Just today in the fast food drive-thru, in my big-ass lifted truck, the voice coming out of the speaker said, “Would you like to go big?” I acted like I was thinking about it for a second or two, but both of us knew what the answer was. Of course I went big. Americans love big stuff. We can’t get enough of our big trucks, big meals, big screens and, for the
ATV enthusiast, big-bore sport quads. We decided to put two of these monsters head-to-head in a comparison. We hitched up our big trailer and hit the road towards two of the biggest riding areas in Southern California, Glamis dunes and Ocotillo Wells. “Go big, or go home,” was the battle cry for this test.
The Honda TRX700XX (left) is relatively new to the big-bore sport ATV class, while the Raptor 700 (right) has long been the king.
The two units we decided to pit against each other are two of the most popular in the segment, the
Yamaha Raptor 700R SE and the
Honda TRX700XX. The Raptor was one of the first large-displacement sport ATVs, debuting in 2001 as a 660cc carbureted model. Undergoing a complete redesign in 2006, the current model has evolved into 686cc single-overhead-cam beast. Although the TRX700XX is a relative newcomer in the class, it already has back-to-back Baja 1000 wins in its first two years of production.
First stop on our desert testing tour was Ocotillo Wells. Made famous in the early ‘90s by the Crusty Demons of Dirt videos, Ocotillo is a favorite of SoCal off-roaders. We choose this location because of its varied terrain of whoops, rock gardens, sand washes and hillclimbs. One of our unlucky test riders even found a mud hole to get stuck in. We pounded our test units through every rough, rutted, and whooped out section we could find in order to make a fair comparison. After the hammer session, we spent the last few hours of the day playing on the hillclimbs and mud jumps.
Glamis was a perfect opportunity to test these massive beasts in their natural environment - power-robbing sand dunes.
After the sun dropped behind the Borrego Mountains we loaded up and headed for test location Number 2, Glamis. This would give us an opportunity to really push the big dogs of the sport ATV world in terms of high speed and handling. The flowing sand bowls and huge hillclimbs are perfect for feeling out which machine has more power. Plus, the perfectly sculpted dune faces make great launch ramps for some serious airtime.
During our two days of pounding the Raptor and TRX700XX we kept copious notes and discussed the differences between the two. Although both of these machines are designed for the same end user, they are worlds apart in just about every aspect. Which unit is the right one to satisfy your urge to super-size your riding? Read on to find out the differences between these goliaths.
