First Ride! Yamaha Raptor 700R

By Joe Tolle
Photos by: Frank Hoppen
Main test rider: Kory Ellis

In years past the open class four stroke market has been filled with a batch of machines that offer little in the way of versatility. Riders who enjoy riding in different terrains were forced to decide which environment was most important to them. They would then buy the machine that best suited that environment.

With a narrower chassis, more low end power and considerably less weight than Bombardiar’s DS650, the 2001 Raptor 660R filled the niche as a back east open class trail machine. Its narrow width and big tall motor came at a price however — the Raptor was quite top-heavy. During aggressive riding, the Raptor’s stock motor could easily outride the machines handling capabilities. Aggressive riding called for radical body English and a timid throttle hand in high-traction conditions. While other machines have come along in the open class to challenge the mighty Raptor, no one machine has risen to fill the diverse demands of the open class sport crowd.

While the Raptor 660 remained the #2 selling sport ATV, the arrival of the 450cc class machines in 2004 sent many would be big bore buyers shopping for pure competition machines. The stiff suspension and abrupt power produced by the race inspired were hardly ideal for casual trail riding, but if you wanted a high horsepower machine that was easy to throw around, the 450 class was the only place to look.

With the old Raptor growing long in the tooth and rumors of a big bore from Honda just over the horizon, Yamaha decided to take their dinosaur back to the drawing board for a complete redesign. As the machines release date approached, rumors of a longer, lower, wider and faster machine began to circulate. Riders Kory Ellis, Keith Little, and Bill Balance, who had ridden the machine and inspired its impressive handling characteristics, promised something revolutionary. Could the rumors be true? Were these test riders giving their honest opinions, or were they simply spreading the Yamaha gospel? On June 30th in Redmond Oregon most of our questions were answered.

The intro ride.
The first batch of Raptor 700s that arrived in the states was trucked to the East Fort Rock ride area in Redmond Oregon. Yamaha invited editors from ATV Scene, Dirt Wheels, Quad Magazine, ATV Action, ATV Illustrated, Rides, (a high performance car magazine) and the New York Times to come out and put the new machine to the test. The trails at East Fort Rock are primarily made from whooped-out sand. Many of the corners are bermed, allowing riders to push hard going into corners. With both tight eastern style woods sections, as well as wide open Baja style sections, it was the ultimate place to test Yamaha’s new open class monster.

Rather than giving you another huge technical breakdown, followed by our opinion, we thought it would be more insightful to compile the impressions of the various ATV Magazine editors on hand in order to provide you with a more diverse look at this much anticipated machine.

For the complete technical breakdown on the machine see the 06 Raptor 700 announcement piece we posted a month before this ride test. For help in deciding if this should be the next addition to your ATV stable, read on!

 

Being primarily a fan of motocross worthy machines, the Raptor 660 wasn’t traditionally a machine that I tried to spend a lot of time on. While the motor’s monster torque and good throttle response made the machine fun to ride, its tipsy short feeling left me thinking of the Raptor 660 more as a novelty, rather then as a serious sport machine. The new Raptor 700 is a completely different story.

The machines were sitting there already warming as we mounted for the morning loop. A stab at the throttle was answered by a quick burst of engine RPM, with no sign of hesitation. After easily pulling in the clutch with two fingers, the Raptor smoothly dropped into first gear and we slowly cruised out of camp.

Not just a woods weapon anymore. The Raptor 700 has the power and stability to go head to head with anything available in the open class. Out on the trail, the soil’s fine sandy makeup made judging the exact power output of the new Raptor difficult. Quickly opening the throttle was always accompanied by a lot of wheel spin. After riding a few miles it seemed that the new Raptor worked best in the midrange of the power band. Riding the Raptor 700 is like riding a stock YFZ450 with a lot more low end power and no off-idle hesitation., Yamaha claims that in a straight line the stock Raptor 700 is a bit faster then the stock YFZ. We cant wait to get both together to see for ourselves.

While the low end felt a bit stronger on the old Raptor 660, the Raptor 700 more than makes up for it with perfect carburetion provided by the electronic fuel injection system. Don’t worry, the Raptor 700 still has plenty of torque for exiting corners a gear high, or cruising along at lower RPMs. The transition into the midrange seemed to be progressive and hit free. Perhaps the motor is truly this electric smooth. After the midrange, the motor will continue to rev out, but don’t get carried away. The motor will be working much more effectively if you shift rather than wring it out to the rev limiter. Overall it feels a bit faster than the old Raptor 660, but to fully comprehend the motors capabilities, I will have to get one in some soil offering better hook up.

Although the Raptor wasn’t designed as a race bike, everyone agreed that the Raptor will be a viable weapon for desert of GNCC racing. Handling on the Raptor 700 is awesome! Gone is the excessive body roll of the old 660 and in its place is a much more YFZ-like handling package. Steering is extremely precise on the Raptor. The machine seems rock solid in the turns with virtually no body roll. The 700 tracks well through the whoops and dare I say, the harder you push the throttle the better it seemed to work.

The suspension did a good job of soaking up everything from small rocks and roots, to miles of whooped-out trails. No matter how hard we charged through the whoops, the suspension never seemed to pack, bottom, or kick up unexpectedly. This suspension package will work equally well for casual riders and aggressive racer-heads as well. While I didn’t get a chance to try it on a motocross track, I have a feeling that it will work well for all but the ugliest landings.

Stopping power on the Raptor 700 is incredible. At 6ft tall, I found the machine extremely comfortable. All of the controls worked well with minimum effort and the seat was comfortable and easy to move around on.

Time will be the final judge of the machine’s durability, but at this time, there is no other open class sport machine I would rather have sitting in my garage.

The Raptor 700 is awesome! After riding all day I would have to say that it is one of the best stock machines I have ridden.

The 700’s power was very impressive. The motor works best in the midrange and prefers to be short shifted. While it doesn’t rev quite as fast as the YFZ, it makes up for it by producing considerably more torque then the 450.

We weren’t many jumps to be found on the East Fort Rock trails. When we did manage to find something to launch the Raptor off of, it proved to be as predictable in the air as it was on the ground. For a stock machine the Raptor’s handling and suspension works extremely well. The shocks made handling the whooped-out trails extremely easy. In the tight sections, the Raptor maneuvers extremely well between the trees. All in all, the Raptor 700 handles and responds a lot like the YFZ, only more plush in every way.

I think the machine will be perfect for riders who like to go play riding. Not only will this machine work well out at Glamis, it will be equally at home in the woods. The machine is ideal for desert or GNCC racing and it should even be fun to throw around on a motocross track. Being a racer myself, I am eager to bolt on a pipe and other aftermarket goodies to see how much more power and performance can be extracted.

I will say however, after riding the stock machine for a day, I came away extremely impressed with the 06 Raptor 700 right out of the box.

 

My favorite thing about the Raptor 700 has to be the motor. The EFI allows the machine to run flawlessly from idle to redline. When a rider decides to add aftermarket accessories to the engine, the EFI completely eliminates the need for re jetting. EFI is definitely the future of ATVing and we will all be happier when that day comes. For 2006 and the new Raptor 700, — that day is now.

The Raptor 700 is very quiet. Unfortunately the noise savings robs some of the power lurking in the 700’s engine. Down low the engine feels a bit soft and signs off a little early on top. While the soft bottom makes the motor easy to ride, racers will want a bigger hit off the bottom. An aftermarket exhaust should be all you need to unlock more torque and top end power.

It feels as light as it looks. What Yamaha told you was the Raptor lost two pounds. What we’re telling you is that it felt like it lost 50!In the handling department, the Raptor feels like a larger version of the YFZ. The front-end feels much more planted than it did on the Raptor 660. While wheelie-fanatics might be a bit disappointed, riders who like to rail turns at high speed or cruise across the dunes will be much happier with the handling on the new 700.

Suspension on the new Raptor is outstanding. It does a good job of absorbing roots and small square-edge bumps, making it comfortable for casual trail riding. On the other end, the suspension absorbs long whoop sections and high speed G-outs without bottoming. These shocks do a fine job of handling most anything you ask them to.

The Raptor 700 is quite comfortable. The ergonomics are just a bit roomier than those on the YFZ. For the most part the seat is quite comfortable, although the front of the seat is a bit stiff. The dual counter balancers did a good job of reducing vibration, but you can still feel it a bit through the seat and pegs. Fortunately vibration through the bars was virtually nonexistent, so what little vibration is left won’t be fatiguing on long rides.

All in all, it’s a near perfect sport quad! Not a perfect race quad, but it wasn’t specifically designed for racing. In spite of this, I think people will show up in droves with them at cross country races. The Raptor 700 is a big step up from the Raptor 660, and represents redefinition of the sport class.

The Raptor 700 is going to be very user friendly for the rider who wants to have the biggest baddest sport quad out there. The Raptor’s engine delivers smooth all around power. Some of us felt that the machine was a bit weak off the bottom, making the EFI even more appreciated. You can bolt on a pipe and never have to mess with re jetting. On the old Raptor you not only had to re jet, you had two carbs to deal with.

Handling and suspension on the new Raptor is greatly improved. The suspension was plush yet it never bottomed out. The front end was light enough to carry over bumps, yet it never seemed to want to come up on you unexpectedly like the old Raptor 660 did. The machines new improved weight balance allows the Raptor 700 to carve through the turns, and unlike the old Raptor, there was no tendency for the machine to two wheel.

If this were the old Raptor you would be swapping if you kept on pushing. With the new Raptor 700 the harder you pushed it the better it worked. All around the Raptor 700 is very comfortable. The relationship between the bars, seat, and pegs allow the rider to have plenty of room to move around. While sitting my knees were actually at a bit of a downward angle, making it easy to transition from sitting to standing. While the seat was not quite as narrow as the one on the old Raptor, it was still easy to move around on.

The machine’s tires offered good forward and breaking traction, but lacked in corners. Yamaha used a diamond shaped knob pattern, probably for looks more then anything else, that allowed the machine to wander a bit from side to side. A switch to a set of Maxxis Razrs or ITP holeshots will only further enhance the machines already good handling characteristics.

Stock right out of the box the Raptor 700 is a great sport machine. It delivers a good smooth power, handling, and suspension. While there may be a little room for improvement its definitely going to give the Bombardiar DS650 and Predator 500 a run for their money.
The first thing you notice about the Raptor 700 is the easy starting. You never have to touch the throttle. Just hit the start button and the EFI takes care of the rest. Throttle response on the machine is extremely crisp throughout the RPM range.
While giant volcanic eruption may have made the dinosaurs extinct, Yamaha’s new Raptor 700R has moved up a few spots on the food chain as it prowls the volcanic fields of Oregon for prey. The Raptor 700R’s front end geometry i very similar to the YFZ’s and it shows on the trail. The machine handles extremely precisely. It’s fun to wind the machine through the trees and wherever you pointed the bars is where the machine went. In the suspension department, the Raptor has some of the best stock shocks I’ve ever ridden!

The ergonomics on the 700 are excellent. The machine has a slim midsection making it easy to grip with your knees. The handlebars feel as though they are right where they should be. You don’t feel like you have to reach out for them. The seat foam offered a good balance of comfort and control. It was stiff enough to move around on, yet soft enough to be comfortable on long rides. Overall it’s a very comfortable machine.

At the end of the day I came away loving the Raptor 700R. In fact, I feel it is one of the best sport models I have ever ridden. The YFZ has been my favorite sport machine for some time now, but after riding the Raptor 700, I think it appeals more to me than the YFZ ever did.

What’s next?

With all of the aftermarket goodies that will be popping up for the new Raptor700, Yamaha has promised us a test unit so that we can further explore the machine’s performance capabilities. We would like to get the Raptor together with an ’05 Raptor 660 and quite possibly a YFZ 450 for a direct comparison. Watch for more upcoming articles on this new revolutionary sport monster. If you have any questions on ATV Scene’s experience on the Raptor 700, post them in the Yamaha section of our forums.

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