Yamaha Raptor

As much as we enjoy climbing up a rocky trail or slogging through a muddy pond on a utility ATV, we’ll always be sport riders at heart. The challenge of shifting up through the gears, pitching your machine around a corner, or sailing off a jump is more intense on a sport machine, and we really like how a great sport machine can challenge your skills as much as the trail. Nothing else can match the power to weight ratio and acceleration, especially if you’re on a healthy 450cc machine, or better yet, Yamaha’s Raptor 700.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Side-by-Sides are taking over the off road vehicle industry. Everywhere you look on the trails, the dunes, and even on the road, you see big, wide wheelbases and roll cages. In fact, SxS sales are carrying some manufacturers through tough financial times, and the manufacturers with the most going for them right now, not coincidentally, have at least one SxS model in their lineup.

The Yamaha Raptor 250 is, hands down, one of the greatest ATVs available.  It’s light, it’s reliable, it handles great, and whether it’s a teenager honing their skills or a highly experienced rider just out having fun, everyone comes back with a smile after a ride on the Raptor 250.  For new sport riders, it’s perfect and the potential for this ATV is endless.  Walk into any Yamaha dealership, like John Burr Cycles in Fontana, California, and for a very reasonable price, you can pick one up and have a great time tonight, tomorrow, all weekend, and for years to come.

Every rider that loves the dunes needs a trip to the Mecca of dune riding at least once.  Southern California’s Imperial Sand Dunes, a.k.a. Glamis, is to dune riders what Fenway Park is to baseball fans; it’s the heart and soul of their sport, and until you actually go there, it’s a little difficult to understand.  The Glamis Dunes are 6 miles wide and 45 miles long, running right up to and beyond the Mexican border.  We were determined to ride every bit of it and Yamaha had just the vehicle to do it; the new Raptor 700R.  

When it comes time to hit the dunes or trails, we’re looking for power in a great handling package and that means the Yamaha Raptor 700R. It’s been the perfect power and play machine since it was first introduced, and for this year Yamaha gave the mighty Raptor 700 a round of updates. Just to make sure you didn’t miss anything, they also bestowed the “R” designation to its name as well, but what it all means is the best machine in the class just got better.

A little over a year ago Yamaha moved all production of the Grizzly ATV lineup to their Newnan, Georgia manufacturing facility.  It was a huge statement about the plant’s quality and production capacity, and it got the finished product closer to the end customer.  Now Yamaha is bringing production of their most popular sport ATV, the Raptor 700, to Georgia also, and while they’re at it they’re giving the Raptor a fresh look with a round of upgrades.