ATV Industry Facts: Did You Know?

A record-holder on many fronts.

These days stock 2-stroke engines are all but mythical in most industries; especially so in ours.  However Yamaha can claim some pretty impressive 2-stroke statistics thanks to their Banshee performance quad.

Having been produced in the US from 1987 (as an 88 model year) till 2006, it is tied with another Yamaha (the Blaster) as being the longest produced 2-stroke performance ATV.

Boasting a liquid cooled twin cylinder, it carries the honor of being the first multi-cylinder equipped ATV of all time and the only multiple cylinder 2-stroke to ever grace the ATV industry.

Because of its unique displacement (350cc), it didn’t fall neatly into the standard 250cc race class but rather found itself placed into the open class with Suzuki’s 500cc 2-stroke the LTR500 (Quadzilla).  As such it became an incredibly popular machine for dune and desert riders and remains so to this very day.

Bonus Fact:  While certainly a unique entry to the off-road world, the famous engine was actually transplanted from Yamaha’s RD350LC street motorcycle.