The Banshee will be more similar in powerband to your KX. Banshee will climb steep hills all day. If your talking about tight woods style trails, the 4 strokes will be better suited for that.

Ive owned a Banshee in the past, currently have a YZ 250 and a Raptor 700. I feel these are similar in power output, with more emphasis on top end with the 2 strokes. I ride dunes 90% and wide open desert the other 10%, so thats where I base my opinions.

 

thanks for your input.

I was leaning more toward the banshee anyways. We don't have alot of tight trails around here. Ilive in northeastern montana. we got alot of open farm fields and alot of steep, steep hills and alot of jumps. the basic outdoors. Would the banshee be able to handle the jumping? cuz as far as getting it to move out, i think i can handle that. with no low end, i'll just use the clutch to keep the power band on.
is there anything i can do to make the banshee jump worthy? cuz personally i like the way the banshee looks and i want the same power as i would with my KX. Then again i want some thing faster than a blaster, cuz right now, that's the fastest quad around where i live and my friend owns it. So if you can point me towards a quad that can blow his blaster away and be able to climb hills and fly some jumps, i'm open to your input. thanx

 

personely i would get the honda because some of my friends have them and they really like them and have had no problems with them. and if you like to ride in the winter they have never had a problem starting them in the cold. one of my friends had a banshee and they do not like to start at all in the winter unless they are in a heated place.

 

i heard that the hondas are too heavy. Then again, i also heard they had good suspension and stability while riding. I don't know what to get. I got until late january to research the quads. i want a quad with some raw power and some ***** though. I don't want no little puker thing. i want to be able to wheelie and outrun the cops if i have to.

 

The banshee's suspension is very stone-aged compared to the suspension on the 4 strokes you're looking at. The travel is shorter, and the shocks aren't as good. To get the banshee good at jumping you would need to put at least $1000 into a set of aftermarket shocks. With the 400's, especially the z400, the stock suspension can handle jumps good enough for most riders. I've rode banshees before, and I don't think I would feel safe climbing steep and long hills on one. A banshee's powerband is a very sharp hit, and if you let it drop below the powerband while climbing a steep hill it's not going to be very forgiving.

 

I think something like a ds650 or raptor might be more of what you're looking for. They have more power than the 400's, and aren't too far behind the banshee. Their suspension has more travel, and soaks up the jumps better than the banshee's. The raptor and ds also have a better top speed than the 400's.

 

we don't have any long steep hills. there all rather short and steep. I can hit them in fourth gear wide open on my KX and get some big time air off them. so i think the banshee might be able to handle that. as far as putting a $1000 into the suspension to be able to jump, i might be able to. the highest i'll be getting is about 6 feet of air.

 

if the climbs are short then the banshee shouldn't have any problems. 6 feet would be pushing the limits on the banshee's stock suspension if you jump constantly. The banshee is more fun to ride than the 4 strokes i've rode with it's insane powerband hit, and if you're prepared to pay for the suspension upgrade it would be a great quad for the riding you describe. Another thing, the sound of a piped banshee is the coolest and most unique sound you will ever hear from a quad or dirtbike. I'm not much for the 2-stroke weedeater sounds, but I love the way a banshee sounds, as will almost everybody else that has heard one.

 

thanx for your input and advice. i am truly thankful. i just wanted to find out if the banshee would be what i need. except for the suspension, it sound perfect for my wants. from what i've heard, it can wheelie, outrun any other quad, except for a faster banshee, and rip up those hills that i need it to.
i was also wondering if you need to pre-mix the gas. if so then that definately isn't a problem, cuz i do that allready anyway.
can you point me in the direction of the shocks to get? then i can order them from my local yamaha dealer. thanx again

 

i also thought you should know, i'll probably only be getting about 3 feet of air in most cases, if that. There also isn't much landing pads either. I'll be flying up then landing on flat ground. would that do any damage?
i'll probably be getting upgraded suspension but not right away.
would i need front and rear suspension?
thanx