Ok, so the other weekend my buddies 2001 Raptor tranny grenaded & locked up for the last time. It had done it before but this was the final straw. Now I sit nervously waiting for when my 2001 Raptor tranny will go. Instead of waiting for it to fail, I was thinking about doing mine in his garage at the same time he does his, he knows how & I will learn, sounds like hard core fun!!

Before this happened, I was thinking that 2003 would be the year I spend some serious cash on suspension upgrades, a-arms/shocks/swingarm etc, spending around $2000 or so. Now that the tranny issue reared its ugly head & I began to think it may be a good time to replace mine before its too late. Problem is, once inside the engine, I'll probably get it ported, new rod, clutch, bigger bore, etc etc, easily costing me $1000 or so even with doing the labor ourselves. If after the tranny/engine is rebuilt & I decide to upgrade the suspension, then I'd be looking at another $2000 for a total of $3000, that's being conservative!

Then a new thought enters my mind. Sell the damn thing while it still runs & take some time off & save some money while waiting for the rumored new Yamaha 450F atv. It is supposed to have a true race bread suspension & won't be as tall as the Raptor either. With the engine in the dirt bikes putting out 40+ hp the atv should be fast & furious!
Hopefully it won't have any major flaws like the 2001 Raptor did.

I guess what I am getting at is should I spend $3000 or more upgrading the 2001 Raptor & hope I am satisfied with the results or put that money towards a new upcoming Yamaha quad that should be race ready & better in stock form?

I would like to hear your thoughts....

 

I say UPGRADE the Raptor!!!!!!!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I'll put in my two cents....
I say upgrade the rap. Here's why: Sluggish economy is going to push the R&D budgets back. I think it will be the year after next when Yamaha comes out with a new 450 level quad. Upgrade the raptor, get your money's worth out of it next year and the year after, then get the second year 450 quad. JMO

TX

 

i say sell it and buy a Yamaha Breeze! they rock! minus the rock, and add suck. id say fix it. cause can you be sure yamaha is coming out with a new sport quad? who knows, obveously not me. so i say just make thr rappy awesome.

 

Quads get leftovers form dirtbikes. Maybe a 426 motor probably a YZF400, but it won't be the 450 or the 450 in a Honda..

 

From a reliable source at Yam, its doubtful they will ever put the 426 in a quad due to the lack of electric start but the 450F is rumored to make it into a quad sometime in the near future. Honda has no choice but to make a newer/more powerful quad since the 400EX sales have plumeted, ask any dealer. I like the idea of upgrading the Raptor now & then waiting for one of the newer 2nd year quads to have most of the kinks worked out. I never even thought about what Honda will come out with so having a choice of either a bigger/better Honda or a smaller/faster Yamaha is exciting, I can't go wrong!

I also like the idea of selling my 2001 Raptor now to avoid any more maintainence/upgrade costs. If I invest 3-4K in the next 2 years I would definitely have to hold on to it for a while for my own sanity & to justify it to my wife/family. Decisions decisions! When I ask my wife what she thinks, she says she can't beleive what I have already spent & can't beleive what I propose to spend & can't understand why I feel the need to have the best. "Its just because its out there," I tell her! They just don't understand, its the way we are....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Chimmer,
I like my Rappy and plan to upgrade the suspension, .... and keep it. Not knowing what is truly on the horizen and for how long would mean you would be out of riding possibly for a long time. For me a couple of months is too long. Besides, if Yamaha were to put out another quad directly competing with the Rappy but better the price would probably be much higher or noone would by the Rappy. Keep the Rappy for now, change the tranny, and maybe do other things but for heavens sake don't go through withdrawls and the shakes of being without a ride. Good luck with your decision.

Charlie

 

If you quit buying titanium needles for your carb you would have no worries about cash. You know what I think! Just ride

 

go things come to people who what...........iam also waiting........trying to wait, anyway they better hurry

 

I too am in the same boat as you chimmer. I am debating on what to do. I have a 2001 Raptor, but have yet to have any problems.....the tranny issue does scare the hell out of me though. I was thinking of going with a Cannondale Moto and have a race ready quad and be done with it, but the price is a little steep. I was about to post about hearing rumors of the new Yamaha also, but as of yet they are just rumors! I saw on another web site about Yamaha coming out with a new quad. No one will know for sure until we see it though. Wouldn't it be sweet for Yamaha to put a YZF425 in a quad frame that is set up correctly!!! I guess we'll all have to wait and see what happens in the future with all the other manufacturers also.....they are bound to be more new sport quads released soon.