"the 400ex almost as fast as the banshee only about 5-10 mph faster and right now i have my 400 going faster then my friends banshee and have no problem holding on."

Top speed dosent mean anything its how fast you get there. I use to ride 4 strokes dirt bikes all my life and there is no way to compare them to a 2 stroke. Its when you hit the power band on the 2 stroke that can be scary. A 4 stroke is by far a better lugger that a 2 stroke.

BatMan

 

I would agree....the top end has nothing to do with this post....though I could spend all day arguing your 400ex claim to fame....

The only way to compare those two machine (400 ex/banshee) is if you spent about $4000 on your ex and the banshee rider is afraid of the machine.... cause I own both...and there 'ain't' no way!!!!

I tried the twist thing....I love to ride whoops and bumps along with jumps....The twist was just plain scary....and I grew up on two stroke dirt bikes. I like the sometimes tiresome thumb throttle... It works for me.

 

Read my other reply to this post. The thumb throttle addition I am talking about there ids great. I wish you could all try one because you would love it.

It looks nice, and works great. If every ATV came with one of these, you would never see an ATV with a twist throttle.

 

Someone please fill me in on the history of the thumb throttle. I was riding dirt bikes before the Honda ATC90 was in production. In fact I saw the kit that converted the Honda Trail 90 into a three-wheeler, which inspired Honda to build these things using motorcycle technology in the first place.

Here is my theory: I was riding dirt bikes at about the time the ATC was introduced and at that time all bikes had twist grips. However, I was up at Tahoe in winter once about then and had a chance to ride a Snowmobile, it had a thumb throttle. Go figure, the ATC was so popular in Snowmobile land that the snow machine camp influenced the ATC/ATV business.

As to which one is better, I just don’t care. You can use whichever one you like best. For me, it’s definitely got to be a twist grip. If I had a Snowmobile I would put a twist grip on it. I use to think Snowmobiles had thumb throttles because they were so underpowered they were either on or off all the time. Then I found out that they weren’t really all underpowered, just the ones I rode were. So, someone tell me why they use thumb throttles for ATVs when all modern motorcycles all have twist grips and have had twist grips for some time.

 

stroke9
well, I can give you my take on why quads have thumbers..it's the brainchild of some Big Brothers in Washington, most of whom never straddled a bike or quad, who felt that the public needed such a safety device to protect them against themselves such as the incidents described right here in this thread. Probably the same people who decided what size quad your son could ride.
I run twisters on both my quads, one of which is a KQ utility. It gives me complete throttle control in the gnarliest of terrain.

 

I have a trx 250 r and the only reason I even put a twist throttle on it was because I liked the grips that fit on the twist better than the regular atv grips.

 

I have a 86 trx250r with a motion pro twister on it.for drag racing I like the twister. for jumping thumb. for woods riding twister. for hill climbing twister for wheelies definitly thumb. for sliding corners twister. and for roosting banshee's my 250r!!!!!! remeber ride red ride smart ride hard!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Greetings,

I've heard it said that the reason behind the difference in throttles is based on the difference in steering. A motorcycle accomplishes much of its turning by leaning -- a snowmobile or ATV doesn't. Therefore, on a snowmobile or ATV, you have to turn the bars much more deliberately (harder and farther) than on a motorcycle. This makes it harder to hold your hand and wrist in a steady position thus making it harder to control the twist throttle. The thumb is relatively isolated from the rider's turning motions and therefore can sustain a steady pressure regardless of his position.

 

I have to agree with the guys that say stick with the thumb, unless you are used to dirtbikes. I rode a Banshee with a twist scared the heck out of me a couple of times.