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I will preface this by saying I'm going to very objectional in that I'm not going by what people say or what I read. I own both. I've rode both. And this is my experience.
My Experience - I grew up riding a TRX250 and TRX200. Both 2wd utility quads. They're primary use were for deer hunting in Texas and Missouri. My father and I have been all over east Texas in mud and west Texas in sandier hillier (if that's a word) and rockier terrains. I've had my 2wd 200 in some places 4wd quads wouldn't go. I know how to ride fast and in control (for the most part). I've rode my Honda for about 8 months. I ride with a very capable group of guys whether they have experience or balls. I recently picked up a Raptor 700r as a spare quad. This past weekend I had a good day to actually ride it and put it to use.
The Raptor 700r - The raptor is a great looking bike. The aftermarket is definitely there and there is a STRONG following. I think its funny when you search "700xx" on eBay motors for parts and ~200 show up and you search "raptor" and 2000+ show up. It's a do everything bike to me, even though it may not do everything as well others it seems to be a good quad.
Strengths - I'll start with what I noticed that it has over my Honda. It feels like it makes more torque. It feels stronger, even though I know its not. I know it has smaller tires but every time I hit the gas I was drifting from one side to the other - it likes to slide. I have been heavily into road racing and and the slowest way around the track is sliding or drifting. If you're sliding you're losing time. Maybe that doesn't apply to dirt, but I would think it does. The Raptor feels like the powerband is very linear and smooth. It was more fun in loose sand than my Honda but around here - there's not much of that. It does great doughnuts. I do like the front shocks more than the front shocks on my Honda, they seem to be a bit softer.
Weaknesses - The rear end. Two weekends in a row I've seen someone fly over the handles bars on a Raptor 700r because the rear end kicked them in the rear and bucked them off. The second one being myself. :nuts: It must be because the rearend is so much lighter than my Honda that it doesn't like to stay on the ground on the kickers. The Raptor was not at home in the rocks and doesn't feel very stable on them. It wants to flip forward every chance it gets. My Honda never had this problem, once again the weight in the rear I think helps that. Make sure you have skid plates on this thing cause you WILL get hung up, hit, get stuck on rocks all over the place. I actually hit one rock that put a pretty good size dent in the lower A arm. I checked out my Honda and thanks to the ground clearance, there aren't any rock dents or dings of any kind. (I will be getting A arm guards and skid plates soon though). Another bad thing about this is the ground clearance itself. One particular hill - about 10 feet up - nothing large, took 4 tries to get up it, and the only reason I got up it was because I had enough speed to slide the rear up the hill. Otherwise it kept getting high centered.
I'm sure there are other strengths and weaknesses out there about the Raptor. Your decision should be based on what you do with it, how you ride and your experience. Neither of these are for beginners. If you ride the type of stuff that's very technical with obstacles I wouldn't think twice about picking the Honda. If you ride mainly in the sand or smooth terrain, I think I'd go with a Raptor. Either way - they're both good quads and very different. But i'll stick with my Honda. :yay:
My Experience - I grew up riding a TRX250 and TRX200. Both 2wd utility quads. They're primary use were for deer hunting in Texas and Missouri. My father and I have been all over east Texas in mud and west Texas in sandier hillier (if that's a word) and rockier terrains. I've had my 2wd 200 in some places 4wd quads wouldn't go. I know how to ride fast and in control (for the most part). I've rode my Honda for about 8 months. I ride with a very capable group of guys whether they have experience or balls. I recently picked up a Raptor 700r as a spare quad. This past weekend I had a good day to actually ride it and put it to use.
The Raptor 700r - The raptor is a great looking bike. The aftermarket is definitely there and there is a STRONG following. I think its funny when you search "700xx" on eBay motors for parts and ~200 show up and you search "raptor" and 2000+ show up. It's a do everything bike to me, even though it may not do everything as well others it seems to be a good quad.
Strengths - I'll start with what I noticed that it has over my Honda. It feels like it makes more torque. It feels stronger, even though I know its not. I know it has smaller tires but every time I hit the gas I was drifting from one side to the other - it likes to slide. I have been heavily into road racing and and the slowest way around the track is sliding or drifting. If you're sliding you're losing time. Maybe that doesn't apply to dirt, but I would think it does. The Raptor feels like the powerband is very linear and smooth. It was more fun in loose sand than my Honda but around here - there's not much of that. It does great doughnuts. I do like the front shocks more than the front shocks on my Honda, they seem to be a bit softer.
Weaknesses - The rear end. Two weekends in a row I've seen someone fly over the handles bars on a Raptor 700r because the rear end kicked them in the rear and bucked them off. The second one being myself. :nuts: It must be because the rearend is so much lighter than my Honda that it doesn't like to stay on the ground on the kickers. The Raptor was not at home in the rocks and doesn't feel very stable on them. It wants to flip forward every chance it gets. My Honda never had this problem, once again the weight in the rear I think helps that. Make sure you have skid plates on this thing cause you WILL get hung up, hit, get stuck on rocks all over the place. I actually hit one rock that put a pretty good size dent in the lower A arm. I checked out my Honda and thanks to the ground clearance, there aren't any rock dents or dings of any kind. (I will be getting A arm guards and skid plates soon though). Another bad thing about this is the ground clearance itself. One particular hill - about 10 feet up - nothing large, took 4 tries to get up it, and the only reason I got up it was because I had enough speed to slide the rear up the hill. Otherwise it kept getting high centered.
I'm sure there are other strengths and weaknesses out there about the Raptor. Your decision should be based on what you do with it, how you ride and your experience. Neither of these are for beginners. If you ride the type of stuff that's very technical with obstacles I wouldn't think twice about picking the Honda. If you ride mainly in the sand or smooth terrain, I think I'd go with a Raptor. Either way - they're both good quads and very different. But i'll stick with my Honda. :yay:
