You can mod a 2-stroke and it will blow away a modded 4-stroke. You can just make them so much faster. But, you cant run a new banshee in the dunes cuz its not a green sticker cuz its a 2-stroke. Everyone keeps saying that the banshee is an old bike, but if youre thinking about buying a new one, then its just as "new" as a yfz. It may not have as good as shocks and you have to mix fuel all the time but it could be MUCH faster if youre willing to dump money into it. But then again, youre just dumping money into a stock yfz just cuz its new.

 

The YFZ is the best designed sport quad on the market to date. You can see lessons learned from all Yamaha quads in the design of that thing. Yamaha is getting good. You won't be dissapointed if you pick that over a Banshee....IMO

I have never heard anyone complain about the YFZ except for riding comfort. I think it has the Banshee beat in that department.

 

IMO the banshee is the most comfortable quad for dunes and open trails. In tight trails a little arm pump can build up, but its still a lot of fun to ride.

 

YamahaRider,

Where do you ride? If you are moving up from the blaster, riding in the woods, and like 2-strokes, look to the Red side.

 

I ride my friends Banshee and its definetly fast, he has it bored over .30, piped, etc. Last time we went to paragon, i watched him smoke a z400, yfz, and a 400ex on some open trails. The only problem i see is its a 2stroke, so its always fouling plugs, so trail riding becomes a hassle, you always have to stop and change plugs.

 

First and foremost lets give credit to the longest lasting 2-stroke, the mighty Banshee.... The TRX250r, Tecate 250, Quadracer 250/500 are gone!!!! The Banshee can & will compete with any Y2K quad. The YZF450 is one uncomfortable quad (04 seat is rock hard & on the very small side) & I only sat on it for a minute at a dealership..... Would I buy it????? No!!!!! Comfort is a underestimated value in a quad & the YZF450 doesn't qualify.

 

i love the yfz bad a#$ but i did beat one one my buddys shee on pavemeant although he did pass me when we both topped out the shee at 18 inch tires..... but i do believe it comes down to the rider and i practiced my holeshot till i got it down ... i reved it up leaned forward and broke the tires loose for about 2 feet hit second gear and was gone till i topped out then the yfz passed me ..... but i wached the 2 race on gravel anf the yfz one every time ... BOTH STOCK

 

"Who likes to go fast?"

Oh, me, me. Pick me!!!


As some of you know, I am a die hard banshee fan. I TT race one, drag race one, and trail ride one. I love them. With that being said, my TT bike is probably one of the fastest TT banshees in the nation (too bad I can't ride like this bike runs). I can't count how many times I have been beaten by a YFZ. Those bikes are awesome of the showroom floor. However, I don't think they are the best choice for a trail machine. This is as close to a race bike that has ever been offered from the factory. The manners of the engine and suspension is not optimum for the trails. I am convinced that something like a Z400 would be just as fast, or faster than the YFZ on the trails. People need to stop subscribing to Dirt Wheels and let their minds make up their decisions, not an editor who roots for whoever is advertising the most that month.

Also, the people that say things like "The only problem i see is its a 2stroke, so its always fouling plugs, so trail riding becomes a hassle, you always have to stop and change plugs." really need to realize that there are other oils out there than Benol. New oils burn clean. Also, jet it right and run the right plugs. Last week I fouled my first set of banshee plugs in 3 years. In those 3 years I have owned 7-8 banshees. The only reason they fouled was because my main jet loosened and fell out causing that side to run extremely rich.

And for what I hope is the last time, boring a cylinder 1-2 sizes over DOES NOT MAKE IT A SPEED DEMON. At most it will add 1/2 a HP. The biggest advantage to big bore kits isn't the new displacement. In a 4 stroke, it unshrouds the valves letting air flow better. In a 2 stroke, it lets you widen the exhaust port for more flow.

And now I step off the soapbox[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

yfz450

 

Im not sure where anyone got the idea that i trail ride. I mostly do fields, sand, pretty anything i can race on. I know that both machines are great, so it is up to me to decide now. thanks for the input.