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By: Jason Giacchino
Email:
offthepegs@atvsource.com
December 2007 - Off The Pegs
Bring on the 250s
Yamaha Raptor 250 SE Orange/Black |
You really have to hand it to Yamaha. Not
only has the company held strong in the days
when Japanese manufacturers wouldn’t touch
performance quads with a ten-foot pole, but
they’re also credited with sparking the red-hot
450cc class revolution with their YFZ450 back in
2003. Regardless of which brand earns your
loyalty, Yamaha deserves accolades for their
resilience and understanding of the potential of
the sport ATV market.
Even to this day the tuning fork company
isn’t about to lie idle while the industry goes
through its current retooling phase (the end of
the production 2-stroke). We’ve been
talking quite a bit about the cult classic
Blaster of late and the countless number of
aftermarket companies who continue producing
(and selling) parts and accessories for the now
defunct model. While it would have been
easy to close the chapter on this entire market
segment, Yamaha has instead been quietly working
on the Blaster’s replacement. Wearing the proud
Raptor label of its 350 and 700cc brothers, an
all new 250cc play quad is about to be released
for 2008 here in the US.
While I for one feel like the high tech 250cc
mills being used in the motocross bikes would
have made an absolutely incredible ATV platform,
the new quad’s development team has instead
taken the increased reliability and ease of
maintenance route in their spec sheets. As
such, the Raptor 250 is an air-cooled, single
overhead cam, two valve 249cc four-stroke mated
to a manual clutch 5-speed transmission.
Unlike its Blaster predecessor, however, the
days of mashing a kick starter are long gone.
All of the Raptors feature electric starting.
Like the Blaster, Yamaha has trimmed off all of
the unnecessary pieces and bits in the name of
simplicity (and weight savings). In this case
that means no reverse gear.
Where the big Y did pay careful attention was
the braking department as the Blaster’s manual
drums left a lot to be desired! This time the
Raptor 250 will offer up hydraulic discs all
around. Suspension travel is adequate for
sport riding (trails especially) with 7.5 inches
of preload adjustable squish in the front and
7.9 inches in the rear. With a dry weight
of 312 pounds and a 43.7 inch wheelbase, it is
apparent that Yamaha is really looking to the
same type of rider who would have purchased a
Blaster: Someone seeking zippy performance and a
tree-carving nimble chassis without the steep
costs or maintenance-heaviness of the bigger
bore race or sport models.
What makes this latest effort even more
noteworthy is the simple fact that the
competition in this class is basically
nonexistent. Somewhere between now and the
early 1990s (when models such as the Honda 250X
and Kawasaki Mojave ruled the roost) the market
swung into the reasoning that 250cc machines
should be based on utility platforms and
targeted as beginner-only machines. CVT
(automatic) transmissions and shaft drive were
commonplace in the once proud 250 four-stroke
ranks, but Yamaha plans to take the buying
public back to the manual clutch/ chain drive
era of yesteryear.
Unlike the Raptor 350, Yamaha hasn’t just
rebadged a preexisting model or stuffed a new
motor into the old Blaster chassis. Instead the
Raptor 250 is new from the ground up.
Taking what experiences they had gathered from
development and servicing of the YFZ450 and
Raptor 700, Yamaha knew exactly what it wanted
from its latest sporty effort. The
front-end geometry is actually inspired by none
other than the YFZ itself. The front shock
bodies are directly off the Raptor 700 (with
softer spring rates). Best of all, they’ve
wisely designed the motor with individuals who
may seek additional performance down the road in
mind. The available GYTR kit alone
(jetting and exhaust system) increases
horsepower by a whopping 15%!
Presentation is spot on as well, with plastic
and headlights that pay homage to the YFZ and
bigger Raptors and color choices that go beyond
the standard blue. Other options include a
gray and red scheme, orange and black, and all
black (with custom decals). Trick-looking
black rims are standard in all color schemes.
As an individual who just recently built up a
’95 Blaster into a modern race quad, I can
attest to the fact that Yamaha has addressed all
of the bugaboos that plagued the old 2-stroke
then went above and beyond to assure the new
Raptor a long and healthy production run.
We hope that this model will rekindle interest
in the 250cc sport class and get the attention
of all of the manufacturers. They’ve done
it once already, so it’s a definite possibility.
Then who knows, maybe in ten years I’ll pick one
of these Raptors up and spend my summer turning
it into a full race quad. That’s what I
like about Yamaha; they’re always thinking of
the future.
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