Well here is the botom line take it or leave it..
I own a Banshee with the only mods consisting of racing reeds, air filter and a boost bottle...THAT IS IT! My friend just got his new Raptor and for nothing more than to answer the question (which is the fastest) I rode his...

The Raptor is a fast machine and the torque is UNBELIVABLE!!! BUT from point A to point B the Banshee will still TOAST IT!!!! The Raptor is like riding a Cadilac compared to the Banshee and it is Extremely fast... I feel that for a ALL AROUND quad the Raptor is definatly the way to go but remember it is also $2K more than the Banshee.
If you are after zipping around the Banshee is by far better for the price!!!

Like I said TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT this is simply FACT!

 

Thanks for the info. I traded my Warrior off for a Raptor......Im ready for my fast caddy now! =-) Geeez after riding 4X4's for like 7 years I thought my Warrior's ride felt soft! Sounds like I will prolly be blown away by its suspension!

 

The Banshee is still modified. You do not have a stock machine...so your comparism is like apples to oranges. Now comparing my stock '00 Banshee to my stock Raptor....it is a different story. The Raptor is faster everywhere - but the Banshee is still a blast to ride. By the way...the Raptor is just $500 more expensive.

 

Unfortunately the dealer around here are charging between $7200 and $7500. Im waiting for the spring at least.

RoostKing...

 

My friends dad bought his Raptor for $6300. It is still not in yet and he paid cash and its from some small dealer. I think most of the new ones around here are $6500-$6800 and a new Banshee is $6100.

 

first off I am not starting anything..... just stating my experience...

during a trip to the dunes sun I raced some stock banshee's, a couple of piped/ported shee's, a 330r and a 310r, both of the r's were highly modified. We were racing a steep dune, starting 50ft from the base. here are the results

stock bashee's- 3-5 lengths BEHIND at the top
piped/ported shee's- 1-2 bike lengths ahead at the top
310r- dead even
330r- 3-5 legths ahead at the top

the 310r was my friends and we took turns same result, one word for the 330r.... FAST!!

I was running the 12 tooth front sprocket which I feel really helped in the launch, and getting out of the hole....

again I am not trying to start anything, this is just the results of some friendly drag racing

 

I recently gave up my banshee (to my wife) for a used raptor she found for my birthday. Frankly I was really excited but now I am sincerely disappointed in its overall performance for riding in my area. I felt the banshee was more stable and "feels" like it has loads more power, probably because the the 2 stroke snap. Maybe I need to get used to the 4 stroke monster? I hope so because overall I am glad that we decided to sell the warrior and give the banshee to my wife because now I can still ride it. I just may be selling the Raptor while they are still a "hot" item just like the guy who sold it to me I guess...