I agree, although I have not had the chance yet to race a Raptor, but this is what I think. There are 2 weak spots to a Banshee that if corrected might be a better competitor to a Raptor. 1. Has to be the low end no torque. It has no power till the power-band kicks in. If you could get rid of that slump at the take off you might have a better chance. 2. That sixth gear is just a cruise control. NO POWER AT ALL just there as a rev limiter so you don’t blow your motor basically. I really don’t understand why everyone is trying to compare the Banshee and Raptor anyway. They are totally different bikes. Now if Kawasaki or Polaris or Honda came out with a 2-stroke, dual carb, dual cylinder, dual exhaust, 350cc motor type bike that’s what you should be comparing the Banshee too. The Raptor should be compared to the Cannondale FX400 (which really can’t do that either cause its only a 432cc motor) or the Bombardier DS650 not the Banshee by far. Just look at the cubic centimeters difference between the Raptor and Banshee, lets see who wins on a 650cc 2-stroke Banshee!