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ccdhowell
04-06-2008, 09:00 PM
I was quickly getting a severe case of the 2-stroke blues trying to race my Quadracer in tight woods against new 4-stroke quads...so I got one for myself. Went around yesterday morning looking at new quads, not planning on bringing one home. Walked into a dealer that I don't visit very often, and started chatting with the owner, nice guy, very knowledgeable. Anyway I stayed there long enough to bring this home

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/345/345135/folders/287640/2301242DSC06214.JPG

Woulda bet good money that I was gonna buy the Polaris Outlaw 525 IRS, but I just couldn't leave that new Raptor 700R. I compared them both, rode them both and brought the Raptor home. Should be a fine woods racing quad, next race in two weeks.

Chris



Hey mods, don't delete me...we're not riding, just sitting. I put my helmet on to move back into the garage:). You do believe me don't you?

SYKO
04-06-2008, 09:31 PM
looks good man! dont turn into randomstrike or devildog and preach how you received superhuman powers by having a raptor, lol

ccdhowell
04-06-2008, 09:47 PM
looks good man! dont turn into randomstrike or devildog and preach how you received superhuman powers by having a raptor, lol


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Holy crap that's funny...



...I already got my superpowers, shortly after I finished my big bore Tecate:w00t:

jason85atc250r
04-07-2008, 08:43 PM
get rear hubs from a 87 or 88 quadracer and you will be able to use all your wheels and tires from your lt 250. they are the same 24 spline.

it seems like the honda trx250r is the only 2 stroke that does decent at hare scramble in the gncc's. they handle way better and more reliable. there is alot of people still running them. there were 4 lt 250 's at the unidilla NY round and none off them finished.

i heard poeple talking on the gncc forums that they are switching back to 250r honda's. they have less break downs and it does not tire them out since the 250r's are not as heavy

SYKO
04-07-2008, 09:05 PM
I kinda always liked the raptors, the problem is peeps tend to overhype them, Im sick of hearing my raptor does 120 mph and crap like that, reminicent of banshee owners as well. Ive ridden a few I like the power, but seems a bit heavy for my tastes in a quad, and kinda tired of the styling, I wish they looked more like the yzf 450 even the raptor 250 looks better in my OP.

The Goat
04-07-2008, 09:11 PM
just out of curiosity, hows that raptor stack up next to your big bore tecate?

if you go out there and start stomping people with a stock quad...you're gonna get a look or two.

OldSchoolin86
04-07-2008, 09:16 PM
just out of curiosity, hows that raptor stack up next to your big bore tecate?

if you go out there and start stomping people with a stock quad...you're gonna get a look or two.That BB Tecate should walk all over the Raptor.

Nice buy, you'll have to keep us posted on your next ride. I like the 700 handling better then the old 660's.

ccdhowell
04-07-2008, 09:35 PM
Hey Goat, the Raptor and Tecate are night and day different. So far I can tell the Raptor is all torque. I popped the clutch in first without giving it gas and it lugged a little then settled down and pulled away, didn't die. The Tecate likes to sing a soprano song way up high in the rpms, zero torque and I have it geared so high you really have to finess the throttle to get it off the line at a snappy pace.

In a drag race, I'd say the Raptor would take the first 50 feet or so then the Tecate would blow it's doors off and win by 20 lengths going away. The Raptor should be pretty darn good at woods racing though. My Quadracer was long and wide with a snappy engine, but it was light. Too bad I didn't buy a '91/92 Quadracer I may still be racing it, that's when they started using basically what is a modern rear suspension set-up.

ccdhowell
04-07-2008, 09:40 PM
get rear hubs from a 87 or 88 quadracer and you will be able to use all your wheels and tires from your lt 250. they are the same 24 spline.

No chit man! I already put '07 LT-R450 hubs on my Quadracer to make it 4/110. You mean I could get another set of LT-R hubs and they'd fit my Raptor? That's good chit.




...there were 4 lt 250 's at the unidilla NY round and none off them finished.

Well that tells the story right there doesn't it. What GNCC forums do you talk on? i'd like to take a look at some.

Chris

jason85atc250r
04-07-2008, 09:59 PM
No chit man! I already put '07 LT-R450 hubs on my Quadracer to make it 4/110. You mean I could get another set of LT-R hubs and they'd fit my Raptor? That's good chit.





Well that tells the story right there doesn't it. What GNCC forums do you talk on? i'd like to take a look at some.

Chris
there is quadzone.com has a seperate section just for the gncc nationals and atvriders.com does also. gnccracing.com i think has the live scoring from the nationals as it happens. you can link to it from quadzone also.

for the raptor you would need a set of 400ex hubs to get 4x110mm since they are 24 spline i think your old lt is 25 or 26 spline

i meant that you could get 87 or 88 lt250r 5 lug hubs hubs for your raptor also and use your lt250r 5 lug wheels on it. the older lt's are 24 spline. 89 and newer ones are the 25 or 26 spline

smokinwrench
04-07-2008, 10:28 PM
What made you choose the raptor over the outlaw?

ccdhowell
04-07-2008, 10:35 PM
What made you choose the raptor over the outlaw?

Well Josh I guess I always did think the shape of the front fenders was odd, but this dealer carries both and sitting side-by-side I chose the Raptor. Just a personal choice I guess.



Jason, I'm gonna check the hubs I put on my QR axle. I did look at Durablue and they make Honda pattern hubs for my Raptor axle, kinda pricey though. I did buy 3 new sets of rear wheels and tires for the race season so I'm looking to get hubs instead of new wheels. I guess I'll just have the new fronts I bought swapped out to the Raptor wheels.

Chris

The Goat
04-07-2008, 10:41 PM
yeah, i knew that tecate would stomp that stock raptor...I was more curious as to what that tecate rider thought of the raptor.

not to mention that from what I can tell his tecate should be blisteringly fast.

are you gonna mod it? or keep it stock and keep your warranty?

oldsking86
04-07-2008, 10:51 PM
Just out browsing and came home with a new bike, sweet!! I personally would have taken a 450 because the hype behind these raptors is lame already... Still nice score and they do sit comfy but I think it's a bit heavy for racing..

Like Jason mentioned.. the 250r's are where it's at, perfect geometry in frame and power there is plenty :)

jason85atc250r
04-07-2008, 10:59 PM
What made you choose the raptor over the outlaw?

he made the better choice. the ifs rear outlaws get alot of body roll in the corners and you cannot power slide threw the corners due to the body roll also.. 95% of the outlaws i see at the races are the solid axle version works way better.

a couple pro and proam guys thried them at the GNCC races and hated them. were way faster on the regular version

ccdhowell
04-08-2008, 07:29 AM
yeah, i knew that tecate would stomp that stock raptor...I was more curious as to what that tecate rider thought of the raptor.

not to mention that from what I can tell his tecate should be blisteringly fast.

are you gonna mod it? or keep it stock and keep your warranty?

The Tecate rider is me...and I like the Raptor. It's always odd to ride most other atvs after riding the Tecate for several years in it's current form...everything feels slow and heavy and all quads all have too much arm pump and bump steer to me. Since I started racing quads in January I've ridden my Quadracer allot more than my Tecate and am coming around on the quads. The guys I ride and race with still sometimes give me grief cause I ride a quad like a trike, but I'm gettin' there on my race quads. I bought the Raptor knowing it is a big bike with a big engine with lots of potential. I am a big guy, 6'2" 240lbs, and can handle a bigger quad, lots of guys are racing utility quads these days and they are really heavy and I hate to admit it, but I've been passed by several big motor utility quads on the race course.

I plan to race the Raptor basically stock + a steering stabilizer through the rest of this season and access the quad at season's end. I am keeping my old Quadracer, it was fun to "develop" for my style and racing needs. I plan to work on it more and maybe even race it again sometime in the future. If we ever go to a fairly open course like the first one of our season, the quadracer would be the quad of choice.

Chris

The Goat
04-08-2008, 03:14 PM
ride a quad like a trike? like oversteering and then mashing the gas to do controlled slides for ALL turns?

also, i wouldn't be too embarassed about these new utilities passing ya, if you remember when you were looking for a quad to race gncc, i actually suggested a big utility. The can get up and go pretty well.

cr480r
04-08-2008, 06:20 PM
If we ever go to a fairly open course like the first one of our season, the quadracer would be the quad of choice. Chris

I would think the rapter would have the advantage in the open areas, and the LT would be easier to work in the tight stuff... the raptors have more power but they are heavy...

ccdhowell
04-08-2008, 08:45 PM
ride a quad like a trike? like oversteering and then mashing the gas to do controlled slides for ALL turns?

Yeah, I basically just steer the backend with the throttle and a flip of the handlebars. In a way I ride trikes kinda lazy cause they're so light and have loads of power, well at least my Tecate does, but it would scare the hell out of most.


cr480r, I'm hoping the grunt of the big single will pay dividends in tight woods, won't have to shift so much; can be more consistent. I know the Raptor is no high revver like the 450 race quads, but I bought what I wanted. The 2stroke would/should dominate out in the open, it is clearly faster than most quads I race against. Bottom line is that the Quadracer would/could be quite good given the time to develop it properly. I was well on my way when I messed up a top end the first time. Then when I cooked the engine the second time I really just don't have the time to put into fixing it in lue of developing and improving it so a new quad was in order. I plan to continue to evolve the QR. I have two directions in mind; continue down the XC racer road, or convert to a flat tracker. Guys over on QuadracerHQ seem to have good luck flat tracking and running TT. Who knows? I do know I will be racing my new Raptor the next race on Apr 20.

ccdhowell
04-08-2008, 09:58 PM
That's funny John. I've lost maybe 60lbs since you saw me last.

300rman
04-09-2008, 01:11 AM
I am keeping my old Quadracer, it was fun to "develop" for my style and racing needs. I plan to work on it more and maybe even race it again sometime in the future. If we ever go to a fairly open course like the first one of our season, the quadracer would be the quad of choice.

Chris

if you really want to have a totally nasty 2 stroke, get your cylinder and head to PR RACING for porting and other nifty mods. When i talk to that guy about stuff.....god he knows what he is doing, and has some nasty machines out there.

oldsking86
04-09-2008, 06:33 AM
I won't lie about them utility quads they are pretty potent when set up. If I could have it my way, I'd have my 250r and a kfx700 (not quite sport nor utility) because I know those bad boys can make plenty of power and they are automatic :)

ccdhowell
04-09-2008, 09:38 PM
I went looking for a KFX700, I wanted to ride one and see for myself, but noone in town had one, apparently they don't see well around here.


300rman, I'll keep that in mind. Right now I'm more concerned with suspension setup. The engine, when it runs, is plenty potent in current form for it's old intended roll anyway. If I decide to make a flattracker out of it, then I'd be in need of more power.

Chris

ATC-Eric
04-10-2008, 11:43 AM
Thats awesome Chris, good for you! :beer


I want a new quad so bad! Just hate the thought of some payments.

JasonB
04-20-2008, 12:24 PM
DANG CHRIS!! you have lost some weight!!! congrats man that bike is a sweet machine, i LOVE the black wheels! :naughty:

ccdhowell
04-20-2008, 09:06 PM
Thanks Jason, the black wheels sold me too. I clicked your car just messing around and saw your pics. Very nice MR2, but I gotta tell ya, I love the one with the stupid look and the vodka.

Chris