400EX or 660 RAPTOR

[motox92]

I have a 2002 Honda 400ex. No motor work. Just bolt ons bars,skid plates,hand guards. I just bought 18in bead locks for the rear. Needs nothing

This guy wants to trade me for a 660 Raptor.
2001. Handle bars....He claims there is a new tranny and top end.
He says it needs choke cable throttle cable and idle screw.

He says I can keep my tires and wheels and he will keep whats on the raptor

Im trying to figure out if its worth it. Will it be any faster? Anything to look out for? How are they with reliabilty?

Any questions or tips please let me know.

[matt14c]

Well I'm pretty sure that your wheels and tires wont fit because of the bolt pattern so you could scratch that. It will be faster top end. As far as reliability it depends how he took care of it as oppose to you. If he is someone who doesnt know what an oil change is or never cleaned his air filter and your not one of those people then of course the 400 is going to be way more reliable. As far as better Im alittle Honda biased so I would say no way but it really comes down to what kind of riding you do. The 400 is alot easier to get aftermarket for if you were to mess it up or change what type of riding you want to do.

[ngates788]

Originally posted by motox92


This guy wants to trade me for a 660 Raptor.
2001. Handle bars....He claims there is a new tranny and top end.
He says it needs choke cable throttle cable and idle screw.



i would check into the reasoning behind the new tranny and top end also.. was there an actual reason behind it ( something break?) or for maintenance reasoning? also who rebuilt it? did he have a machine shop do it or did he do it himself? and how reliable is he at it? like matt14c said. personally i would be very skeptical but it all depends on how well you know the guy. IMO i would rather stick with the 400, if it needs nothing, why would you go to something the guys already layin down a parts list for?

[Sanddraging28]

i would never get rid of a 400ex for a raptor....
the raptor's are some of the most underpowered top heavy pieces of junk out there.
a well built 426 will eat a raptor every time in a drag race. the raptors have a lot of tranny problems and the 660 was a very unreliable motor.

i have worked on many of them and the owners still weren't happy with the performance. i guess thats what i get for racing them with my 500ex

[F-16Guy]

The 2001 Raptor had a problem with 2nd gear. I think there was a recall because of it. If the tranny is upgraded, then it should be alright, but I would probably stick with the good old 400ex. If you put $500 into the 400, it would keep up with a Raptor pretty easily. My 416 would beat my brother's piped and jetted (tuned on a dyno) Raptor up the big hills at Dumont. It's really up to you, but keep in mind that 2001 was the first year for the Raptor, so you get all of those gremlins.

[hypersnyper6947]

dont do it, craptors suck they break all the time and handle like crap, thats why i call them craptors if was a 700 then i would say yea but not for the 660, it sucks

I say this from experience 2 of my friends have raptors and they both are widened and have engine mods and they both dont handle well and are not reliable.

lol i dont even know them as raptors, i think everyone but their owners call them craptors.

[Gibson]

Keep the 400, i had a 2005 SE raptor for about two weeks and i hated that thing, luckily i was just borrowing it. It handled like s*** cause it was way too top heavy and it was too heavy to move around in a trail if i got it stuck. It wasn't very fast either. my brother's stock 450r could out run me with no problem. If you was to get a raptor, ONLY get a 2004 or 2005, they have good transmissions but the starter clutches go out frequenlty. But i'd take my 400 over a raptor any day

400ex is 100 times better than the 660. The 660 is only better in drag races.

I had a 400ex and drove a persons raptor and didnt like it. The dude tried my 400ex and liked it better.

[Sanddraging28]

even in drag racing the 660 isn't worth a crap.... i eat them all day long

[buster024]

Dont the old 660's have two carbs as well to mess with?

[scuzz]

Originally posted by buster024
Dont the old 660's have two carbs as well to mess with?


Yep!

[buster024]

Man, screw that. One carb is enough of a pain to dial in, let alone messin' with two.

Honda 400ex -- NO QUESTION.

[jcs003]

Originally posted by buster024
Man, screw that. One carb is enough of a pain to dial in, let alone messin' with two.

Honda 400ex -- NO QUESTION.

i concur

[honda400ex2003]

keep the ex forever. The raptor sucks. my one buddy had one and he blew the trans shifting into 5th gear, it locked up, and it rolled 5 times. steve

Originally posted by honda400ex2003
keep the ex forever. The raptor sucks. my one buddy had one and he blew the trans shifting into 5th gear, it locked up, and it rolled 5 times. steve

Are raptor had a few tranny things to. One of the times A gear broke and put a big hole in the engine case.