I can't believe it has been a year already and I must part ways with my long-term machine. Yamaha is bugging the magazine to hand over the 2006 test machines just as we've grown attached. That's OK, the tuning fork guys are waving the 2007 carrot in front of me, so I guess I can give up the Raptor. The year-long relationship just flew by as the 700R is a very user-friendly sport quad. The smooth, linear delivery disguises the healthy level of power from the 686cc mill and lets the pilot focus on other nitpicking. Like the suspension, especially up front. This was the fly in my ointment, so to speak, for this quad. Other than the fine set of Elkas we sampled on the Alba Action Sport's 24-hour entry, the pickings have been slim. The big issue with the front shocks is the lack of adjustability; you can change springs and alter the preload, but there are no compression and rebound controls. So the rider is stuck with the limited performance level.
However, not all was lost. Fasst Company makes what has been called the solution to bad suspension-the Flexx Bar. Bolting on one of these beauties necessitated a bigger-diameter bar mount, which meant a new steering stem and thus a call to IMS/Roll Designs. The aftermarket goods raised the level of the grips some, but for a 6-footer, this was a nice by-product. For those who have never replaced a steering stem, a dead-blow hammer and a friend are needed. One person holds the critical piece of metal that connects the tie-rods to the stem while guiding the stem itself, and the other person whales on the top of the stem with the hammer to drive it home. Exacting tolerances are good but require some persuasion. I also replaced the ragged-out plastic that was prematurely aged along with the myriad of missing fasteners-the aftermath of pipe testing-and the bald stock tires (with ITP's new Holeshot GNCC tires and T-9 wheels).
Even without the new plastic, a graphics kit is a quick way to wash out that gray, and I covered the new blue with Adapt Racing's Raptor graphics and seat cover. A new set of Spider grips and Cycra's rubber-edged Stealth Moto DX hand shields and the makeover was complete. Before heading back out to the trail, we pulled the HMF system out from our pipe collection [Editor's Note: Send us a letter and photo of your Raptor explaining why you need a pipe and you might receive a gift in the mail] from the massive test we did in our March issue. Some general maintenance-oil change and air filter cleaning-and we were ready to hit the trail with our made-over girl.
After the first rough section of trail, I was immediately smitten with the Flexx Bar. What shock issues? The bar arrived with the medium elastomers installed. Included in the kit are a soft and a hard set, but I wasn't feeling like pulling a Goldilocks and trying all three. Call me lazy, but the medium was fine, providing the right amount of damping without too much flex. They are so nice that I found myself charging harder through more rocks than I normally tackle with the Raptor. Not to mention that the ITP meats were gripping well and sliding when I wanted them to around corners. In all of this fun I got to put the skid plates to the test. The rocks in Texas Canyon are many and varied, and I ricocheted the bottom of the Yamaha off a fairly good sized sample of them judging from the dents, dings and scuffs on the AC Racing belly pan (which, by the way, is still holding up well). But more important, the soft underside of the 700R remained intact. Nah, the only problem underneath was a minor mechanical issue: The oil drain plug had stripped out the threads of the case during the last oil change. Our Teflon-tape fix eventually failed after two rides, and the Raptor puked oil onto the shop floor. Yep, that's a sign that this show's over and we're ready to tidy up the girl and take her home.