First Ride: 2006 Cagiva Raptor 650

To be truthful I was quite surprised when the phone call came in asking if we wanted to test the Raptor 650. It's not that often you see them on the road and, with Cagiva going through the usual Italian bike manufacturer process of being sold, bought then sold again, I assumed the Raptor had been put out to pasture. No so, as here is a new model.

So what's new? The chassis, swingarm and suspension remain the same but Cagiva's own fuel injection system now feeds the latest version of Suzuki's SV650 motor. The seat is slightly larger, the front cowl re-designed and the clocks are the traditional Raptor 'squashed triangle' rev counter with digital speedo, but basically this is a Raptor with fuel injection.

On the go the riding position is a mix of naked and sporty. There used to be two models of Raptor 650 - the sporty

V-Raptor and standard, flat-barred Raptor - but Cagiva has combined the two in this one bike with flat bars angled slightly back. The front cowl doesn't offer a lot of protection, but a rearward bent to the bars lets you lean into the wind blast, which helps relieve wrist ache.

The twin pipes give off a much more aurally pleasing sound than the muted sewing machine whistle that emanates from an SV650's pipe. Euro3 emission laws forced the move to fuel injection, but at least some character has been allowed to escape through the exhaust.

Cagiva's own fuel injection system seems as good as Suzuki's and the little V-twin power plant is smooth, with a slick gearbox. Strangely the clutch on the Raptor felt lighter than the SV's.

As with the previous Raptor the chassis is more than up to the job of controlling 74bhp (2bhp more than Suzuki claim) and, like the SV, the Raptor turns quickly and feels secure in corners.

With a 770mm seat height (30mm less than the SV) even the shortest of riders shouldn't find any difficulties reaching the ground, but I'm not so sure inexperienced riders will appreciate the Raptor's brakes. Where the SV comes with forgiving two-piston calipers the Raptor has twin four-piston units with steel lines. For experienced riders this set-up gives more braking power but I reckon the SV's rubber hoses and two-piston calipers offer more feel and gentler performance.

Cagiva is marketing the Raptor at riders who want a middleweight which is a little different from the norm. Fair enough, but I struggle to see where the buyers will come from. There's nothing wrong with the Raptor 650, but it costs £4999. You can get a naked SV for £4399 list price, and with Suzuki offering 0% finance deals and free servicing it would be hard to justify the extra £600 for a Raptor.

If you can swallow the extra price and really do want something different then the Raptor is certainly worth considering.

VERDICT 3/5


A good looking bike that stops and goes well, but the same performance can be had for less cash with a Suzuki badge

SPECS


TYPE - STREETBIKE


PRODUCTION DATE - 2006


PRICE NEW - £4999


ENGINE CAPACITY - 645cc


POWER - 73.7bhp@9000rpm


TORQUE - 46.8lb.ft@7000rpm


WEIGHT - 180kg


SEAT HEIGHT - 770mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 17.5L


TOP SPEED - 135mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - N/A

Click to read: Cagiva Raptor 650 owners reviews, Cagiva Raptor 650 specs and to see the Cagiva Raptor 650 image gallery.

TO BE TRUTHFUL I was quite surprised when the phone call came in asking if we wanted to test the Raptor 650. It's not that often you see them on the road and, with Cagiva going through the usual Italian bike manufacturer process of being sold, bought then sold again, I assumed the Raptor had been put out to pasture. No so, as here is a new model.

So what's new? The chassis, swingarm and suspension remain the same but Cagiva's own fuel injection system now feeds the latest version of Suzuki's SV650 motor. The seat is slightly larger, the front cowl re-designed and the clocks are the traditional Raptor 'squashed triangle' rev counter with digital speedo, but basically this is a Raptor with fuel injection.

On the go the riding position is a mix of naked and sporty. There used to be two models of Raptor 650 - the sporty V-Raptor and standard, flat-barred Raptor - but Cagiva has combined the two in this one bike with flat bars angled slightly back. The front cowl doesn't offer a lot of protection, but a rearward bent to the bars lets you lean into the wind blast, which helps relieve wrist ache.

The twin pipes give off a much more aurally pleasing sound than the muted sewing machine whistle that emanates from an SV650's pipe. Euro3 emission laws forced the move to fuel injection, but at least some character has been allowed to escape through the exhaust.

Cagiva's own fuel injection system seems as good as Suzuki's and the little V-twin power plant is smooth, with a slick gearbox. Strangely the clutch on the Raptor felt lighter than the SV's.

As with the previous Raptor the chassis is more than up to the job of controlling 74bhp (2bhp more than Suzuki claim) and, like the SV, the Raptor turns quickly and feels secure in corners.

With a 770mm seat height (30mm less than the SV) even the shortest of riders shouldn't find any difficulties reaching the ground, but I'm not so sure inexperienced riders will appreciate the Raptor's brakes. Where the SV comes with forgiving two-piston calipers the Raptor has twin four-piston units with steel lines. For experienced riders this set-up gives more braking power but I reckon the SV's rubber hoses and two-piston calipers offer more feel and gentler performance.

Cagiva is marketing the Raptor at riders who want a middleweight which is a little different from the norm. Fair enough, but I struggle to see where the buyers will come from. There's nothing wrong with the Raptor 650, but it costs £4999. You can get a naked SV for £4399 list price, and with Suzuki offering 0% finance deals and free servicing it would be hard to justify the extra £600 for a Raptor.

If you can swallow the extra price and really do want something different then the Raptor is certainly worth considering.

VERDICT

A good looking bike that stops and goes well, but the same performance can be had for less cash with a Suzuki badge.

Cagiva Raptor 650 Specs

SPECS
TYPE - STREETBIKE
PRODUCTION DATE - 2006
PRICE NEW - £4999
ENGINE CAPACITY - 645cc
POWER - 74bhp@9000rpm
TORQUE - 46.8lb.ft@7000rpm   
WEIGHT - 180kg
SEAT HEIGHT - 770mm   
FUEL CAPACITY - 17.5L   
TOP SPEED - 135mph