so i have a rappy 350, its gutless... im looking at either a yfz 450 or a banshee.. but im worried that if i have a banshee itll be in the shop too much. from what ive heard, ill spend more time reapairing than riding. is this true? and are banshees a good quad?

 

No the banshee will not be in the shop. Ive had mine since the end of 04 and have only had to change the oil and took out the TORS and e-brake as preventative maintanance. Im just getting ready to do a rebuild but only cause I want a bit more power with a port and polish. Ive rode the hell outta my shee for 3 years (went through a set of tires) and countless hours on it. Besides, getting the cylinders bored/honed is no worse than dealing with valves and timming on a 4-stroke...

A lot of people will tell you not to get one unless you plan on only riding dunes. I disagree, a banshee is great everywhere. They will tell you the suspension sucks (which all stock suspensions suck) and that its lacking power stock (all quads lack power stock). Dollar for dollar you cant beat a shee...

Bring on the flames im ready to argue!

 

I think the 450's and the Banshee are good quads. Ive ridden with people that had basically stock Banshees and they never had any mechanical problems. They had only installed pipes, filters, and rejetted them. On the other hand, Ive trail ridden with people that had drag race Banshees. They would race on Saturday night and ride on Sunday. Every Sunday, we would have to pull them home due to something. Seems like every time you start modifying an engine you are taking a risk on reliability.

 

alright, thanks guys. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I wouldn't worry about getting a shee. i think that stock for stock, a 450 would be a little bit better in the woods, but not too much better. After all, they only started building 450s to replace shees. dont worry about it breaking down unless you build it to drag and ride everything but. You can find a real nice and clean stock banshee for 2500 if its newer, and add a pipe and some shocks for a few more. Banshees can be built up for anything, its just that you hear about them starting to break down after theyre turned into drag machines. alot of people who build drag machines want more power and dont care about reliability as much. you could go with either a banshee or 450 and have a great machine either way, but a shee would cost less to make it as good. if you plan on riding in alot of trails i would go down a couple teeth in the front sprocket. sometimes banshees arent the best trail riders because they dont have enough low end. thats what i love about 450's and raptors, shift them early and they are amazing machines.

 

The 4 strokes are easier for novice to ride, much easier to jump and wheelie. The Banshee is more fun in dunes and fast trails for a good rider. Banshee is very reliable with bolt on mods.

 

If you want reliability go with the 450 Honda. If you want a bit more power you could go with a Banshee and maybe just replace the stock cylinders with a Cheetah Cub that uses the stock pistons. Easy mod and you pick up a bunch or horsepower. Good cylinder too. My son's 4 mil has run reliable through two full race seasons without a glitch. Mine has had an A&S ported setup on it and has been nothing but trouble. I'd never buy anything from that guy again. Finally replaced the entire setup this past week and look forward to some reliability for a change.

 

Banshees arent that bad for working on. If its built right, it will last. Its not like they just break for no reason. Get a shee, you wont be dissapointed.

 

No argument from me. As a matter of a fact I will take it one step further since it is a pet peeve for me.

Why do people continually say two strokes are less reliable than a four stroke? Sure; the two stroke wears "slightly" faster than a four stroke. Sure; you need to have a two stroke tuned on the money. But reliability? I say the two stroke is better. Why? Parts. There is about a 1/3 less parts in a two stroke!!! That is a third less things to go wrong. You do the math!!!

For the people that want to argue with me lets do this. Come on over to my house with your four stroke and we will do a little experment. We will start our engines up and hold them wide open until the fuel tank runs dry or until one of them blows up. We will see who wins. I do this day after day with my leaf blower. It has WAY more than 200 hours on the clock.

I think the two stroke got miligned by dweebs that run a 20 to 1 mix and foul a plug. Then they scream at how bad the engine is. These same dweebs killed the manufacture of the two stroke. Greenies saw the two stroke pouring smoke out of the back of the pipe and started screaming to the government. "You must do something about these "BAD" engines. Next thing you know; no more two strokes!!! I'm convinced that if everybody would have run a REASONABLE mix the two strokes would still be in the game to this day.
Or the dweebs that pipe a two stroke and don't rejet and then burn a hole in the piston. What is up with that kind of thinking???

Metal for metal, CC for CC, you will never beat the power to weight ratio of a two stroke. Never

Ok rant over. Back to the question. yfzdreamer you never did say what type of riding you do. I have to know that to give you my answer.

 

agreed!