I'm going to try to get a banshee in a month or so and wanted to know a few questions. First of all when do i know i need to rebuild my top end?
And how do i do it???? Is there any way i could make the handling better for better turning?
All this jabber about a raptor is going to just blow away a banshee wouldn't pipes and silencers make the banshee go faster than a ratpor? Because from what i heard the raptor isn't as fast as they said it was going to be, i have heard a couple M.P.H. faster which isn't much.
I want alot of bottom end also. How could i do that?? I heard that the maintenance sucks cause you have to keep doing something to them all the time. How do you jet your carbs and do you have to do it alot. I just want to know how to keep them up and running at its tip top performance.
And i don't want to keep fixing stuff and buying new things for it all the freaking time.
THANX

 

Two more things about the clutch and throttle.
I heard that the clutch is notchy and the throttle is stiff. Are these 2 things super sucky?? Or are they not as bad as they turn out to be? How could i get alot more bottom end. Which pipes would make that better because i want to do some trail riding but they are tight little trails. Is the dynoport 2 into 1 pipe any good for that.
I am thinking about skipping a banshee and getting a 250R what is the difference in speed on them 2 machines. THANX again!!!

 

if you get a used one make sure you know where it is coming from.. or you just might get a little of my luck... got a 96 banshee, took it about a mile down the road... pictures tell the story....
now Im stuck with scrap metal...

 

Hey Mark, how you doing? I just got a 96 banshee, my first quad. So I'll give you my opinions and experiences in the last month I've owned mine.
First the throttle and clutch. Yeah, the throttle is kinda stiff. But....I rarely notice it unless I'm toodling around. If I'm riding fast and hard, I don't really notice it. Not even after the ride. Don't know why, but I don't. This isn't a long ride for some, but I tried and rode for 35 minutes non stop on a semi-track the other day. About 8 jumps and several hard and fast turns. I never noticed my thumb.
The clutch is kinda notchy. It's definately not as smooth as a 400ex, but then again I think the 400ex is TOO easy. You're gonna miss a few shifts, but I think it's because you're shifting more to stay in the power. It's not terrible.
Maintanence....get a pro-design pro-flow intake system. The stock air-intake system sucks. Then there's the chain tensioner. It seems to be a little more than it has to be, but it's not terrible. There's always the common stuff, oil-gas mixture, cleaning, air filter maintenance, watching your coolant levels, but it's a part of the high-performance ownership.
The 250r is probably the better machine for all around riding, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: You can get a newer banshee! That's important because most TRXs and banshees have been raced, so newer means raced less. You're not gonna get a ton of lowend out of a banshee without spending a good bit of money. But the rush of the mid and top are awesome! You just have to learn to use it.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask me any more questions........now I'm off to clean my air filter(believe that?)

Jason