660 Problems by Year?

[tedwilley]

I've been looking at used 660's and have some questions.
1.What are the year specific problem areas to consider?
2.What is the the one-way bearing? I see that's a common problem.
Thanks in advance!

[tedwilley]

Helllooo?
Anyone out there?

[QuadManiac]

'01 - weak tranny and carb boots blow off easily.

'02 and on - nothing specific.

One-way bearing is the coupling between the starter and the crankshaft. Yamaha's design was poor. All years are affected.

Symptoms of a bad one way are rough kind of screeching noises during starting and/or freewheeling starter that will sometimes catch and crank engine... and sometimes not.

Replacement is relatively easy with decent backyard mechanic's skills. About 2 hours or so. Only requires pulling the left side engine cover and the flywheel (the hardest part).

Cost is between $150 and $250 in parts if you do it yourself. Buy the L&A aftermarket parts. They are MUCH better than stock and will likely end the problem for as long as you own the bike.

You can see what's involved at http://www.raptortranny.com/one-wayguide1.php - they have a good tutorial on the job with lots of pictures.

Good Luck!

[tedwilley]

Thanks!
I was wondering because the used prices are all over the place. Some are obviously way high (reality check!) and others seem too low to be true.
Any frame or suspension issues beyond obvious abuse?

[QuadManiac]

Only other issue, resolved in the 700 is the width and height.

The 660 is a little taller and not as wide as the average sport quad. This makes it a little tippy, but manageable with a little more body english as you ride. Very common mods are extended A-arms and wider rear axle or wheel spacers to overcome this.

In my case, my Rappy is stock width, but will change soon. I have exteded arms on my Honda 400ex's and the difference in ride is extremely noticeable between them and the Rappy. BUT the Rappy has so much more torque, if I can get it to ride even close to as well as my ex's, I'll be in heaven!

Prices run amok because of existing mods (a-arms cost $500+, exhausts 300+, steering stems $300, filters $100, etc., etc.) and because some ppl just seem to have an overestimation of they're "baby's" worth.

[YamahaBlue22]

01- tranny, and starter clutch
02+03- starter clutch
04 and new- seem to have no serious problems

The starter clutch is a bearing that ingauges the starter, and was developed very weak in the early models.

I have an 02 raptor 660 for sale....$2900 if ur interested...

[QuadManiac]

Originally posted by QuadManiac

One-way bearing is the coupling between the starter and the crankshaft. Yamaha's design was poor. All years are affected.


Let me modify this statement: 01 - 03 are primarily affected, Yami beefed it up in 04, and I haven't heard of as much trouble with them for 04-05.

[tedwilley]

Thanks for all of your comments. I feel a lot better informed about what to ask about and look for.