The Definitive Raider Mod - By Pat_Cuartero (YYN archive)

[jhb8426 (Resident Curmudgeon)]

Thought this might be useful, as FireballRoller started a topic about this. Thought it may be of interest as a separate topic. Note that he’s talking about using a fireball, but the concept is pretty much the same. This was written by Pat_Cuartero, the founder of the now defunct Yoyo Nation website.

I have downloaded the pictures that go with this and will get them uploaded soon. In the meantime, I’ve attached a PDF of the article that includes the pix.

(Lifted from YYN archive: https://archive.is/ZxkBi#selection-503.0-503.12)

The Definitive Raider Mod Post
By Pat_Cuartero

« on: October 31, 2005, 02:18:51 AM »

Hopefully this works out well for you guys. As a big fan (and advocate) of 2a, I feel that it’s one of my duties to help people along with their 2a path.

Everybody has been asking…so how DO you do that Raider mod? Okay, well here it is!

Read the following, and you shall know how to do the mod that many have heard of, but few can perform.

WARNING!!! Yes, this mod IS the mod that has caused MANY Raiders to break. YoYoNation.com, YoYoNation, Employees, Friends (except party performing mod), or Family of YoYoNation, cannot and will not be held responsible for any broken Yomega Raiders. This mod is for use on Yomega Raiders (and/or Yomega Fireballs or Hyper Raiders) only. Perform this mod at YOUR OWN RISK.

Before we begin, let me tell you my setup:

• Yomega Raiders, either in the Edge Glow Red (bright red), or the Edge Glow Yellow (bright yellow) colors.
• Sanded Plastic Spacers
• 3-in-One Lube
• Slick 8 String

Step 1. Gather your materials

• Two Yomega Raiders. Note on this: People (such as National and World champions) say that the “Bright Red” or the “Bright Yellow” Raiders are the BEST types of Raiders on which to perform this mod. There is something about the plastic of the Red or Yellow that makes it better for “cranking” (explained in a later step). There has been word that Yomega NO LONGER PRODUCES these colors, and hands out the remaining few of these colors to Team Yomega members. HOWEVER, the YoYoNation.com Raiders DO come in these colors, and are very limited.

• Four Plastic Yomega Spacers for Raiders. Plastic spacers are used so that you can sand them down, as well as make the “crank” step easier.

• Lube. I personally recommend 3-in-one oil (found at almost any hardware store). The 3-in-one oil helps with long sleepers as well as responsive play for loops.

• Fine Grit Sandpaper. Get the finest you can get.

Optional (for bearing cleaning):

• Lighter fluid or 100% mineral spirits
• Film Canister, or anything in which you can pour the lighter fluid or 100% mineral spirits.
• A fine needle, to remove the c-clips from the bearings.

Note about bearing cleaning: Supposedly, John Ando (2-time US National AA Champion) cleans his bearings everytime he maintains his yoyo. Other players do NOT clean their bearings.

Step 2. Open your Raiders

Notice the metal spacers. We want to remove these. It’s tricky to remove the spacers on the axle side though…

Here’s a trick I learned from my Team High Performance days. You can actually use the axles of the Raider to remove the spacers!

Use the threads of one axle as a “hook” to “hook” the spacer on the other axle half…like so:

Pull up when you feel it’s hooked. You’ll be like this:

Another angle:

Step 2a (Optional). Clean your bearings

For a guide on cleaning your bearings, please visit another YoYoNation.com forum topic, found here:

How to clean your bearings (Click here)

Step 3. Sand your plastic spacers.

This step is just as important as the “famous crank”. What we’re going to ultimately do is sand the “TOP” of the spacers even with the tips of the starbursts (the response system of the Raiders) of the yoyo.

Here’s what the Raider looks like with UNSANDED SPACERS:

Another View of what the Raider looks like with UNSANDED SPACERS:

Here’s what it will look like when we’re done sanding the spacers:

Notice how you can barely see the white above the tips of the starbursts. Whatever you do, do NOT sand the spacers BELOW these starbursts. If you do, get another unsanded spacer and start your sanding process over.

Okay, so let’s sand. Again, make sure you sand the TOP of the spacer, and not the bottom (some people actually do sand the bottom, but I don’t like it, and this is my post, so I’m suggesting NOT to):

Sand this side of the spacer:

DO NOT sand this side of the spacer:

Sand the spacers in a circular motion on the FINE GRIT sandpaper:

Again, here’s what the spacer should look like after you’re done sanding them:

Step 4. Lube your yoyo.

With the new spacers you just sanded, you’re ready to move on.

Put the spacers into the Raider halves, and put your bearings (cleaned or uncleaned) into its place on the axle.

Lube your Raiders. Again, I recommend 3-in-one oil. Use a couple of drops only, and make sure not to get the part of the bearing on which the string sits wet with oil. If you do, make sure you wipe it off well.

Note: Hiraku Fuji (2nd place for 2a, 2004 World YoYo Contest) uses one drop of machine oil on one side of the bearing, and one drop of Yomega Brain Lube on the other side of the bearing. A very unique technique, but it seems to work out well for him! Again, it’s about personal preference!

Completely assemble your Raiders (screw them together).

Step 5. Cut your string
It’s somewhat strange (and a downright shame) that many players do not know how to CUT their string to desired lengths these days.

This step is actually just as critical as the other steps.

Why? Let me explain.

Depending on the responsiveness of your yoyo, your yoyo will have a tendency to loop UPWARD, or loop DOWNWARD.

A very responsive yoyo (small gap) will tend to loop DOWNWARD.

A yoyo with response, but not a LOT of response (larger gap) will tend to loop UPWARD.

Now, think of this:

The longer your string is, the more your yoyo will tend to loop DOWNWARD.

The shorter your string is, the more your yoyo will tend to loop UPWARD.

With that, I GENERALLY cut the string to around 28 inches (~ 71 centimeters). Experiment to find a string length YOU are comfortable with.

Here’s what I explained above in graphical format.

Note, I personally HIGHLY recommend SLICK 8 string (50% cotton, 50% polyester, type 8 (4x2)).

Also, note that most Japanese players use SLICK 6 string (50% cotton, 50% polyester, type 6 (3x2)) for their 2a play. This is because Slick 6 provides more tension on the string. More tension leads to faster loops. I’ve tried it, and yes they’re great, but I personally have been using Slick 8. Your choice! It’s all about personal preference. Thanks to Kazuyuki fort his info.

Step 6. The CRANK, or OVERTIGHTENING step

This is a critical step. If you do this correctly, then you will not break your yoyos. If you do it incorrectly, well…you’ll break your Raiders. Again, you are performing this mod at your OWN risk.

What you’re going to do here is to actually OVERTIGHTEN the yoyo so that the gap of the Raider is smaller. This will provide the response you need while enabling long sleepers for around the world tricks.

Here’s how it’s going to work:

• Crank 1/4 turn. Hearing noises such as pops and “cracking sounds” are normal.
• Test with loops.
• If you need more response, UNCRANK (to release stress from the plastic)
• Repeat until desired response is achieved.

Again…crank, or overtighten:

Test your loops.

If you need more response, then UNCRANK first (again, to release stress from the plastic):

Repeat!

That’s about it.

I will continually update this post to make it better and even MORE definitive.

This post IS, however, complete, in the sense that you will be able to mod your Raiders.

If you like this post, or find it informative, please spread the word!

Special shout out to Patrick Mitchell for originally teaching me this mod at 2004 Worlds. Thanks!

[jhb8426 (Resident Curmudgeon)]

Some follow up comments by Pat.
(Note that the discussion went on for 4 pages but the archive only seems to have the first one.)

Pat_Cuartero
Re: The Definitive Raider Mod Post
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2006, 10:21:16 PM »
yup! YOu can still take it apart.

you overtighten it to crush the gap, but if you do it wrong, and the plastic breaks where the threads are…then there’s a chance that the yoyo might not come apart.

Again, please read the disclaimer above before performing this ever-so-popular mod

Pat_Cuartero
Re: The Definitive Raider Mod Post
« Reply #16 on: January 23, 2006, 12:41:31 PM »

Quote from: red on January 20, 2006, 09:25:07 PM
Pat, do you know the story behind this mod? I mean:

A - Who first came up with the idea?
B - Are the plastic spacers used in anything other than this mod? If not, what came first, the mod or the spacers? Wink

I’ve been wondering about this for a while.

A - Not exactly sure - i do believe it is the japanese…shawn fumo might know. pat mitchell taught me Tongue
B - I’ve never seen plastic spacers used in anything else. The spacers came first…in fact, plastic spacers came on older versions of raiders STOCK. then they switched to metal.

back in 1998 - 1999, team high performance was offering “90’s, or 95’s” meaning METAL spacers that were sanded down a certain amount (where 100’s would be a non-sanded spacer).

people used these for more response.

the plastic is used in the modern day mod because plastic is more “crushable” then metal…so when you crank, there’s less chance of the plastic breaking (since the plastic can squeeze a bit)…

this is all hearsay though

let me know if you have any other questions!

[JoeBadass (SlimJoe)]

thank you for this

[rizki_yoist]

I want to correct Pat that the reason to use plastic spacers is not because the plastic is ‘crushable’, but because the metal spacers have bearing seat but the plastic spacers doesn’t.
If you can cut the bearing seat of the spacers, you can use them the same way the plastic spacers do. I did once tried sanding the bearing seat enough, then overcrank without the spacers, put them together to essentially create Raider-ex. It worked, but not worth the time.
The normally modded Raider essentially have ‘floating spacers’, it’s not the spacers that holds the halves together like the unmodded Raider, but it’s the axle itself. When you crank you’re actually crushing the raised part of the axle into the nuts.
Beware, the new white plastic spacers have bearing seat and they can not be used to mod the Raider/Fireball, unless if you have access to a lathe and cut the bearing seat but when you can do that just make your custom spacers yourself and save the hassle.
There are a few versions of the spacers:

1. First gen white, which is the one on the tutorial. These are tall so they need sanding.
2. Black spacers, perfect height, you don’t need to sand them.
3. White somewhat new spacers from around 2012 I guess, the same as black spacers you don’t need to sand them.
4. The new white spacers from 2015-ish, have bearing seat. You can use it only if you can cut the bearing seat. If you try cranking with these it will either break the Raider/Fireball, or if you’re ‘lucky’ they will simply jam into the bearing and lock it.