What a fine machine!

Ya know, since I was young I have been mechanicly inclined and I love all kinds of machines. From the big old console radio's to weedeters and such. I was always taking things apart and screwing them up but on occasion I would get it back together in working condition. This is how you learn things.

I have had my raptor for about 2 months maybe 3. In the rest of my hobbies(cars, RC, Bass guitar just to name a few) I have always modified everything to the hilt. If its worth doing its worth overdoing so to speak. When it comes to power being a gearhead my motto has always been, "if some is good,then more is better and too much is just right".

I told my self on this one I was gonna keep it stock and leave it alone. Which like most if you is easier said than done. While the name of this forum is "Modded Raptor" I have yet to mod my raptor. I have been planning on doing a big 3 for a bit and leaving it at that.

For my type of riding which is i guess pasture riding as thats about all I do with it with my 2 sons or by myself. The more I ride it the more I love it.
While im very competitive im not doing competitive riding or racing, just for pure enjoyment.

One reason I didnt want to mod was anytime you mod you you loose an amount of reliability generally and nowdays I dont have the time to work on things and such and because some riding is better than none even if it may be a bit slower

One thing I have realized is just how great a machine this really is. It really does everything well in stock form. When compaired to the machines that I grew up with (250x,350x, and other 2 wheeler) this machine is just lightyears beyond what they ever dreamed of being.

Thus far I have changed the oil, checked the oil, added gas and I believe thats it. It starts everytime, runs perfectly, has more than enough power to put a grin on your face and scare the shit out of you. On top of that I absolutely love the big single engines. Their almost old school simplicity and the big ol'e thunk thunk thunk of that one big slug just pluggin away reminds me of machines of old.

But heres where it gets interesting, you take that old school single and add the new tech to it and you have this wonderful engine that has gobs of torque, is light, really simple compared to multi cylinder engines, has EFI and an electric start to boot. Just cant beat it.

The suspension great, while some will say it needs upgrading truth be known its probably more than enough for the better percentage of riders if they they would take the time to learn how to adjust it to their needs. I dont know its just really hard to find faults with this machine.

To you youngsters out there appreciate where things have come.

As you could tell im just bored and felt like sharing my thoughts on this machine that brings us all together.