You should get a 450r, unless you are going to dump thousands of dollars into it then i might lean more thowards a banshee.

 

hows the banshee (modified or not modified) at jumping compared to the 450?

 

the banshee actually jumps ok. its the landing you have to watch - it can seem a little out of focus at times. its a little front heavy so you have to get used to that in your aproach/throttling.
the rear shock on mine (well the 01 i had) worked surpisingly well. the front shocks left alot to be desired even though they are worlds better than the 87-88 shocks. in 89 yamaha revalved them for the first time and it made a better riding machine and that year they put 10" rims on the back. i wish they would have kept the 10" 's in the back but they took it away in 90 or 91.

the 450R jumps and lands WAY better though. youd be happy with it. get an 06 with the estart though, they totally revamped everything on this bike and it is said it will blow away an 04/05 model. i know thats here say but they did change alot of stuff on it and seriously raised the compression. im going to see how they do in person and see how the new quadracer450 does...i might have to trade for one of these. but im generally happy with the 04 450r i have. only complaints- kickstart can be a $@%$ sometimes despite what others tell you, at high speeds it gets a little squirly, center of gravity is too high for my taste ( ride my 250R and tell me which one you like better) and it can seem a little unbalanced (again coming from a 250R-near perfect balance) and first gear is a little too tall and 5th isnt tall enough or it needs a 6th, IMO. you can do some tight technical stuff on it b/c i have with mine but it wasnt desinged for that kind of thing. the 06 also has revised tranny ratios as well and an FCR carb, 1/2" longer swing arm, revised front geometry, estart as previoulsy mentioned...seems like they fixed everything on my list!
but a banshee is a thrilling machine and there is no comparison to the sound of it. but i wouldnt buy one again unless i became extremly rich and just wanted one...4 strokes are the now and future.

 

wow So if one were to chansge the front shocks of the banshee to say elks or something along those lines then the banshee might have the chance to be a great jumper, right? Do you know of any modifications that can be made to make the banshee lighter in the front?

 

Oh, with some elkas it would jump pretty nicely. It is front heavy but it really doesnt matter, you get used to it real quick and its all throttle control. I never really even noticed it was front heavy when I rode my my brothers banshee. he jumps fine with it.

 

trx450r is a beautiful ride I have a friend with one as mentioned before had a little problem with the rear end flaoting through the whoops but nothing is perfect a tad bit more weight and the problem will be fixed. It truely is a beautiful machine......however........ there is something about the screaming banshee almost makes me cream on myself I have an 01 didnt do very much to it just fmf i found a stock banshee to be plenty fast enough i recently purchased an 06' black and silver banshee I wanted the last year and I am in the process of purchasing a ds 650........my point is this bro the banshee isnt just a four wheeler its a peice of art work a screaming 2 stroke twin the smell of a oil/gas 2 cycle mixture on a cold crisp morning...there isnt much that compare to the legend or the nestalga of the banshee even though the trx is a better trail bike the banshee is well the "banshee" and it will never die which is why I I will never get rid of my 01' or my 06' now my 01' isnt really a banshee anymore I aquired a 350 4 bolt main out of a chevelle and did some fabrication and now I have a 396 stroker running alcohol in a quad but i dont recomend it to the normal rider I havent even tested it yet I usually build harleys with my father so im a bit afraid to start it lol just a little project to kill time.....anyway to come to my conclusion if you want a badass trail bike get the trx but if you want to take ur helmet off and get the tingly feeling after a hard days ride get the banshee there is nothing quite like it........Now on to bigger and better things my older brother workd for kawasaki and he tells me that he has heard(remember heard not for sure)that yamaha has plans in development for a new banshee by 2010 supposedly a 4stroke god 1100 cc 4 stroke that will do around 130-140 lol so maybe we shall see the banshee's younger brother make a comeback tour you never untill then I have decided to pimp my ride got lots of research to do and lots of money to spend but i will be looking forward to meeting all the 4 stroke riders and having a good time ....and just remember whether you get a banshee or a trx u are entering a world of fun and exciting scenery also dude little side note you get more *** with a banshee bitches love 2 strokes lol [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] peace this is mike ----out

 

I actually think they are about equal. I know i said that i take a 450r, but have decided that the banshee is just too much fun to ride. Also for the riding I do it would be better. I guess i could say that i would pick the banshee for one thing and the 450r for another so they are about equal.