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| The Raptor 250 draws its visual attributes from the YFZ450 and its Raptor brothers. At 313 pounds the Raptor 250 could be the lightest full-size adult ATV on the market. |
Back in 1988, Yamaha launched what turned out to be one of the most successful and longest-running ATVs in the sport's history, the mighty little Blaster 200. After an 18-year run, Blaster production sadly came to an end in 2006 due to more stringent EPA regulations forcing out higher emission two-stroke engines.
In 2007, Young riders looking to step up from the Raptor 90 or other youth ATVs had to take a big leap to Yamaha’s Raptor 350 or an even larger leap onto the mega-powerful Raptor 700. While both machines are good, neither is a suitable replacement for the featherweight and economically priced Blaster 200.
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| Back in 1988, Yamaha introduced the Yamaha Blaster which remained popular for its entire 18 years of production. Unfortunately EPA regulations brought an end to the little two-stroke. |
One year after the Blaster's departure, Yamaha has come up with a replacement they think has all the makings of a winner: the all-new 2008 Raptor 250. Before developing the Raptor 250, Yamaha took a hard look at the current 250cc class. What they realized was nearly all of the machines in this class were more appealing to older or female riders due to their easy-to-ride but less-than-high-performance CVT or semi-automatic transmissions.
Besides the lack of a manual clutch, the current batch of 250cc machines are also held back by their weight, with most weighing more than 360 pounds! While that doesn’t sound all that heavy with Yamaha’s own YFZ weighing in at 350 pounds, in fact it is. The power-to-weight ratio of a 250cc four stroke pushing more than 360 pounds, plus the weight of the rider makes most of these machines feel a bit anemic, especially to a rider who has gained some experience.
Yamaha knew that to capture a part of the 250 market, they had to be different. Instead of building another ultra user friendly fluff-mobile, they needed to get back to basics and build a machine with all of the characteristics that made the original Blaster 200 so successful--a simple machine that was light, reliable and a blast to ride.
THE ENGINE
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| The Raptor 250 borrows its engine from a stunt motorcycle sold in Japan, so we expect gobs of low-end grunt. With a bore and stroke of 74 millimeters by 58 millimeters, we expect the little 250 to be a quick revver. What's more the Raptor is a true sport machine with its five-speed manual-clutch transmission. |
The Raptor 250’s two-valve, SOHC, four-stroke engine was borrowed from a stunt motorcycle sold in Japan. Simalar to a trials / stunt bike engine, we would expect this engine to have a lot of bottom-end power. The Raptor’s motor is air cooled, features an all-aluminum and ceramic composite-plated cylinder, which helps dissipate heat, reduces weight and improves cylinder life while the wet sump system with an oil cooler offers increased cooling ability. If you're considering crying foul about the fact that the engine isn’t water cooled, four-stroke engine builder Powroll states that an engine of this displacement may actually be better off without water cooling, as the extra drag caused by the cooling system may in fact reduce power slightly.
The engine is fired by a push button electric starter with no backup. Feeding the engine is a 29 millimeter Mikuni carburetor. Since this is designed to be an economical machine, fuel injection was out of the question. On the back side of the carburetor is an easily accessed airbox which requires no tools to remove the air filter.
Unlike most of the 250cc machines on the market, the Raptor comes with a manual clutch, which engages and disengages the machine's five-speed manual transmission. While most machines in the class come with reverse, the Raptor foregoes it, opting for less weight and a lower price tag. No one seemed to complain about not having reverse on the Blaster, so they should be able to get along without it on the Raptor.
In the 250 class, manufacturers seem to be in a dead lock as to which is better: shaft drive or chain drive. Yamaha decided to go with chain drive on the Raptor and we applaud them for it. Chain drives are lighter, allows you to change gearing should you switch to a different tire size and is a considerably more efficient at transferring power than shaft drives. While you might have to get your fingers dirty lubing and adjusting the chain, Yamaha made that easy by giving the Raptor the same easy-to-use chain adjustment system found on the YFZ450 and Raptor 700.
CHASSIS AND SUSPENSION
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| The Raptor 250 features an all-new compact high-tensile steel frame designed with rigidity in mind for better responsiveness. With everything else on the machine, it was built to be as light as possible. |
The Raptor 250 received an all new tubular chassis constructed of high-tensile steel. The frame was designed with strength and rigidity in mind, but not without taking weight into serious consideration. Yamaha was serious about keeping this quad light and they started with the frame.
Up front, the Raptor uses a conventional dual A-arm setup with five-way preload-adjustable shocks, which deliver 7.5 inches of wheel travel. Out back, a preload-adjustable shock mounts to a linkage-less swingarm, delivering 7.9 inches of travel. Besides offering more travel than the old Blaster, the wheel travel numbers are some of the longest in the class.
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| With 7.5 inches of preload adjustable travel up front and 7.9 inches in the rear, the Raptor 250 has some of the longest wheel travel numbers in its class. | ||
WHEELS AND TIRES
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| The Raptor's Dunlop tires were designed specifically for the Raptor 250. While their 20-inch fronts and 19-inch rears may be a bit small for gnarly rock sections, they should help the machine's handling everywhere else, especially in the turns. Wheel material? It’s aluminum. Why? Its light! |
Yamaha outfitted the Raptor 250 with a set of Dunlop tires developed specifically for the Raptor 250. The tires measure in at 20 by 7-10 front and 19 by 10-9 in the rear. The tires are similar in design to those found on the Raptor 700, which received mixed reviews due to their tendency to break loose too easily. However, on a 250cc machine, having a tire that is willing to break loose may not be a bad thing when it comes time to pitch it sideways in the corners.
With 20-inch tires up front and 19-inch tires in the rear, the Raptor is giving up a bit of ground clearance by not running a more standard 21-inch front and 20-inch rear setup. While this may hinder the machine a bit on the most rugged and rocky of trails, the machine isn't a 4X4 and the lower center of gravity is sure to help handling on more groomed trails, and when the rider ventures onto a motocross tack.
Back when Kory Ellis raced for Yamaha, he often ran black wheels on his YFZ. That was one of the reasons he always had one of the cleanest and coolest looking machines on the track. Yamaha with the scene knows what's up, so they outfitted the Raptor's weight-saving aluminum wheels with a cool-looking black finish.
STOP
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| Sharing many of its brake components with the YFZ450, the Raptor 250 could be the fastest-stopping ATV on earth. The YFZ-style chain adjustment is reason enough to trade in your old Blaster. |
We're betting no ATV on the planet will be able to out-brake the Raptor 250. The machine features disk brakes front and rear and borrows its master cylinders and rotors from the YFZ450. In addition, the machine also features newly designed high-rigidity calipers. We don’t have to ride it to know its brakes will rock.
FIT
Yamaha says, “The overall size and lightweight makes it easy to flick around, while the newly-designed seat gives rider of all shapes and sizes plenty of room.” From what we saw of the machine, we think the new Raptor should be a bit more accommodating to larger riders, while smaller riders won't feel overwhelmed by the Raptor’s size.
SUPER LIGHT WEIGHT
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| Yamaha wanted a nimble sport-oriented ergonomics package that would appeal to smaller riders, like the Blaster it replaced, while still allowing more room for larger riders. From our first-hand look at the machine, it appears they were successful. |
Yamaha knows that while many different types of riders may venture their way onto the Raptor 250, it was designed for the young hardcore, and up-and-coming sport enthusiast. For that reason, they went to all the trouble to keep the Raptor incredibly light. How light you ask? Well, it’s not only the lightest machine in its class, Yamaha somehow managed to make their new four-stroke machine lighter than the Blaster. At 313 pounds, the Raptor is a staggering 11 pounds lighter than the Blaster and more than 120 pounds lighter than Polaris Phoenix. The Raptor 250 is the all-time featherweight champion.
OPTIONS
The all-new 2008 Raptor 250 will be available at Yamaha dealerships nationwide starting in July of 2007 in Team Yamaha Blue and Gray/Red color schemes. Two all-new Special Edition Raptor 250 models will also be available at the same time, including a Black/Orange color combination that incorporates select Genuine Yamaha Technology – Racing (GYTR) parts, and an all-black model that comes with a “do-it-yourself” sticker kit so the rider can design their own graphics.
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| For those looking to stand out, Yamaha offers plenty of options including their standard Yamaha Blue, red/gray and their limited editions orange/black and all black with customizable graphics kit. Both limited-edition models come with various GYTR goodies. |
CONCLUSIONS
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| While we don’t want to make any premature judgements, after CT Racing’s Allen Knowles inspected the machine for us, he thinks that it should outperform anything else in its class. We will soon find out! |
We can’t draw any final conclusions until we ride the Raptor for ourselves. However, judging by the specs and our first-hand look at the machine at Yamaha’s sneak peak press release in California, the Raptor 250 should offer more performance and better handling than anything currently available in the 250cc four-stroke class. In fact, according to CT Racing’s Allen Knowls: “The Raptor's handling should be good enough to make any Blaster rider jealous.” All that, and with a tentative retail price of $3,899, the Raptor is set to introduce the next generation of sport enthusiasts to the thrills of ATVing. As sad as we were to see the Blaster go, we're thrilled to see the arrival of the Raptor 250.
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