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The Raptor
250's stock 19" rear tires &
wheels are great for trail riding, but
for racing we went with a larger 20"
Maxxis rear tire & ITP reinforced
ring wheels for added durability, ground
clearance, and traction.
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By October of 2007, we were finally ready to
race the Raptor 250 at the Powerline Park GNCC.
A kill switch and Maxxis tires were added for
the race to help stave off flat tires and give
us a bit more ground clearance. After almost
3 months of not racing, our rider was soon off
the line as we put the machine to the ultimate
test. With our rider admittedly not being at
100%, he was still able to work his way from
the last row to mid-pack out of almost 380 riders.
His feedback from this race allowed us to zero
in on a few areas that he felt needed attention;
the biggest being suspension. The Raptor is
nimble, and can dart in between trees or avoid
large rocks, but at race speeds and under real
world conditions, the stock suspension was being
ridden way over what it was designed for. Other
then that, power again was reported to be great
and no other issues were found during the two-hour
race.
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| The
nearly stock Yamaha Raptor 250 was lacking
in power against the highly modified Honda
300EX ATVs in the Youth Production class,
so we knew some engine performance mods
would be required before the start of
the 2008 GNCC race season |
ATVriders.com
Test Rider, Cody HIll, finished the Powerline
Park GNCC with a 13th place finish, which
was mid-pack among a class of 300EX &
Blaster ATVs. Not bad for his first time
out on the Raptor 250 in the highly competitive
Youth Production Class |
As fall turned to winter, planning was at full
speed as products were ordered in for the build.
GYTR got the nod for almost every component
they offered. Knowing that we should not have
fitment issues with GYTR products, we decided
on running one more local race to get one last
feel for where we were headed with our planning
for the build up. I reckon this was a good thing,
because I was almost ready to cancel my order
to Lonestar Racing for wider a-arms and axle
as we felt we could be fairly competitive aboard
the stock parts and only have to splurge for
shocks.
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The raptor 250 will be perfect
for the rider who is just starting out |
This local race really brought out the shortcomings
of the stock suspension, as it was brutally rough
and incredibly wet providing us with another area
of testing; to see how waterproof the machine
was. The two-hour race only reaffirmed our thoughts
on upgrading the entire suspension but the rest
of the ATV never missed a beat. We did have the
stock chain stretch and gave our rider fits as
each lap it would force him to get the chain back
on and run until it derailed once again. Other
than a loose chain, the Raptor had given us flawless
performance for well over 5 months. I know of
no other torture test an ATV could be put through
than to be the daily ride of a 14 year-old, not
to mention the addition of adding the abuse of
racing. The Raptor may not be perfect, but it
was holding its own as it took everything we were
throwing at it. With the year coming to an end,
the New Year’s Eve race would be the final
task of the machine in stock trim as the following
week, tear down would begin.
