I live in tulsa Ok and looking into buying a quad. Which one is your opinion to be the best at m/x, tt and flat track? It will start out as basically recreation but im sure the racer will come back out in me from previous years. The tt and flat tracks are short indoor courses and have two courses 250 and 251+cc. The majority of the guys for the indoor run banshee's and just switch over suspensions when the season's change to m/x. All teh guys i know that ride the dunes in western ok say get a 250r. I'm six foot 250lbs., any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Maybe try riding both machines and see which one you are more comfortable on. Banshees are fast, but their are tons of different ways to build a 250R to get it as fast and faster as far as top-end goes. My boss took me to race the STP Shootout in Tulsa on my 300EX one year and their were more 250R's than banshees. Also every class was one by a 250R, even the open classes. He even mentioned how 250's are actually faster than the bigger bikes, he used to race quads (now sprint cars) and had 250's and a 500, he said the 250's were faster in most race situations. Now I personally own a 250R with a 330 kit by Last Rebel Racing, and it is a very strong running bike, strong enough to beat the banshees for the holeshot in MX racing.

I've ridden full race banshees, and I prefer the honda because they handle so much better. A Banshee does not want to turn in corners, even with a-arms.

Its up to you, again I recommend trying to ride both and see for yourself. Although there is a reason why the 250R is said to be the best quad ever made, and why all aftermarket frames are patterned after it, especially for MX.

As an example, a friend of mine started out on a Banshee under the assumption that many people seem to have, the Banshee is faster than a 250, thus it must be faster in a race. Well after racing the banshee a few years and always finishing mid pack, then he rode a 250R once. After that he sold the Banshee and never looked back. He began finishing up front (Winning most races) just because it handled that much better. He still likes a lot of horsepower, so he raced the open class at the Nationals on big bore Hondas.

The same friend also mentioned a Banshee basically has to be ridden on the edge of out control to be fast, so they actually wear you out mentally as much or even more than physically, whereas a 250R is easier to control and don't drain you. Most people don't realize that part of it, but when you have ridden both at the level he has, he said their is a big differece as far as being able to go fast in a race.

Hope this answers some questions,

Sickman

 

Thanks, really everything you said is basically everything that I've read just didn't know whether that was the actually truth or not. When your friends are die hard banshee fanatics you wonder whether that's just their opinion or everybody's. I've heard that you have to slip the clutch to keep the banshee going, just wondered if it is the same on hte 250r. Do you still race in Tulsa and where? All the tracks people talk about never seem to have that many races for atv's. Also are there any fast tt or flat track tracks around tulsa. I've heard they're all small indoor.

 

No I don't race around Tulsa, I'm from Iowa and MX is what dominates here. I was invited to go to the STP Shootout one year, so I raced it. I would like to try it again because It was my first TT race ever and the first time I rode after getting my arm out of a cast, so my arm got really tired. I still managed 5th in the second semi-main in the 250 2-stroke class on my 300EX without a lowering kit. Now I finally have a a quad with the horsepower to win races, so I'd like to try it on my 330R and see how I can do.

Yes you do have to slip the clutch a little on a 250R, but a Banshee has a very narrow power band, thus requiring a lot of clutching compaired to a 250R. As far as all around rideability, the 250R is much better because it works really good for anything, racing, trails, etc. Look at an ATV Magazine, even in cross country the 250R rules.

Like I said before, I personally don't like the Banshee because they don't handle anything like an R, and I know several people that started on banshees, and have or want to switch to a 250R. One guy has over $12,000 in his banshee and rode my 250R before I even had the big bore kit in it and he was wishen he had went with the R because he'd have twice the machine with the same money.

Good Luck, and enjoy whatever you get.

Sickman

[This message has been edited by Sickman (edited 11-28-1999).]

 

come Jan. I'm going to get hot and heavy at looking for an R, the almighty quad. Your right about all the R's winning but in some of the open classes I see banshee's winning. I'm not sure of the class they just say open or 500. In looking fora used r what should I look for and look out for.

 

I live in Tulsa also and I have only done cross country racing on my Banshee so far. I attend the flat track/TT races here in Tulsa and most of my friends that race have Banshees. One has purchased a 250r with a Sparks motor and will begin racing it next year. It's a real nice quad and we are all very anxious to see how it will perform.

Most of the races are finished for right now. The most popular outdoor flat track is in Port City. It's right outside of Tulsa just before Owasso. They race out there about every other weekend. It's a good size track and we all have lots of fun.

If your interested in Cross Country then you should join OCCRA ( Oklahoma Cross Country Racing Association ). You can get signed up at K&N Yamaha. They are done for the year but will start up next year around April I think. They have about 12-14 racing a year. The last race of the year is at Hallett speeday and most everyone in Tulsa attends that race.

By the way. My friends and I ride every weekend out at Keystone Lake ( Appalachia Bay ). You should come out ride with us some time.