the kick start kit for the 450 is 500 bucks. and for 15 pounds and the fact that you need to kick it over seems like a waste. 15 pounds probably will not matter in an MX race.. and kick starting it will only add to how slow you get going after a crash or stall.
only time i see it usefull is for drag racing... lighter and you dont need to worry about starting it quick if you stall..

 

..........And for the original question this poor fellow had.
Are you talking about the 450r that isnt out yet or the yfz 450 that is out and will lay the samck dwon on a banshee. Im not saying that every yfz will beat every banshee, but you put a yfz, uncorked up against a banshee, that banshee better have some good engine mods on board. Now if your racing straight line for a mile, yeah, wouldnt suprise me that the top speed is better on the banshee.
YOu take a yfz with an exhaust, airbox lid off, cam mod, and proper jetting, and put it up to an equal banshee, Im sorry but there is no way in hell that a banshee will beat it!! YOur going to have to have a lot of fricken money in a banshee to make it run with a yfz. And thats only in a straight line. Forget every other department! The 450 is new, has a great frame, great suspension, sits low to the ground, its wide, and the linkage setup/suspension setup is leaps and bounds above the banshee's. THe banshee is an 80's machine, havnt changed! I think yamaha has figured some stuff out in the last almost 20 years!!
Banshee is a killer quad, and are fast as ever, but I odnt think you can really compare it to the new generation race quads, its like trying tro compare an apple to an orange!

 

good point!

 

I had a chance to race three of them, it was 2 banshees and 3 450's and a 250r that would not race.

Anyway, the yfz that had all the mods, pipe, jetted, no airbox lid, and cam mod won the race. He is about 100 pounds lighter then me. I took second, followed about 2 lengths back by the other banshee and the other two yfz were last.

The other yfz's had everything except the cam mod done to them. Both the banshees had pipes, coolhead, and different filters.

Oh, and I was the heaviest rider out of the group. I actually surprised myself and the others. I play around for fun, but I am too big to worry about being first. But second made me feel real good.

Hope that helps answer the question.

Oh and the yfz was probably about 6-8 bike lengths ahead of me, part of that was him getting through the whoops better also.

 

the 450 wakes up quite a bit with a pipe on em tho..

 

how are yall getting 15 pounds for removing a battery and starter? I read in dirtwheels that it would only take away 8 pounds, but that may be before you chunk the starter and not just the battery.

 

yeah, 8 lbs is probably just the battery. I dont know, I have not weighed it. But yeah, you yank the starter motor, and the electric fan, that I guess will no longer work and supposively you get that kind of weight saving's. But like hozed brought up, is it really worth it for $500!! I dont know, I didnt even know that, that was the going price?

 

The kit will be $465.00 dollars. I was told you lose 13.5lbs when switching to a kicker. Thats only $34.44 a pound. It's worth it to me for the fact that I don't have to trust the battery to get me home plus it never hurts to be a little lighter.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]