Who here has ridden a banshee?

[davham]

I am thinking about getting an '04 banshee but have never ridden one. I'm not concerned at all with top speed just the accelleration part. How about the handling, my ridding consist of "fire roads", bean fields, and spirited trail rides. I dont putt putt arround but dont race mx or xc either. Not interested in the YFZ or the 450R, I want a big comfortable "quick" quad but dont want anything slower than my 250r or Tri Z for that matter. So let me know your thoughts and after market hop-up ideas.

[markdb420]

I have ridden a 1989 built Banshee and a fairly stock one that is a 2002. My impression is that it'll take some work to get the good handling, and unless you have it in high RPM range it is lacking on power. It can be made better as the 1989 Banshee was dead even in a drag race, throughout all gears, but the 2002 got smoked in all RPM ranges by my R. They are a good bike and although a little heavy, they are very fun to ride and as long as you can keep the revs up, it won't disappoint you for trails and playing around.

[Wickedfinger]

I had an '87 J-Arm Banshee. Other than a DG pipe Kit and Boyesens, it was stock. It was very fast and decent handling but it was totally the wrong type of quad to make me happy in the woods trails I ride on.

[4cylinders]

banshees aren't very good for what you want. there's a lot of good used 400ex's out there right now. I'd grab one if I were you. banshees are great for dunes, but they are really high maintenance. two cylinders, two pistons. If I had the cash, I'd have a 450r. sorry, i've worked on banshees, and I've ridden them too. my personal ride is a honda 250x, with a cb750 4cylinder engine. It does everything!!!

[Bill X_R]

In my opinion.... they’re more at home going in a straight line.

[YTZ250#1]

I have to agree with Bill.The 1 I rode felt to high and narrow,and I did not like the way it handled in the trails at all.It was fast in a straight line but thats about the only good thing I can say about them.

[Best Name Ever]

You say your not interested in the YFZ or 450R, but when you explain what you want, those quads are what you are describing, 4 strokes have quick acceleration and those are great handling quads ( so i hear ).

[davham]

Thanks guy's

I have ridden a 400EX and It didn't excite me speedwise.
After snooping around the net quite a bit I think I'll pass on the Banshee. Liked the reveiw on the 450R in new DW and ATV sport mags.
But I could just restore a couple more trikes for 6 grand though.

[350Xccelerator]

ive ridden a couple of stock banshees and i love them, i think theyre the funnest quad to ride, im gonna try to get one this year.

['86X]

I have one and I like it pretty well. Probably not the best MX racer in stock form, the handling is nothing to speak of. Straight line acceleration is great. Woods/trail riding can be done despite what a lot of people say.

[Big Darn Mike C]

I have an '02 banshee with LRD pipes and it rocks. Me and that machine are at home no matter where we go. In my opinion it is still the most exciting bike you can get and is still the king of the dunes. The newer bikes may be faster in stock trim but thats where it stops. the banshees aftermarket is too big and with little mods will stomp just about anything. Thye banshee will love your fields and fire roads. Don't let anybody tell you the banshee isn't a good trail machine either because it is, you just have to love blasting through the trails. Good luck I hope you decide to get one

[HemiChallenger71]

I rode a Banshee and a Z-400 both in the same day. I personally dont care for the goofy handling and akwardness i feel on a banshee. The Z-400 I liked, the powerband was ok, not stealler like a 350x, but ok. I dis-liked the gearing on the Z-400 A LOT. Every gear seems the same, and almsot like your not going very fast but you are, and the clutch lever is really really light as well, lightest ive ever felt. If I were you I would get a blaster and modify it because thsoe are good running machines, or a z-400/similar model by kawa and acrtic cat. I would advise on a 400ex but i've never ridden one. Maybe a raptor would suit you too or a polaris like wickedfingers.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

I would say the yfz450 is perfect for the riding you described. Banshees are great for straight lines but they lack in handling.

[karnivore660r]

WOW What a wealth of BAD information you are getting!

If any quad was designed for what you described it is the banshee.

[TimSr]

WOW What a wealth of BAD information you are getting!

If any quad was designed for what you described it is the banshee.

After reading the original post, I would agree.

[Wickedfinger]

Karnivore, I would agree with what you said totally ... except that he had this as "part 3" of his riding needs .....

........ spirited trail rides
Now, I took that to mean woods type trail riding and if its an important part of his criteria for what hes looking for, I'd have to say, based on my own experience, the Banshee wouldn't suit him. Its just WAY too much work to keep a Banshee going in the woods and on the trails and still have fun. If he can sacrifice not performing on the the "Trails" part .... then yes, a Banshee is without doubt the best fire-road and open field racer there is ..... but again, only if he is prepared to deal with having to be constantly on the clutch and throttle and fighting with a pushing front end. So based on that, you actually might want to "re-think" your statement.

[karnivore660r]

I agree with what you said that it isn't the best "tight" trail quad BUT he said:
........ spirited trail rides "spirited" means a fast pace on non too tight trails. So if that is the case then the banshee is still his best option. If he is on tight trails than he should stay away from ANY 2-stroke quad as a 2-stroke motor requires more clutching in tight situations.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

I was going to say something similar to what tejas said. I wasnt sure what spirited trail ride meant. I just saw "trail riding" and for me,the banshee isnt a good trail machine,,,atleast not the 5 or 6 that I've ridden.

[HemiChallenger71]

I would like to point out that I just gave my impression of the Banshee and don't really care for it at all. That's what I think will help davham the most.

[Big Darn Mike C]

You can call it whatever you want. bad information and what not but youre just getting everybody's personal opinion. It also depends on what you focus on the most. Everyone says the Banshee doesnt handle well and the suspension aint great and maybe too temperental to ride on trails. I'd like to say one thing, all those statements couldnt be further from the truth. ok, it's not the best handling bike in production, but it still handles and I personally like it so much and am so used to it that when i get on those so called better handling bikes, i cant wait to get off and back on mine. Suspension, while not the best, still really good. In really tight trails you may have to play the clutch a little, but it would have to be a very very tight trail. banshees love trails, especially when you hit straight aways. I almost have to chuckle to myself when i hear others say that MY banshee is only good for going straight. the riding you described is just a little bit of what i do on my banshee. For my overall riding style, nothing touches my shee. Not to mention that with all those things that are good about the banshee, in addition, the motor will keep you hanging for dear life and wanting much more. That is my opinion from my experience. If you think a banshee is what you want, it is. its an awesome machine.

[md1985250r]

i rode a 2004 banshee last night in the snow out in the open.....although traction for any machine in the snow is basically non existent....i was completely unimpreesed............i'll keep my 250r.....YOU CAN FEEL THE SUPERIOR POWER IN THE 250R ....cant answer about handling really.....but 2 strokes are alot of work in the trails......good luck

[TimSr]

Ive never figured out the "tight woods" theory on the Banshee. The TRX250R has a wider turning radius, and the 400EX is about the same. Its no worse than any other full size. Sure, compared to a Blaster they stink, but so does everything else with more than 3 wheels.

"Clutching" on tight trails is a gearing issue, and has nothing to do with 2 stroke, 4 stroke, or any particular model. If youre geared for street, and ride trails, your going to go through clutches on anything. If youre geared right for where you ride, youll only be using the clutch to shift gears.

"Handling" issues with the Banshee are because of its heavy front end. This affects jumping, and caused it to easily over powerslide, neither of which are trail riding issues. It does make "log hopping" more difficult.

On the plus side, the heavy front end is an seet when climbing hills, and the Banshee motor with its short stroke can easily be piped into the best low end two stroke torque monster there is.

Stock suspension is perfectly adequate, but a couple, of Works shocks on the front of my brother's, make it one of the plushest "old school" rides out there. They just dont land well from a jump.

They actually make great cross country machines. They make less than mediocre MX machines because of the weight and where its located.

[Wickedfinger]

Clutching" on tight trails is a gearing issue, and has nothing to do with 2 stroke, 4 stroke, or any particular model. If youre geared for street, and ride trails, your going to go through clutches on anything. If youre geared right for where you ride, youll only be using the clutch to shift gears.

Ahhhh Tim and Mike, I think we might be traveling down 2 different paths here in this post - but - at least its turning into quite an entertaining and thoughtful conversation. What I meant by "clutching" is your constantly having to feather it and work the throttle in order to keep the quirky 350 twin in the meat of its powerband while also having to keep her tracking good. This is a by-product of its top end biased pipes and porting, not its gearing. There isnt a person in the world who can say the stock Banshee motor is even close to being a comfortable woods motor - the fact is you need to keep that thing screaming in order to ride her right - and I don't know about you guys but an 8000 rpm shreeking 2-stroke doing only 25 - 35 MPH in the woods just dosent appeal to me or to most of the ex-Banshee now current Raptor/400EX/Z riders I know.


"Handling" issues with the Banshee are because of its heavy front end. This affects jumping, and caused it to easily over powerslide, neither of which are trail riding issues. It does make "log hopping" more difficult.

.. I'd have to disagree (but at the same time not discount either, your opinion) with that one too in my own experience ..... that same heavy, loose front end tends to push on the entry into twisty, woods type turns - and this can be a fairly serious and potentially dangerous problem when you are riding in close to trees and if you spill off the trail, you have painfull briars waiting to cushion your fall ..... Its not a huge problem in the sense that if you learn how to work the quad under you through the turn, you will have no problem, but it wasnt reassuring to me either. My '87 J-Arm Banshee's geometry pushed, especially in loose dirt or mud, and I've ridden enough A-Arm Banshees to know, they still have the same problem. Also, most of the reason its hard to get the front end up on a Banshee is again, because of the motors non existant bottom end power - which to me at least is a very real issue in woods riding. I will say this .... you bolt a Dyno-port 2-1 pipe and silencer on a Banshee and they become good, if not great woods motors.

Lastly, I have to point out something that has been said before in this discussion. This is just my own real world opinion and I think that geography has alot to do with it. Tri-Z Jim and I are used to the really tight, technical, old growth woods, heavy brush type riding that New York and in my case, Pennsylvainia gives us. This dictates the type of riding we do and for the most part, the experiences we share. Others on here ride on the scattered woods and open fields of the midwest, some the swamps and mud bogs of the south and others still only dunes. All that wealth of experience is what makes this site so amazing and helpful at the same time. The original question was just "give me your thoughts ..." and look at the rainbow of responses he got. The funniest thing to me is this little epitaph:


Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:18 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks guy's

...... After snooping around the net quite a bit I think I'll pass on the Banshee ......


He decided not to get the Banshee anyhow. :D

[catfishwhisker]

I just put a Moto-fast 2 into 1 pipe and their single carb intake with a 40 Lectron on my shee. It does help the bottom end out tremendously and still does good on top. As far as it being a good trail bike, going to some aftermarket shocks would help out a bunch. Those stockers just ain't up to punkin'. The only other bad thing would be climbing hills with loose gravel and such. The banshee's spin terribly! Hard to get traction with those tires just sitting there spinning out of control. One thing about it, if you get some tires that will hook, you'll definitly beat everybody else to the top of the hill...... :D I love mine, but if i was going to be riding all the time on just trails, I'd just get a 450R or something of that nature. You can lug those 4-strokes around all day and not even foul a plug...... :clap

[nate b]

get something cool like a tecate 4