the dealer(under warranty)i talked to the owner the other day and even though they rode his raptor and verified it was jumping out of second gear,yamaha wont pay the dealer for the warranty claim,after sending the parts in they told him there was nothing wrong with it,so its not just the owners getting screwed!

 

Just to add my 2 cents.

I had my trannt go 7 months after I bought it. Got the dealer to repair it with the same gears that failed in the first place and installed and while we were at it, I had them install the mild Trinity 686 kit. I had the 686 kit for over 6 months, beat it pretty good, but this time I did not use "reverse". Why? Becuase the head mechanic at this dealer seemed to think the problems stemmed from the reverse gear (look at your shop manual and you can easily see why someone might think this). So? I went with it, it couldn't hurt to try, right?

Well 6 months into the new 01 tranny, with a 686 kit, not using reverse and no problem what so ever (no problems finding nuetral, no jumping out of gear, etc.)! Well except that the rod failed and took out every thing all over again (which very well of been caused by the stress the tranny put on it from the initial fail, although I will never know). Anyway, the point is "I believe that the reverse gear is the culprit"!

I now have a medium built 727 on the way and have gone ahead and used the 2002 gears. So in time we'll see if they work, but I'll bet ya I won't use reverse. I'll pick the frealin thing up and turn it around, if I have to!

My question regarding the Fortin gears is: If you install 2 gears (2nd and 3rd) that are much stronger then the other tranny components, isn't something else bound to fail or wear eventually? Your mating forged gears up against cast gears, I hate to say it, but I think the problem is still not solved. Unless someone builds a "complete" tranny for the Raptor, your going to see problems, "unless it is the reverse gear" or you don't use the reverse.

Me for one, I didn't buy the Rap for reverse, it's a luxury that you get used to using. It's there so you use it. Again, just my 2 cents!

Regarding what Yamaha should have done, they should of had us all pay a MSRP of $7000 for the Rap and manufactured a trans that could deal with the power. Instead they chose to bend all of us over (some of us twice and three times) so they could not only sell thousands of atv enthusiasts a Raptor (MSRP 6499.-), but to also make a crap load of money on tranny parts $500 - $800), the labor for those parts ($500-$800, again, some people twice) and the price of the other parts that were damaged when the tranny failed (clutch baskets, oil pump gear-the little nylon gear that gets chewed up everytime something goes through the motor ($500), including that additional labor($200).
And that oil pump gear is something that most dealers are missing to see and replace. I bet that if half of the Rap owners who had a tranny fail and didn't have that nylon oil pump gear replaced, took the clutch out and looked at it. You would see that (a) or some of the gears are either fractured, rounded off or missing completely. I would be willing to put money on it!

I like the Raptor and now have more money in it then I could ever sell it for (I will keep it til I break the frame), but I for one would think long and hard before I would seriously consider buying another Yamaha product period!


Ok, I'm done venting. Sorry all.

Swy

 

man! sorry to hear that! have bben told o1's have weak gears, have adjusted shifting style to go 'easy' and no problems....but if yamaha gives you the high hadr one.. well... let everyone in the world know!!! right after you let people like atv magazine, dirt wheels, etc and also ATVA know that folks are getting the blast from yamaha...and step back!! need hep? let me know friend! ;p

 

<< but I for one would think long and hard before I would seriously consider buying another Yamaha product period!


Ok, I'm done venting. Sorry all.

Swy >>

I'm with you. I'm a former owner of a Raptor and would be hard pressed to ever buy a Yammy again. Before I bought my Raptor I knew I was buying a first year bike but I figured this is the company that brought us the Warrior, Banshee, Blaster, R1, R6, YZ series of bikes, etc. All of these quads have a pretty good history in terms of reliability so I had no fears of purchasing the Raptor. Well, we all know what happened from there in terms of Raptor tranny problems. I will say that I never had a single problem with my Raptor (never had a carb boot blow off, no miss-shifts, no clutch problems, no starter problems) but the fear of these parts breaking became overwhelming. Seems like everyday I heard of another tranny letting go, another starter crapping out and so on. When I went to ride my Raptor and I pressed the start button I waited to see if I heard the grind that time signaling the end of my starter. Ever time I shifted to 2nd I wondered if it was going to pop out of gear. It got to the point that you worried more about the quad staying in one piece so you didn't ride quite as hard, didn't jump quite as far. I just got sick of worrying and sold it. If Yammy's customer service would've been half that of Cannondale's I would've kept the quad knowing that the manufacturer believes in what they sell and stands behind their product but I knew if the tranny blew I'd be stuck footing the bill myself.

I gave Yammy a chance and they blew it...

 

Not wishing any bad luck on anyone, but if just one non racer got hurt because of the tranny letting go on a hill or something and sued Yamaha, they would be forced to have a recall and fix-em all. As sue happy everyone is I can't beleave it hasn't happened already.

I only require a 5% net fee, in cash! J\K

Later

 

Raptor8, your statement,
&quot;If Yammy's customer service would've been half that of Cannondale's&quot;

I agree with this 100%, it looks like many of the first year Rap owners have taken this to heart and have done just that, bought a C-dale!


Gtv, stated,
if just one non racer got hurt because of the tranny letting go on a hill or something and sued Yamaha, they would be forced to have a recall and fix-em all. As sue happy everyone is I can't beleave it hasn't happened already.

Well, many have been hurt, but to sue Yamaha would mean alot of work. Your talking a huge Corporation. Finding an attorney to take on a case of this magnitude would not be easy! I can count of atleast 5 people who come to these forums that have been &quot;thrown&quot; over the bars when 2nd gear locked up on them. I was a bit lucky, that I was wasm't going all that fast when mine locked up.


Although none of us will ever get a response from anyone at Yamaha regarding these issues, it would be nice. C-dale, at times, responds to questions and even looks for feedback on thier products from time to time on this forum. This just shows how serious C-dale is to provide good customer service, find out what the market would like to see changed or updated, and to show that they just plain CARE! Something that Yamaha will never do, unless we, the end users, quit buying thier products!

 

Former Raptor owner now riding a Dale. I don't need a 686 or 720, because power like that is un-useable most of the time and will ONLY beat a Dale in a STRAIGHT line. Last time I rode there were some jumps, bumps, and corners to negotiate. C-Dale has done more for me then Yamaha could ever dream of, and their pockets are a million times deeper then C-Dales!!!!!!

 

sorry swytak, i didnt say a word about cannondales.....no biggie!