2005 Yamaha Raptor 660

[Basement Paul]

Apparently I have a problem. I like the dirt drags, but there's a lot of down time between practice and the actual races for a guy who runs his Corvette in only two classes. The solution is shown here in the form of a 2005 Raptor 660. Initially I was looking for 250-300cc models, but ultimately those are just plain slow. So I was getting close to pulling the trigger on a Suzuki LTZ 400 sport atv when I remembered my neighbor Dan had a STOCK Raptor sitting in his shed forever. This is a true barn find (even though it wasn't lost). He bought it new and as life goes, it ended up getting very little ride time. It hasn't "run" in over 3 years, but even then it was running barely, so it's been a LONG time since it has been ridden. Since a 400cc bike would be good, I figured a 660cc one would be better, and probably less likely to need more power, maybe ever.
I was surprised when he agreed to sell it, and we came to a fair price for both. It doesn't run currently and will need carburetor maintenance or maybe even replacement, and just small odds and ends after that to get it to reliable condition. That being said, it's really NICE physically, and is a rare piece in that it's completely unmolested and original in every way, including the tires. Included with the deal was a new old stock set of more aggressive knobby tires, a service manual, and brand new chest protector.
The battery is only about three years old and was clearly dead (it still made the green light glow barely) so that has been on charge and seems to be able to turn the bike over now. The biggest problem was the old gas and the air filter. I pulled the tank off yesterday and emptied it completely and cleaned the drain screens. The air filter was a foam unit from the factory around a notsofine screen, and the filter was a crumbly mess and most likely the cause of the carburetor problems. I have a new K&N (yeah K&N) filter and pre-screen coming from eBay to resolve that problem and will clean out the air box completely today.

The only upgrades after the maintenance is done, will be getting new shocks/springs for the front and rear to lower and stiffen it up. This will help to keep it from wanting to wheelie under power. And I plan to get some nerf bars so I don't slip off the pegs and run myself over. For dirt drags, this will suffice for now.
This is too much power for a starter bike and I know this, so I'll be taking some extra time learning how to ride it how I need to ride it, but it should keep me from having to make unnecessary power upgrades for quite awhile I suspect.

Then I need to get a hitch for the Corvette and a lightweight trailer so I can take them both to the track together and have a good time making dust.

More to come.

-BP

[MostMint]

Nice. Class M helmet. First time out you’ll be able to get a lot of passes to get used to it and work your way up to its capabilities

[Basement Paul]

So I've been kind of busy on the Raptor. After deciding a quick carb cleaning wasn't going to make it run correctly, I ordered a new Mikuni carb rebuild kit online. It comes with a parts breakdown, so it was pretty easy to figure where everything went. I removed the carb and soaked it in a hot cleaner bath of Simple Green for about an hour, then blew it all out to dry it off. Then I did what you do on any real rebuild and pull it all apart and clean and blow every orifice that exists and replace all the crappy parts with new ones from the kit. It wasn't hard, just time consuming. But it was worth the effort as it starts right up with minimal choke, and after about 30 seconds needs no choke at all to function. The throttle response is good, at least in neutral in the garage, where before it would just fall on it's face and stall. The rubbers inside the carb were all old and flimsy and I found the pilot jets were basically plugged solid. They're so tiny... I also installed a new K&N (yeah K&N) air filter, and got an OUTERWEARS pre-filter wrap to keep the heavy dirt out, but forgot to put it on, so I'll go back to that before I go in the dirt.
I have yet to ride it in the world. On Sunday morning I pushed it out in the driveway, still with a lot of the body work off so I could wash off more of the hidden and old dirt and crud. By the time I was able to get everything put back together, it was raining outside, so the ride will have to wait for another day I guess.
I also learned that I can get brackets that mount to the front lower control arms to relocate the stock shocks, thus lowering the front end by nearly 4" without having to change any other suspension components. Best part is they're only about $35 for a pair. The rear suspension I can lower by flipping the rear shock mount 180 degrees and it will lower the rear at least 2" and since that shock is adjustable, I have a little more room after that. That's a free upgrade except for the time which should be minimal.

Next will be an oil and filter change, and lubing the chassis and chain. Hopefully by next weekend things will melt and dry and I can at least run it around the neighborhood.

-BP

[MostMint]

Lowering it should really help steady it when accelerating on dirt

[Basement Paul]

Lowering the front end by that much has a positive side effect, and that the front track will increase by about 2" adding to the stability of it. Probably not a huge issue on a short drag, but if I run the 1/4, I expect that will help.
From what I've been reading, it should be mid to low 8's in the 1/8 mile at somewhere around 75mph, but then you're just out of gear and it should be mid-high 14's at the same 75mph in the 1/4 assuming I don't do any gear changes. So quicker than the Vette in the 1/8 and slower in the 1/4.

-BP

[Basement Paul]

I was able to get the front lowering "kit" installed last weekend. A pretty simple install with dramatic effect on how it looks. The front is as advertised, 4" lower than stock. I did the flip on the rear shock mount and it netted about a 2" drop in the back, but the reality is that it needs more. There's an adjustable replacement lower suspension link that will give me full adjustability from 1" to 4" lower with the shock in the stock location. I'll probably flip the original mount back to it's stock location and just lower the rear with the new piece. All of this is relatively simple, and now that I'm learning more about it, it should go even quicker. I did completely lube the chassis and chain at this point too. There are grease fittings everywhere.
I also bought some Mcguire's spray for the plastic and have applied several coats so far and it's definitely looking better. I should have the rear link this week so I can play with it this weekend. I also ordered a set of aluminum nerf bars for it to keep from running myself over, at least in the beginning while I learn to really ride this thing.

Oh, I almost forgot, I did get a chance to ride it for the first time early last week. I did have to adjust the clutch slightly as it wanted to creep once it was put in gear, and the carb needed a slight idle adjustment as it wanted to run on after I let off the throttle. But otherwise there was no surprises as it went through all the gears, the brakes seemed to work correctly, and it rode straight and smooth. I'm happy I went with the bigger power machine and not with a 400 like was the initial plan. It's quick and strong, but not obnoxiously fast. Until I ride it and race it a couple times, there will be no plans for power upgrades. But eventually there are some simple bolt ons that will make their way onto this thing once I have more data.

-BP

[Basement Paul]

Yesterday I finished lowering the rear of the Raptor. I installed the new adjustable link. For reference the rear stock lower link is 7" center to center, and the new link is currently set to 7-3/4". I left the rear shock mount to the lower setting. This gave me a little more suspension travel vs making the lower link longer and potentially causing suspension bind. None of this really matters though as it sits basically exactly where I want it. The shock feels a little soft, but it is adjustable, and I'll play with that as necessary once I get some seat time.

My nerf bars arrived yesterday, so I'll probably get those on this weekend sometime. Today is nice, so I'll at least get a chance to ride it around the block and get a feel for the new suspension.

-BP

[Basement Paul]

The nerf bars are now installed and look pretty cool IMO. They only added about 4 lbs to the quad too. I also pulled the air box lid back off to install my Outerwears air filter cover to help keep the heavy dust and debris out of the K&N (yeah K&N). Since I was in there, I got a step drill out and windowed the side of the air box opposite of the exhaust for a little more flow. People remove the lid for more air, but I like this better. It about doubled the amount of air that can get in and it still looks stock.

I'm basically done with this now except buying a set of road worthy wheels and tires. Can't wait for Spring. I still need to buy a trailer to haul it with, but there's no shortage of those. I think this is the one I'm leaning towards:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DK2-1639-lb ... kc#overlay

I will have to do some careful measuring to make sure I can fit my two dirt tires in the trailer with the quad. It should be pretty close. I like this because I don't have to maintain paint, it tilts so no ramps necessary, it has small sides to strap my tires to, and at 450 lbs, it's reasonably light. I'm trying to keep my towing weight below 1000lbs. The quad weighs 400lbs, and the tires probably weigh about 50lbs each, so I should be good.

I could go this route and just put the tires in the car also. Maybe with this one, I could actually just drive with the dirt tires on the car since there will literally be almost zero tongue weight... The quad is almost exactly 4'x6' and this weighs a lot less and takes up less space. Hmmm.

https://detailk2.com/tools-shop/trailers/mmt4x6og.html

-BP

[Basement Paul]

I have a set of these Kenda Speedracer tires coming already mounted like you see. This will be my hard surface rubber so I don't wear out my dirt tires riding around the development or at the drag strip. Probably be a little smoother and better handling too.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403790287298

-BP

[Blue_69_malibu]

That's some impressive work there, BP!

Raptor looks bad ass and the stance is much improved, IMHO.

The blue seems to match my truck, boat, BBQ, Matco Box, etc.

When you want to go Full Hillbilly Deluxe, you can tow the Raptor with my Colorado and stick my Weber in the bed for your next cookout at the Dirt Drags.

"Merica!!

[Basement Paul]

That's way too much color coordination for me!

My "trailer" showed up on Friday in a giant box. My plan was to load it up in pieces into my truck and take it to dad's for assembly. As it turns out the main platform was just too cumbersome for me to load myself and I decided to just do it at home. It was a decent day out so I spend most of Sunday with the garage open doing the assembly. The instructions were pretty good and if you have some mechanical aptitude, it wasn't hard. I spent a little extra time making sure the side panels aligned correctly and putting extra plastic corrugated conduit over the wiring in places where I thought it would rub through. But once it was finally together, it turned out to be a real solid piece. And it fit (barely) into my new shed too, which was the plan all along. I did test the lights with my Ranger, so I know they work correctly. Hopefully that's the case once I plug them into the Vette! Next up will be getting it plated for the road.

I also got my rear tires finally for the Raptor. It took a mildly annoyed message through ebay and they sent them right away. Those will likely get installed this week sometime.

-BP

[MostMint]

Did the trailer come with a spare? If not u should at least know the bolt pattern and see if they are at Walmart

[Basement Paul]

It's a standard 5x4.5 and it did not come with it and the tire is pretty standard size I believe. I'll get one soon enough and then find a place to mount it.

-BP

[Blue_69_malibu]

Having a spare tire on a trailer is one thing.

Having a jack of some kind that can actually lift the trailer frame up to allow one to remove the damaged tire and install the spare tire is another thing.

SOOOO many guys have spare tires on their boat trailers.....and no way to install it.

Race Guys almost always have a jack......and socket sets.....with them.

[Basement Paul]

Getting license plates turned out to be pretty easy. All I needed was the Certificate of Origin that came with the trailer and a copy of the receipt which I just printed from my email. Since it is non-commercial, it's simple that way. So I got my plate and am legal.

When I assembled the trailer though, I realized the "engineers" designed a license plate bracket to hang below the driver's side taillight assembly. That's all great except that the first time you decide you want to actually tilt the trailer, it will completely smash your license plate into the ground. DUH!! So I improvised and just mounted it to the rear gate. It's bolted up tight, and even if the gate is on the ground some, it will never actually be flat, so the plate should survive pretty well there.
I ordered some blue plow blade markers to mount to the fenders so I can see where the fenders actually are when putting it in and out of my shed and I'm assuming this will help in backing it up when I'm in the Vette too.
Gotta get that spare too...

-BP