The YFZ450R was a pure blast to ride in the sand, and there wasn’t anything that it couldn’t climb including the famous “China Wall” hill climb, but after a full day of riding in the dunes, you will begin to notice the seat on the YFZ450R isn’t very soft, so you will want to spend more time standing up than sitting down, but otherwise, the YFZ performed great in the dunes.
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Yamaha Pro ATV Racer's #94 Dustin Nelson & #417 Josh Row rip up the Glamis Sand Dunes aboard the 2013 Yamaha Raptor 700R SE ATV & YFZ450R SE ATV |
After spending the first day riding the YFZ450R SE, we made the switch to the Raptor 700R SE for day two. The Raptor SE was a little easier to ride in the sand than the YFZ450R because of its huge torque, horsepower, and lower RPM power range, which allows you sit back and point the Raptor in any direction with confidence, and unlike the YFZ, the Raptor has a very comfortable seat for a long day of riding in the dunes without any bottom fatigue.
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The 2013 Yamaha Raptor 700R Special Edition ATV is well capable of catching some air & offers a plush landing with its 9.1 inches of front travel & 10.1 inches of real travel |
While the Raptor has the most power and comfort, it can’t compare to the handling of the YFZ450R with its higher center of gravity, but unless you really want to focus on carving and launching over biggest dunes, the 700R SE is still our number one choice for dunes because it is so easy to ride and still provides plenty of performance for aggressive riding.
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2013
Yamaha Raptor 700R Special Edition ATV
features a thick comfortable seat that
can keep you in saddle all day |
Also, the Raptor 700R features reverse, which really comes in handy if you get into a tight position and need to back up, and the new dual piston brake caliper in the rear worked flawlessly on our ride and is a great addition to the Raptor for 2013.
As usual, we had a blast riding in the Glamis Sand Dunes for two days on the Yamaha Special Edition models, and the YFZ450R and Raptor 700R are both right at home in the dunes, and it is user preference as to which one would work best. One thing is for sure, Yamaha is one of the only sport ATV manufacturers that continues to make updates to their sport ATV models on regular basis, which is also why Yamaha is among the top selling sport ATVs.
