I don't think its really all that hard to ride a banshee in the woods, because the first time i rode a banshee was in the woods and didn't have much trouble at all.
I probably could have done better with a 400EX but still i thought it was pretty fun with a banshee.

 

There is nothing like riding a banshee. I have rode my nieghbors a lot. He has reeds, fmf power core silencers, and gnarly pipes and larger jets and filter. It pulls really hard through the gears but then seems to die out at the top end and does not feel that much faster than my 400ex. When WOT it vibrates like crazy and screams it is awsome. It is pretty hard to trail ride. You can ride in first gear and then the power band hits and rips your hand right off the clutch. But i think you could get used to it. My 400ex is a lot smoother to ride and the handling is a lot better. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

 

Here's an opinion from the backseat...

This weekend, I went riding w/ several guys, two of which included a 400ex and a Banshee. A lot of our riding was TIGHT woods and the Banshee really intrigued me. It seemed (and was) every bit as capable as the 400 - maybe even a little more so. Actually, from watching the Banshee, I thought it might be fun to own one. I don't think it was as fast as my Raptor, but it just looked like a lot of fun to ride (until he needed a reverse). Also, Charles was using some kind of racing gas and I loved the way it smelled, as well as how it sounds. If I didn't have my Raptor, I would go with the Banshee and I've owned a 400ex in the past.

Bart
www.members.home.net/bartkim

 

Get the Banshee. I think it takes a little bit more coordination to get the Banshee through the tight tight woods but the hit from the powerband surley makes up for it. Once you have the feeling of that arm ripping pull you will thank yourself
my 2 cents

 

i rode raptors, and had a 400 ex that i traded for a pre-modded banshee. the banshee surprised me in the woods . it felt good. my 400ex was a little better in tight areas though. there's no bike out there that i rode that gives you the rush of a banshee does. raptors are pretty fast, but it cant compete with a modded SHEE. the 400ex is a great bike for trails and woods, definaltey better than the raptor and banshee on trails and mx tracks. ive raced a few raptors and totally destroyed them on top end. they had me pretty good off the start though. but whem i hit 4th and continued through 6th gear, it was all over.