It's a flyer for sure. Weighing in at under 400 pounds (claimed dry weight), the Raptor is light enough for a strong rider to flick around in the air. The plush suspension easily soaks up much harder landings than this, although the fronts are a bit soft and can dive in aggressive turns. Cranking up some more preload is a quick fix, while aftermarket suspension, as well as wider A-arms will really perk things up.

How Do It Do In the Dunes?
Some comments from the peanut gallery...

   It's been a long time coming, but finally a new open class quad with some muscle has hit the dunes! The question burning in your minds is, "Is this the new king of the hill?"

   Well no... That prize still belongs to the Yamaha Banshee and the Suzuki Quadzilla. But this is one hell of a quad. I'd say the Raptor is more like the "heir apparent" to the throne...

   The motor pulls hard everywhere across the rpm range. And I'll bet a months salary that untold ponies lay dormant in this big thumper, yearning to breath free and scream across the big bowls of Glamis. It won't be long before the tuning gurus have figured out how to squeeze every last bit of power from this already strong motor. After that, who knows? There may be some bruised Banshee and 'Zilla egos out at the hill in a few months.

   I like it better than the Bombardier, which just feels way too heavy for duning. The Raptor also has mountains more grunt than the 400EX without much additional weight. Add to that the fact that it, just plain looks bad ass. Yamaha's styling people hit a home run with the cosmetics of the Raptor. We all know the first thing you do to your dune machine when you get it home is to slice off those nasty looking, Dumbo the Elephant ear front fenders. Not on the Raptor my friend, the fenders actually look better on, go figure!

Constructive Criticism From A Hard Core Dune Goon:
   The Raptor has more than enough power to get your adrenaline pumping in the sand. What I didn't like was the "top heavy" feeling of the chassis. It's not that the quad is heavy, in fact it's amazingly light weight despite the fact that  it's a big four stroke with an electric start and reverse. The problem here is chassis geometry. Too short of a wheelbase, too narrow of a track and too steep of a steering angle makes the Raptor feel "tippy" at high speed on steep and deep sand. In the dunes, size matters and being wide and long makes for faster speeds and less abuse on the body.

   Most notably in a steep downhill transition, the front end tends to plow, rather than float. This does not inspire confidence. The Banshee is notorious for this same tendency. A 100% fix, and a MUST for the serious duner, is to upgrade to front A-arms that move the wheels out and forward 1.5". Replace the front shocks with high performance units that carry a remote reservoir and run Razorbacks on 10 x 7 wheels. In the back go to a 2" plus 4" rear axle and the 10" paddle tire of your choice. I prefer a custom grooved Sand Tires Unlimited Paddle Brat or Skat Trak's 10 paddle Hauler. But riders of lesser weight (I'm a svelt 225) may want to consider a V-shaped paddle like the Trekkers, Skates or Edges.

   The Raptor's motor makes gobs of power, so look at an aggressive pair of shoes for the rear. Unfortunately there isn't much in the way of swingarms out there yet, but depending on your ability and weight, I'd look at a 2-3" extended. Set up like this I'd expect the Raptor to be one of the best duners you could buy.

Would I Buy One?
   This is the sixty-four hundred dollar question, and the answer is a resounding yes! I'm in the market for an ATV that has an electric leg so the wife can start it easily, but still has enough bang to make me grin when I wanna ride it. After riding the Raptor I know I'll be buying one. 'nuff said.

   In the coming months look forward to finding out what a Raptor will do after it has been tortured and tweaked by some of the most evil engine and suspension builders on the planet... Stay Tuned!

Mr Dune