A guy that rides with a friend of mine has a 2001 Yellow 400EX, and he says he wants something faster. The EX has DG nerfs, Renthals, and grips.. other than that, it is showroom cond. He has expressed some interest in trading for my Banshee(mods below.) I ride mostly MX/trails, woods, and no dunes. I am VERY pleased with the Banshee's performance, but I am ready for a change. The maintnence/cost of mods is driving me crazy. I want something that is reliable, and you dont' have to let idle for 5 minutes before riding. Kinda sounds like I need a 4stroke.. right? thanks for replies

 

I dunno, if you're all about speed stay with the banshee, from what you have, that EX is gonna be a big performance drop. Reliability and ease of use will be better, but I guess it depends where your wants lie at the moment. Are you talkin trading straight up with him, or would you have to give him some cash?? If you're talkin straight up that EX is worth more cause its 4 years newer so that too may be a reason to do it....

 

True... I ride with a banshee, and they do really rip on top end, but have a lack-luster bottom. I mean, they still haul really well, and with the 4 stroke it has a ton of power all around. If you like tight trails and getting big air, go with the 400ex, but if your passion is fire roads, and open fields stick with you 'shee. After everything, I say, that since it's you friend, try to talk him into letting you use it for an hour or two to see how you like it.

P.S. I just bought a blaster, and I have spent just as much on parts as I paid for it, so I know what your taking about with reliability of a two stroke, and I can assure you that the 400ex is much better in that aspect

 

Well, You just summed up my riding. Trails, woods, and MX. Thanks for you help, but, i would appreciate any other replies!

 

I have a 97 Banshee too, my riding partner has a 2001 yellow 400 ex. We trade bikes all the time. I prefer my Banshee, but strong points of his bike are torque, good lights, excellent manuverability,(less rider fatigue), and reliability. But there is one reason why I'll never have one. I'm too big for it. It's definitely geared toward someone with a small to medium frame. If you're over 6 feet tall the bike can feel a little toy like. It also needs a 6th gear. I used to own a scrambler 400, it's amazing to me how different ATV's can be so unique from each other and have such different strong points. Good luck, I've had fun with all the ATV's I've had, the Banshee suits me best right now.

 

Lets also not forget that "performance" is not strictly based on straight line acceleration.

Given the woods and MX riding you say you do, the 400EX will consistantly turn faster times more easily & with less rider fatigue than a Banshee. So which is faster? Sure the Banshee has more power, but what is power if you can't use it?

Now the tables may be turned if you rode strictly fire roads or dunes and preferred sand dragging and hill shooting. Personally I still prefer the EX in this environment as I tend to do a lot of jumping, high speed cornering, and sand trail riding when in the dunes, all of which the EX also excels at. I can also outrun Banshee's that are much faster than my EX thru the sand whoops because I can use more of my power.

Don't expect the 4 stroke engine to ever "feel" as fast a your 2 stroke. Even with equal HP & acceleration numbers the Banshee will always "feel" faster due to the burst of power. That said though, you will be going much faster than you expect on the EX, especially in the woods. The excellent handling hides it's speed.

So you just need to determine what's important to you. If you can't go without the rush of the 2 stroke power hit, you may never be happy with the EX. If you want to go faster at the track and in the woods & be less fatigued doing it while at the same time performing less maintenance, then the EX may be the hot ticket for you.