Thinking about getting a raptor but hesitating because I hear they don't handle as well as some of the other sport quads in the turns. How much truth is there to this and how can it be remedied without spending megabucks? I don't wnat a quad that is tipsy in turns as my wife may ride it occasionally.

 

Raptors have a high center of gravity, and a narrow stance. That is what makes them somewhat tippy. You can buy a wider axle and A-arms and fix most all of the problems. I have also heard from my friends that the Dunlop rear tires sometimes had too much sidebite and when sliding through turns, they gripped and threw them off. A widened axle and A-arms would not be very cheap.

 

If you cannot afford the a-arms and axles you can buy what is like a hub adapter/spacer which mounts right to your stock hub. Remove the tire/rim, bolt these things to your hub and put the rim back on using the studs on the spacers. I have also seen stud extenders. They just thread on your hub studs and mount your rim. I think that both the studs or the spacers are 1.5 inches so your quad will be three inches wider. My quad has stock suspension and I have never had a problem. Just need to be a little more aggesive in the corners. Hammer it.

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2001 raptor, ct pipe, pro-flom foam, air box mods,
sprockets, razors, tag x-5

 

What type of riding do you do? You will want to dump the stock radials, they suck. I wore them down on pavement a little, and they did ride better (less grip). I just put Razr's all around, and took it out to a little 40 acre area behind my house. It made a nice improvement. Also, a lot of people keep the stock suspension setup on their raptor. You have to play with it to fit your riding style, it makes all the difference. If you change out the tires, and just stiffin up the preload, you should transfer more weight to the front, eliminate some body roll, and the rear end will kick around easier. Do the above, and then put the spacers on, if you still need them, and you will be real stable. And, like spacollie said, once you get a feel for the thing get aggresive on the turns. If you're tentative, and break everytime you think your in trouble, then, you will be in trouble. I found that more throttle saves me better than the breaks ever have. I was going to go wider, but I don't think I need it. Learning what body english your raptor responds to makes all the difference. Only reason I break on turns now is if I don't know what's around the corner (two weeks ago I had that concept reinforced - I'm leaving pucker marks in my chair just thinking about it again) The Raptors a powerful beast, so if you take the time to learn how it responds, you won't have any problems, and I guarantee that each time you punch it, you won't be able to help but grin (and just wait till you go with a new pipe, filter, and re-jet). You will hear about how well the EX and Z handle, but I just road a stock 400EX Tuesday for the first time. It had +2 a-arms and a +4 axle. It didn't handle the woods any better than my raptor. Granted, I am real comfortable on the raptor now, but I didn't notice the handling to be much better, if any. Definately not enough for all the constant posts I see about how much better it is than the Raptor. Hell, after reading some of the magazine articles, and posts in this forum, you'd think the difference in handling would be like comparing the new Porsche Carrera GT to a Radio Flyer wagon. I was riding up and down steep hills, over rocks, straight runs, 5 to 6 foot jumps, and some whooped out sections. One thing I did notice, however, was the power was very similar to my daughters pink barbie jeep (yes, I deserve to be flamed for that comment). But, for where I ride, and how I ride, that's what it felt like compared to the power on the Raptor. I know you can do a lot of work to add power to the 400, but that's how the stocker I rode felt. Unless you are going for a pure MX machine, don't get one of the 400's. If you are doing MX, get the c-dale. Don't beleive the dirt wheels shootout. They wanted to name the Z quad of the year before they ever rode it. Those guys have such a hard on over that thing, they'd probably claim it did better on the street than an R1.

BTW - Before I bought the Raptor, I had an 1998 Foreman 450 S. And, my wife cruises around on the Raptor in 1st and 2nd gear all the time. She even opened it up in 3rd once, I reiterate, once. It's a tame beast unless you get on it. My wife likes to just cruise around. It's great, because when I go out with my dad and uncle (both have foreman 450's), I can't put around with them too. (Of course they always try to get me stuck, because they want a picture real bad of having to pull me out with their foreman's. I'm the family trader now that I've switched over to the dark side!)

You're gonna love whichever machine you choose. Just don't let all that tippy BS sway your decision...



I'll have to update my mod list sometime soon.

 

I have a 01 Raptor and I recently put a longer axle and holeshot tires on it. It made all the difference in the world. It works fine in the woods also. The Raptor is a little tippy stock but it was a easy fix. Now I have a fast bike that handles great to. I wish i would have done this back in 01 when I bought it.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I think all this "tippy" nonsense began with some of the reviews in the trade mags. Then it was further propagated by certain riders who were neither ready or qualified to ride a serious performance quad. Many of them had their experience in straight line dragging (ugh!) and had little or no experience in woods, XC, or other areas where body position or movement of same was important to the control of the bike. Granted, the OEM tires, like all radials, tend to give little warning before breaking loose in corners and the may cause problems for the inexperienced rider but a little practice on the bike before riding too hard will accustom one to the peculiarities of the tires. mThe other option is to run some bias tires such as Bandit XC's when the OEM's are worn out.I do run a Lone
Star Axcaliber +1 now on my 2001 Raptor but only because I had a disagreement with a log in a blind corner in the woods last summer. Otherwise, I'd still be running the stocker.
Bottom line, learn to ride this beast before trying to straighten out too many corners and move around on the seat!

 

I couldn't agree with these guy's more. I didn't think I wanted a Raptor either, because all I heard was how "tippy" it was. I decided that I would look at the Z400 as well as the Raptor. I eventually bought the Raptor, and couldn't be happier. It is not "Tippy". I read so many articles that said that it was "tippy", but there was one that summed it up best. They said that it was slightly more "tippy" than the 400ex, but only a professional rider would notice. I will agree with that statement. The 400ex or Z400 will be slightly less "tippy" than the Raptor, but unless you are a professional rider, you will not be able to tell. Trust us, the Raptor handles just fine!

 

Just changing the rear axle makes a huge difference. It costs half as much as changing the A-arms, and takes about a half an hour. $300 is worth the improvement, you can easily live with the stock a-arms. A nice set of Razrs or Holeshots in the rear really helps too. We flipped the rear linkage on ours which lowers it almost 2 inches, but I don't know if that is possible on the 2002's, it looks different. A set of Works shocks in front is a very worthwhile improvement, even just the steelers for $329.
With tires, rear axle and front shocks, you'll have pretty great handling and suspension. Add a slip-on, pro-flow filter and rejet accordingly and you have spent about $1,000 for a hugely improved machine. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Hey Fourlix,

Has it been raining in NM ? Are the trails open ? The crew is ready to head for Saddlerock any time ! Drop me a line.

Eric

 

ya, listen to hispeed, the guy is the first to respond to a raptor question and he doesn't even own one. buy a 400ex so us raptor owners have someone else to blow by on the trails. now the truth, stock is tippy. but +1 offset rims in the back with a set of razors or holeshots and your a happy slider. and it will cost you around $200.00 bucks. how much $ will it take to make a 400ex run like a raptor ?
save the stock tires for winter. great for mud and snow .