YoYo Discussion forum - The Definitive Raider Mod Post

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!