I'm thinking about getting a 4 wheeler but I'm not really sure what to get. I'm pretty dead set on getting a Yamaha but which one? The Raptor and Banshee are both awesome machines but how do I know which one is for me? I've had street bikes and dirt bikes all my life so I have the ability to handle them both. I prefer trail riding over race/dirt tracks. I'm 5'11"/210 lbs (not sure if that matters).

Another question; where is there to ride in Southeast Texas (Houston) area?

Thanks in advance, this is my first post but once I actually get a 4 wheeler, yall will be hearing a lot from me!

Later,
Mitch
My E-Mail Address
My Family and Truck!

 

mitchdb,
Your getting into the sport at a good time. Never had a Banshee. I have 44.75 hrs on 01 Raptor and for me its been a real fun machine so far. I love how you sit on the Raptor. It reminds you how a dirtbike sits and has very similar contours to my KDX 's seat. Raptor is very fast and handles well for me in our woods as a trail machine. I picked Raptor over Honda 400EX because of reverse gear. Chet

 

Hey Chet!

I am leaning more towards the Raptor, I really do like the reverse option too. It's not a necessity for me but it is fun to have.

Thanks,
Mitch

 

I've ridden both machines and here's my opinion. Raptor - The only thing I did not like about it, was it felt like I was sitting to high, but if your used to riding dirtbikes you might like it. Tons of torque, all you have to do is blip the throttle and you can feel the power right away. Handles good, and in my opinion is the best bike you can buy for the woods. Banshee - All I can say is nothing compares to the thrill factor you get riding this bike, as I'm sure other Banshee owners will tell you the same. The down side is the bike really beats on you. It's just as fast in the woods as a 400ex or Raptor, but it's just alot harder on you than the other bikes. They're both about the same as far as speed goes. The down side to the Banshee is the tires spin like crazy and the Raptor will beat it off the line. I have a piped Banshee and my buddy has a piped Raptor. He always takes me off the line, but my top speed is alot higher. They're both nice bikes I really don't think you can go wrong with either one.

 

I have both which is nice because they are VERY different machines. My 'shee is modified so it is way, way, way faster than the Raptor but it doesn't handle or take the bumps as well as the Raptor. The Raptor is noticably narrower and taller than the 'Shee but once you get used to how to ride the thing it's actually neat in a way. The Raptor has a very light clutch pull and in general you will suffer less arm pump and be able to ride longer with less fatigue. The power on the Raptor is so smooth it's deceiving, the first time I got on mine I was almost dissapointed untill I realized I was smoking stock shee's in the sand. You will have to shift at least 4 times as often on the shee to keep it in it's narrow powerband, but it's precisely this powerband that makes your heart pound from the adrenaline flowing.
I personally think the Banshee is better suited for wide open type trails and dunes and the Raptor will do much better on the trails and tight stuff but still kick butt in the sand. When I ride in the mountains the 'Shee never leaves the trailer, I am always on my Raptor and my Scrambler. Believe it or not on the really hairy trails that have lots of rocks on them I am much faster on the Scram than even the Raptor since the Raptor really has **** poor clearance especially with a skid plate. When I ride the dunes I probably spit my time between them 50/50. Engine wise you basically need to decide if you want a bulletbike (Banshee) or Harley (Raptor), the Raptor is more laid back and cruises better and the Banshee seems to want to be ridden much harder.

 

OK, then what price should I expect to pay for a used Raptor (like new condition)? How much will the dealer typically come off of the $6499 price of a new 2001 Raptor? Should I wait and get a 2002? Questions Questions Questions!!!!!!!

Thanks everybody, this is very helpful! I love reading everyones comments!

-Mitch

 

I've never ridden a Raptor, so I can't tell you which bike is better, but I can give you an honest opinion on a Banshee.

Overall, the Banshee is a great quad...the power rush once you hit mid-range is awesome. Getting it to hook up under power with the stock 20" tires is almost impossible on anything other than pavement. I don't have any complaints with it other than it has a really peaky powerband, which is a pain in some tight difficult sections in the woods. It requires a lot of clutch slipping. Also, like the other guys said, you will be shifting quite a bit more (comparing a 2-stroke to a 4-stroke, that is a given). Oh, and reverse would be nice, but I don't mind getting off of it and pushing. Even with those "flaws" I'm happy with it, and believe it or not it is a great trail machine. We ride all kinds of trails, and it goes great (that's even with the stock 20" tires). Also, despite what you may hear, the Banshee's are very reliable. Between my two riding buddies and I, we have owned 6 Banshee's and NONE of them have ever had a problem (other than little things like bearings and things like that).

However, to be honest, if I had the extra cash kicking around I would really like to give a Raptor a try. I hear that they are quite a quad right out of the box.

Oh yeah, the local dealer here is selling Raptors for $6200 if you do not have a trade in towards it, otherwise it's like $6500.

Regardless of what you get, you will be happy for sure.

-Josh

 

....then what would be a good 4 wheeler for my wife? She doesn't need anything extremely fast but it should run farely well. She is a very inexperienced rider so we'll take it very slow at first but I want others to be able to have fun on it. She says she wants to ride but she'll never last and I don't want some slow piece of junk just stuck in my garage that no one wants to ride and I can't sell. She has good intentions now but I can already hear her saying "my butt hurts"!

Thanks a lot, this has been very informative!

-Mitch

 

My girlfriend really likes her 400EX. If she is not comfortable with shifting the Scramblers are pretty cool.
The 400EX is a better chick quad though because it weighs less.
Heck, just buy 2 Raptors. Black & Blue [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Test drive both. Both rock. I love to trail ride a Banshee and a Raptor.

For the wife....a 400ex would do fine.