It will take time for Yamaha to work out the bugs in the Raptor. I would go with the Banshee because with mods like a pipe and Delta V-force reeds you could hang or even beat the Raptor. W ith a two-stroke they respond better to aftermarket modifacations. Two Strokes are cheaper all around in rebuilding them over the 4 stroke. Go get a used Banshee with all the mods done for you. Or New which ever you perfer.


Two Strokes will never die

 

I don't think the Raptor is going to have any "bugs". The 400EX didn't. Both Honda and Yamaha test these things VERY thoroughly. There have been no official updates to the 400EX or the Banshee (except the J-arm thing) since they were released. Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with my 400, and I would anticipate that Yamaha would provide the same level of quality. Bombardier is the only manufacturer to admit they were changing something after the first production run, which probably hurt sales. I don't think reliability will be a problem on the Raptor.

 

You know..I don't have a lot of experience in the sporting world..I have only ridden a warrior and 400ex(which I loved). They are easy to ride, the powerband and all. You can lug em down in a taller gear and still power through, that's very forgiving.
I went looking for my first atv, and I decided on the banshee because it was quite simply the biggest bang for the buck. I just bought my firt quad sunday, haven't hardly ridden it at all..a 96 banshee...haven't gotten it out of 3rd yet, but when it hits the powerband in the gears, it's awesome. I'm hooked I think! Their is nothing like that kick WHILE you're speeding along. I think the Raptor will be bad though for sure!

Later all,

Jason