I will be buying a new quad soon and am trying to decide one of my choices is the Banshee I have heard they are not the most reliable bike around do they have any major downfalls and are they reliable. Thanks.

 

Banshees are reliable.
I want one real bad, But my dad doesn't like 2 strokes so I have to get the Raptor.
Not that I don't like the Raptor it is I like the Banshee.

 

banshee's are actually pretty reliable machines....if you take care of them.

 

I agree Banshees <u>Are</u> reliable if you take care of them. yes you need to tinker here and there to keep them at thier peek, but thats half of the fun (tinkering) i mean. if you keep things in good shape you wont be pushing the Banshee home, you will be there befor anyone else waiting for them to arrive. Hehe

 

From the looks of your signature...you own a couple of 4 strokes. As you know, the banshee is a twin 2 stroke without electric start.
As far as reliability goes...sure they are. As mentioned above...keep the oil fresh...clean the filter....Keep your fuel mixture constant.....grease all zerks...there is more for sure. The moral is to keep up with it. Do not let it sit for months with fuel in it.. Do the regular maintenance, and you will be a happy banshee owner.
It really depends on what your looking for and how you want to ride. The banshee is an aggressive machine. And I found it runs the best when you ride it that way too.

Good luck with your desicion.... btw. I fear my banshee is for sale. I do not get enough use out of it to justify keeping it in the garage. A new snowmobile would be much better for me right now. Plus I still have the 400ex for trail riding. If anyone is interested drop me a private message or E-mail and I will try to accomodate you.

 

I also have a banshee story...
It is somewhat rock-solid, and somewhat impossible to live with.
My banshee has sustained I don't know how many years (it's a 98 I got july 2000) with a way lean jetting (pipes and 200 mains!). Full day rides with little coolant...etc This aspect of the engine is very very though.
On the other side, I have been unable to get it running properly for all summer. Maybe I expect more than others in the way it is supposed to run, but it ruined nearly every ride this summer. I first had tranny issues (took me a month to figure the previous owner fooled in the tranny and forgot a lock washer!), then sticky throttle problems (stock thumb, new reeds and gasket didn't solve that!), and lately bad spark (I think it was the plug cap...gonna check it thursday).

If you're getting a used one, be extremely careful!! And keep in mind it always costs double to repair!

 

Zorro...I wish you were closer to NY....we would get you all tuned up in no time.

The banshee can be very trying to say the least if the jetting/tuning is not spot on.