Anyone into ATV riding?

[imq707s]

In addition to my boating and sportbike hobbys, I'm thinking about getting into ATV's. I went riding with a friend over the weekend....and I'm hooked. I'm thinking about getting a used "sport" type ATV.....but like everything I want to buy, I have to do plenty of research first.

After looking around a little, I found that might be worth looking at. It's an 03' Raptor 660, great shape, original tires , full two brothers exhaust w/ jetting, also has after market bars, shock covers, and some other goodies.

It's advertised for $3200...but like anything else, I'm sure they will go down some.
Anything that I should specifically look for when I go and check it out??

Any reason why I should stay away from the Raptors?

Thanks again for the info.

****UPDATE****

Well...now I'm in a little bit of a dilima. I found another ATV that looks really nice.

If you guys had to choose....what would you get?

1. 2003 Raptor 660. Full Exhaust + jetted, aftermarket front/rear bumpers, after market bars, great shape. $3200





2. 2004 Sukuzi Z400, aftermarkket slip-on, aftermarket bars, skidplates, Great shape. $3000



Thanks

[cat06]

I'd go with the Raptor, unless I could find a Banshee

[johnt]

don't know much about ATV's but theres a Banshee listed in Joplin, Mo. You might check out Craigslist..Its listed on Craigslist- Tulsa but should be listed in Joplin also..

[jay1]

i personaly dont like the raptor...it does have good power. but its not very agile.to me it seems to have a very high center of gavity.that and it feels like an absolute tank to me.. ive owned .. 3 trx 250r 's 2 banshee's ,one of wich had alot of work to the motor but had stock suspension. a worrier .a 400ex and a quadzilla 500 w/ a trinity motor , roll designe suspension , and a few blasters ... my friends and i ride regurly on the state trails in black river falls wisconsin and ive raced for what seems like ever... i guess it really depends on what type of riding your gunna do...and most of all how aggressive you are.. ive seen just about every sport quad on the track and most of em can be converted for racing , but like anything else, depends on your pocket book...as far as what hot right now ... that new suzuki 450 .. seems to be the best all around race ready quad out right now... and i would think for a sport trail model .. with longgevity the 400 ex is forever. handles well stock, fairly resonable priced ..a friend of mine has a raptor its always ran great. and its pretty fast on pavement.. but in the tight trails its always last no matter who's on it... thats just my oppinion.... jason

[stvhelm]

I have a raptor and love it. when i first rode it I had the impression it was a tank too. It took a while to get used to but after sometime now if I ride some of my friends kfx 450's or a banshee they feel like kids toys. just my .02

[jay1]

hey stvhelm love that pic...now i see what yer saying...raptor= ROCK CRAWLER....

[Raceman]

I'm more into ATV's than ATV riding (go figure ) but in any case, I've got a Banshee with chambers, another one that's pure stock, and a pair of ATC250R Honda 2 strokes, one stock and the other ported and with a chamber. To me, the stock Honda ATC 250R is the most fun by far............ big punch right off idle and good handling.............. but of course they've been out of production so long now that most anything available used is likely to need MAJOR attention. I also have a Yamaha Rhino (side by side) that is about all I ever ride anymore.

I bought a 450 Yamaha motocross style 4 wheeler when they first came out about 4 yrs ago and hated it when I got it home. It didn't seem to have the punch of the Banshee or the 2 Hondas and had tremendous vibration for something I was planning on woods riding, PLUS even though it was fast, the powerband was so flat it just wasn't fun to me. It took it back to the dealer with about 30 minutes total time on it to trade for ANYTHING. I rode a Raptor around on his demo field and didn't like it. It felt top heavy, and also like the swingarm was too short (wanted to wheelie too much and the backend felt loose turning) and the power was mediocre. I REALLY liked the styling of it though, and the smoothness in comparison to the 450, and tried hard to convince myself to buy it and do some minor engine upgrades and put a longer swingarm on it, but didn't. I ended up tradin' for a Grizzly instead and was amazed what a good high perf woods toy it was in spite of it's 4WD, automatic clutch, and lackluster suspension. (the dealer said that the Grizzly was for Hunters that wanted to jump, and I don't hunt, but bought it anyway) When the Rhinos came out I swapped the Grizzly back for one of those and REALLY like it. Polaris Razr is a fun haul ass side by side also, and I may try one of those shortly.

Incidentally, my son who's really into Grizzly's now and has lost all interest in 2 stroke 4 wheelers is helping a friend of his get an ATV website up and running. They have visions of it turning into a Scream and Fly for the dirt. WWW.ATVtorture.com There's a forums line at top of page.

[Casey]

My wife races quads and has had 3 Yamaha's, all have had zero problems. For Christmas i bought her a new 08' YFZ 450 to replace her 05' Raptor 660. She likes everything about it better then the Raptor. I'm not saying the Raptor was a bad quad, it's just not the best for racing, they're more for trail riding.

08' YFZ 450



05' Raptor 660

[Raceman]

I've had Yamaha stuff since I was racin' dirtbikes in the 70's, startin' with a '71 250 enduro converted to MX with gyt kit, and the natural evolution through the YZ's and finally into the 4 wheelers. I've always had EXCELLENT luck with the Yamaha stuff, both in the bikes and the 4 wheelers.

As far as the YZF450 I bought I really don't know why I didn't like it, except it didn't have the explosive punch I was used to from the 2 strokes. I'm the ONLY person I ever ran across that didn't like em. At the time I bought mine they were just introduced and REAL hard to get. When I traded my new one back in the guy that bought it was already on the list to get one, so he was appreciative, and told me later he thought it was the best quad he ever owned and thought I was nuts for not likin' it. I guess I just like 2 stokes.

[jay1]

raceman i remember them atc250r's the first ones were free air .. the later ones were liquid cooled.. after they stoped production of the three wheelers .. that same liquid motor went into the trx250r.. 4 wheeler..even after the trx had stoped being made they still dominated the motocross track for what seemed like another 10 years.....either ones you have ... there very cool atc's........jason.....

[1BadAction]

its a damn shame they didnt push the 2-stroke based platform farther. I've been on a modded 440cc banshee a few times (actually back to back with a 660 raptor) and its just downright brutal. theres no comparison.

[fastlane35]

i would go with the raptor their fast fun and have a lot of power even in low gears and are awsome to ride

[Frank G]

I have had a few quads and found the Yamahas to be very dependable. My Banshee was an animal in it's stock form, But got tired after a few years of the 2 Stroke . The Raptor is a great over all performer ,Fast ,handles great. The YZF450 is an out of the box racing machine but no reverse.Tough when trial riding. My choice is the Raptor,but ANY YAMAHA is the better choice.

[Raceman]

raceman i remember them atc250r's the first ones were free air .. the later ones were liquid cooled.. after they stoped production of the three wheelers .. that same liquid motor went into the trx250r.. 4 wheeler..even after the trx had stoped being made they still dominated the motocross track for what seemed like another 10 years.....either ones you have ... there very cool atc's........jason.....

I bought my son an ATC250R 3 wheeler when he was 11 or 12. It was air cooled and got stolen from the garage. I think we replaced it with another air cooled one, and then the first liquid cooled one a year later. He always prefered the 3 wheeler for some reason, and still has the last ATC250R 3 wheeler we ever bought about 20 something years later. It's got a chamber and the jug was ported by somebody that was doing some stuff for the Honda privateers back then, and it's scary fast and peaky, even though still only 250CC's. My 250R 4 wheelers haven't been cranked in probably about 3 years. When Helmut was down here for the boat shoot on the Extreme Marine TV shoot he rode one of em, and it may or may not have been cranked since. The Banshee was out of gas and I didn't have any then............ it's a shame he didn't get to take a shot at it.

[ssent]

Which one to choose? Either one are great trail models. I've ridden both models you have questions about. For me I liked the feel and handling of the suzuki better. The suzuki feels a little more agile in tight woods maneuvering and overall easier to handle. Power is good but not as strong as the raptor, but by no means under powered either. My weight is about 195lb. When it comes to power I liked the raptor better. The raptor does have more power, but to me it seemed to have a high center of gavity compared to the suzuki. It doesn't have the feel of a utility quad but it's not all that easy to throw around cause of the higher center of gravity when compared to the suzuki. The raptor takes more body english when riding aggressively compared to the suzuki. The raptor felt like it would barrel role on me a lot easier when getting crazy on it. If ya like to climb hills the raptor has the power but that higher center of gravity can come into play. As far as the suspension I'd call that about even, but I think the raptor has a little more travel. Unless you do a lotta jumping that shouldn't be an issue. As far as durability goes I'd call that even. The only thing I have heard bad about the suzuki is people bending rear axles from doing drop off jumps from 8 or 9 feet high to the ground. That was on the first and second year models though. The raptors had a lean issue just off idle and would sneeze and blow the carb loose from the intake rubber boot, that was on the early models also. That was corrected with later models. From my experience yamaha parts seem to be a little higher priced, but I haven't had to purchase any suzuki parts recently. Maybe some else could comment on that though. Like other people have said it depends on your riding style. I would try out each one and see what you like. Just remember that riding each model in a straight line down the street won't tell you what you need to know about making a good decision that fits your riding style. If ya like all out power, the raptor has it. If you like easier handling, the suzuki has it. Either one will hurt when it flips over on you.

My ride is a honda 400ex.
Good luck with your decision.