I just got my Raptor and have not raced my buddy's banshee yet.I have talked to him about how his bike runs against other sport atvs. He seems to think that the reason the banshee usually doesnt beat other bikes 'till 4th gear is because the shee doesnt hook up. He says his will just spin the tires when the powerband kicks in in the first three gears. Could this be the only reason the Raptor beats the banshee because it gets more traction?? He says even on pavement it will just smoke the tires. I dont know. Maybe someone can enlighten us.

 

Tell him to try to start in 2nd gear that helps.
The Raptors I raced so, I did that and they beat only by a bike lenght and then I hit 3rd gear and i'm gone.
Im not sure how this is going go after they start putting the pipes on these. I know one guy in my area that put the pipes on already.
It sounds NICE and then he took off like no other
Raptor I've seen so far.

 

I've race 2 Banshees on a groomed and watered track that was very grippy. One was stock, the other was modded with cool head, pipes, reeds and ect...

The stock Banshee was not even close either from a rolling start or dead stop. The modded Banshee actually beat me from a dead stop because I couldn't keep the front end down. From a rolling 1st gear start, I was able to beat the modded Banshee repeatedly. I even let it get a quad length ahead on the rolling take off, but by 3rd or 4th gear, the big thumper would pass it up. I weighed about 50lbs or so more than the other rider. After racing, people were asking "what was wrong with those 2 Banshees?"

 

any idea what kind of pipe it is?

 

Prior to riding my Raptor, the Banshee felt ultra quick. Arm ripping feeling, what a rush. When I got my Raptor it didn't feel as quick as the Banshee. When ridden side by side the Raptor pulls harder than the Banshee, but I never would of guess it without that comparison.


j/t
01 Raptor Blk/White

 

I just spent a weekend at Glamis with two other banshees and one raptor. I got to ride the raptor, which is stock, and watch it all weekend long. All three of the banshees have pipes and reeds. Mine is the only one with a shaved head. I also weigh the most, so all the banshees are pretty close when hill racing. Every quad had the same kind of paddles too (sand skate II's). And paddles have a really good way of equalizing traction. With knobbies, there is too much variation to get consistent and realistic results on dirt. And on pavement, there's a huge amount of rider skill involved in keeping the front end down and/or using the clutch to launch well. Sand and paddles seem to be the best at making things consistent and realistic.

With that said, I cannot agree with ANYONE that says that a stock raptor can hang with a piped banshee. Each time we raced - which was a lot, no matter who rode what, the results were the same, and the raptor was a couple lengths back by the top of the hill. As a comparison, a stock banshee (when we had one with us) was usually about 3 - 4 lengths back, so the raptor would be somewhere in-between the stock and piped banshees.

As for my impressions of the raptor - I like it. It's got gobs of low end (compared to the banshee), but it doesn't explode with power on top (c'mon, it's a thumper....). It's faster than it feels, and I thought it was top heavy. The front end was lighter than the banshee. For sand, my banshee suspension is dialed in quite nicely, but the owner of the raptor has his set for desert racing, so it felt still to me. Given the choice right now, I might buy a raptor over the banshee. I'd like more power from it, somewhere around 45 - 50 hp would be about right for dunes and desert. Oh, and I like that reverse gear.

It is NOT faster than piped (and well tuned) banshees though. It may equal or come very close after pipe, jetting, intake, and gearing changes though.

 

How about flats racing not hills. what was the outcome.

 

I raced a stock Raptor at Glamis over the Thanksgiving weekend at gecko road(flat run). Anyhow, he got the hole-shot on me (expected) and was beating me by about a quad length until I hit fourth, then I was gone. But I was impressed by the stock Raptor for sure and am pretty sure it will beat a stock banshee..

RoostKing...

 

I should have mentioned I had my spark arrestor out. Not a huge difference, but still enough to feel.

I can see where the gearing of the Raptor might hurt it in sand hill racing. The Banshee has a closer ratio which helps it stay "on the pipe" easier.

 

Sorry that you can't agree with me, Sandman, but the only mods on my Raptor are a custom made billet insert (in place of the spark arrestor) and a 12 tooth sprocket, and I race banshees every weekend on soft sugar sand, as well as medium density dirt. The only guys beating me have mods such as a bored and ported engine, single carb, perf reeds, cool head and FMFs. They actually had to do some tuning to get me in 4th gear. There's about 8 banshees that I ride with, most modded, and 2 stock. The stock guys don't come close. Once you get used to looking at the headlights on the Raptor during launch, the wheelstands are controllable...Sand Skates were used for almost every comparison we've done. I do have to admit that they take me on soft sanded intracoastal wall climbing, but, with an airbox, pipe, jets, and exhaust, I believe the Banshee Boys will be BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD for dragging!