raptor 700

[breakdirt916]

my friend's ridden quads before and is renting a raptor 700 for the day

I've never ridden one, but we were planning on splitting it for half the day

on yamaha's website, it looks like the equivalent of a CRF450R/CR500 sort of deal

is this a death machine?

[Stoneman]

Nah, but they are a handful...

[7UPyours]

where can you rent one?

[JettaJayGLS]

It has 4 wheels and a thumb throttle...as far as I'm concerned, you hit the gas and go with minimal consequences.

[tls25rs]

It has 4 wheels and a thumb throttle...as far as I'm concerned, you hit the gas and go with minimal consequences.

Tell that to the 7 screws and a plate it took to put my right wrist back together from a 4 wheeler incident. Admittedly it was entirely my fault for doing something dumb but the consequences were far from minimal.

OP, all these dirty toys are only as dangerous as you make them. Treat it with respect and you are unlikely to get bitten. Don't choose to do that and you could get hurt even on a 250 or smaller.

[Stoneman]

They can be a handful. Even with the EFI they're a bitch to ride slow...

[JettaJayGLS]

Tell that to the 7 screws and a plate it took to put my right wrist back together from a 4 wheeler incident. Admittedly it was entirely my fault for doing something dumb but the consequences were far from minimal.

OP, all these dirty toys are only as dangerous as you make them. Treat it with respect and you are unlikely to get bitten. Don't choose to do that and you could get hurt even on a 250 or smaller.

Yeah, I think we're on the page that there is definitely inherent risk involved with all. My point is that you run a nearly identical risk to rolling my 300ex as you do the Raptor 700 despite having a third of the power. It may actually be more risky on my 300ex due to the ergos. I do get the point that riding a 700 slow would be difficult, but with a nearly non-existent risk of whiskey throttle it is very easy to just roll off and that is the natural tendency.

[G21forme]

Treat it like a liter bike and you'll be fine, rode my buds Yamaha 450 Wheeler for all of two minutes before I decided to park it before I hurt myself. Don't let the four wheels lull you into a false sense of security. Imho

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[R7]

I have an 06 and still enjoy tossing a leg over the thing for a good ride. It's on par with the 450 MXers as far as power goes, and has quite a bit more torque to back it up. IMHO it's the best do-all sport ATV on the market. I've spent time on MX tracks, ridden a lot of tight trails, and some long full day rides on some open fire roads up north...it just does everything good! Also reverse is a big plus for trails, unloading, etc.
Greg said it best, treat it like a liter bike, it is the big bore in the ATV world and has the performance to back it up. Things can and do happen fast...while you can look at it as the extra wheels help balance you if something goes wrong (really not the case in the real world), it's also 2 more wheels to help throw you off balance, 2 more wheels to get tangled in something, double the weight to toss around/get tossed around by, etc.

If I was out in Cali with the deserts and sand dunes, it would be a must have toy with sand paddles

[breakdirt916]

we're heading to a place with wide open riding, sounds like it's gonna be a blast!

going to be respectful to it...I'll be on the YZ250 for the rest of the day anyhow

$100 for the day!

@ 7up - I moved from MA to southern CA

[gregp]

I have spent some time on a Raptor 700. It was a big pussycat, if you ask me. It had plenty of power, but is was pretty mellow in delivery. Suspension was OK, but harsh in rocks/roots. They are BIG machines, but in a desert environment, riding one would be a blast. They used to be known for having weak sprag clutches, though. I do not know if that problem has been addressed by Yamaha yet.

[R7]

I have spent some time on a Raptor 700. It was a big pussycat, if you ask me. It had plenty of power, but is was pretty mellow in delivery. Suspension was OK, but harsh in rocks/roots. They are BIG machines, but in a desert environment, riding one would be a blast. They used to be known for having weak sprag clutches, though. I do not know if that problem has been addressed by Yamaha yet.

What you're describing sounds like the prior generation Raptor 660, made from 01-05. 06 and up are completely different, new style engine, new frame, new (YFZ450 style) suspension, EFI, etc. I've heard of no issues with the 06 and up sprag clutch, and the often failed 2nd gear issues with the 660

[Stoneman]

What you're describing sounds like the prior generation Raptor 660, made from 01-05. 06 and up are completely different, new style engine, new frame, new (YFZ450 style) suspension, EFI, etc. I've heard of no issues with the 06 and up sprag clutch, and the often failed 2nd gear issues with the 660

That's what I was thinking. My old 660 can't come close to what the 700 is...

[xrocket21]

I know where you can buy a white 06 700 efi if you want....

[R7]

I have the white 06 as well, tho not for sale. It's been the most reliable offroad toy I've ever owned, I'd hate to even know how many hours are on this thing, but it's a lot. Minimal items replaced for a 9 year old machine..few sets of brake pads, 4 sets of tires (tells the story on hours) a clutch last summer, this thing still has the original battery in it.

Wait, I did break a couple things I forgot about...hit a stump in a grassy field at a good clip, went over the bars, bent the lower control arm...rode the the home....bought a new set of take offs on ebay for all 4 A arms for less than one new one woulda cost!
On the ice, racing some friends on a "woods" type ice track (frozen swamp), had it kicked out sideways in a corner, got a little to close to a 3" maple tree, clipped it with the back tire, snapped the tree off at the ice, and I ended up in a tangled mess of branches and a raptor. Bent the rear axle like an L, blew the tire off the rim, bent the rim...my day was done

Washed it and changed the oil last weekend, still looks pretty good..

[Stoneman]

I could be talked into selling my '07....

[SVRACER01]

that straight axle in the rear can make them rough in the woods. my experience was the rear liked to jump around a bunch when riding over roots and rocks at a spirited pace. the front was great but the rear would sometime bounce in directions i wasnt trying to go. i also felt that on the rough stuff it was a little challenging to shift gears. and forget about staying clean. fenders on sport quads are all but useless. i like a big cushy 4x4 auto

[breakdirt916]

@ R7 or stoner - can you fit this in a half ton with enough space for a dirtbike next to it too?

I had the yz250 all the way over and measured about 44" of free space...and dimensions on yamaha's website says 46"...so I'm guessing it might fit, but be a bit of work

[R7]

Yes, they fit together no problem. I've had my Raptor side by side with my KTM in the back of a full size truck. I also did the same thing when I had my YFZ 450R, which is wider than the Raptor by 3-4". Put the quad in first, and push it over tight to one side and the dirtbike should slip right by it

[Stoneman]

My crew cab has the extra small bed so I have to let the air outta my rear tires to close the gate. So a standard short bed should be no problem...

[breakdirt916]

fitting it took a bit of work...I had to lift the dirtbike front wheel/frame/midpipe over the quad's rear wheel to get it by...then the swingarm was wedged between the tire and the truck bed...but it worked

they couldn't get a Raptor 700 with a spark arrester in time, so they gave us the YFZ450









it was my first time on a quad, and it was fun...but I didn't really enjoy riding it "fast", over jumps, or technical terrain...it just felt like it was getting bumped all over the place if 1 wheel hit a bump/rock and the other one did not...I was much more comfortable just going WOT on a 2-stroke MX bike

all in all...it was still fun for drag racing and donuts



the best off-road toy for me (and quite possibly ever made) is still a YZ250



pretty comfy with the power now...when I have a wide open/sandy fire road, I can comfortably go WOT pinned in top gear

[gregp]

Whippin' Shitties on a sport quad is some of the best fun a guy can have. Or, so I have been told.

[xrocket21]

Whippin' Shitties on a sport quad is some of the best fun a guy can have. Or, so I have been told.

I would have a hard time remembering laughing harder then when I saw a friend get to the bottom of a hill on a dirt road ahead of me, doing about 3 donuts on his warrior, then one side started to dig in, I could see the inside wheel start to lift......

Saying he fell off the wheeler would be an understatement...

Saying he was thrown from the wheeler would be an understatement....

This man was thrown down to the ground by some weird centripetal force that made it look like an invisible giant picked him up with one hand and whipped him at the ground like those little paper and gravel filled "popper" toys.

IM SAYING HE BOUNCED HE HIT SO HARD

Man, he slammed so fucking hard... Im laughing just thinking about it

[R7]

it was my first time on a quad, and it was fun...but I didn't really enjoy riding it "fast", over jumps, or technical terrain...it just felt like it was getting bumped all over the place if 1 wheel hit a bump/rock and the other one did not...I was much more comfortable just going WOT on a 2-stroke MX bike

all in all...it was still fun for drag racing and donuts

The funny part is, most think you just sit on a quad and ride around. IMHO it's more important to stand up while riding a sport quad, than it is to stand riding a bike. Standing will take 90% of that bumped all over the place feeling away.
Of course, that YFZ looks like it's seen better days, and has mismatched tires which really makes them ride like shit.

I may or may not be picking up a new YFZ 450R MXer....

[breakdirt916]

The funny part is, most think you just sit on a quad and ride around.

yupp...this

is it anymore expensive to maintain than the bikes?

my friend told me to ride just it more...buy one...get used to it, then I'd like it more than bikes. Was thinking about it, but it seems like you need more money to even get into one and maintain it. No option for any sort of street plate or fire road access either...so maybe 4x/year max usage if I can't ride out of my garage...so not sure I want to do that. I'll just do more reading...