There are many aftermarket parts that are easy to improve upon with stock motorcycles, but there are also some that are pretty damn good in production form. Some people don’t realize how much goes into making a stock footpeg work so well, but listening to Keefer talk about how much he has tested production footpegs got me thinking. Footpegs basically don’t get the recognition they deserve because frankly, if you aren't talking/complaining about them, that means they are doing their job. You never hear a rider say “hey bro, my footpegs are working great out there”. No instead, no news is good news, when it comes to footpegs. However, there are many aspects to look at such as pitch, sharpness, folding ability, etc. About a year ago I bought myself a personal bike, a 2006 YZ125, which has been a blast, but after many off-road rides, the pegs were looking a little tired, dull, and tattered. Kris saw my beat up pegs and said I should try a set of the Raptor pegs he had in the shop and since most all current Yamaha pegs are the same, they bolted right up to my 2006 personal steed.
The look of the Raptor pegs are quite aggressive with large, pointy, titanium edges that appear hungry to eat any boot sole they come in contact with. The fit and finish of the Raptor pegs are top notch and being a metal fabricator myself, I can truly appreciate the craftsmanship of quality material/good looking welds. On my initial ride with the new pegs I noticed the slightly larger than stock platform which I like because it adds some comfort when standing. I also noticed that the pegs sit flat and not upward like smoother aftermarket pegs we have tried in the past. Although they do look aggressive they don’t seem to chew up boot soles any quicker than stock foot pegs. My foot placement/grip is slightly better than stock when it comes to forward and back movement, but when it comes to side to side movement, I think the raptor pegs are somewhat lacking in grip. The reason I say this is because if you look at most stock foot pegs, the three or four outside teeth are taller than all the others, which helps keep your foot from sliding off the side of the pegs. The Raptor pegs are flat all the way across, there aren’t any built up teeth near the end of the peg, which led to my feet slipping off the sides of the pegs a couple times when the riding got wet/slippery. One other negative thing I noticed with the Raptor pegs was that the brake side peg, when folded up, started putting a small crease in my brake pedal where the pivot bolt is. This didn’t cause a problem, but I could possibly see over time, with a big enough hit, this possibly being an issue.
After many HARD off-road miles on the Raptor pegs they show no sign of wear and because of the strong titanium material, they take abuse without ever bending, denting, or getting dull. Like I said in the beginning of the story, there are some parts that are hard to improve upon and I think Raptor did a good job of improving the stock foot peg in some areas, but also came up slightly short in others. Footpegs are very much a rider preference part and for me I’ll take the couple shortcomings in order to have an overall stronger foot peg that will stay sharper for a longer period of time.
If you have any questions about the Raptor pegs feel free to reach out to me at Michael@keeferinctesting.com. -Michael Allen