In the spring, I'll be selling one of my snowmobiles to help pay for a new 4-wheeler. I know it will be a sport ATV with a manual clutch, but I'm basically torn between the two mentioned in the title. I figured what better place to get advice than the Yamaha forum... duh...

Lemme explain my situation. With the aid of the money from the snowmobile, I should have no trouble buying a new or holdover Warrior, but buying a new Banshee would be out of the picture: I'd have to go used. I'd really kinda like to go new, but used would be okay. I've ridden a Warrior and really liked it, but I enjoy the 2-stroke powerband more, and definitely would like more power than a Warrior... I'd really rather have a Banshee.
But wait, there's more. Some of the trails around my area are less than perfect. There are some situations where the low-end of the Warrior might actually be more beneficial than the screaming top-end of the Banshee (not a LOT of situations, but some). Also, the Warrior DOES have reverse, which could come in handy (though most of you high-perf riders will say that a good rider doesn't really need reverse).
I do mostly trail riding, and, although some of the trails suck, there are lots of them that you can take at a pretty good clip. There's no MX track around here, so I probably won't be doing any track racing with it. Drag racing is another story...

I've already ruled out the 300EX as it's too small and not powerful enough (typical guy, always needing more power, lol), and 400EX because it's too expensive, and if I'm going to buy used, I'd rather go for the more powerful, 2-stroke, 6-speed Banshee. The Raptor is obviously out of the question due to cost, and the Blaster is painfully small (I'm about 6', 160lbs or so).
So, what do all of you guys think?

 

i have ridden both the WARRIOR and the BANSHEE. i think it all depends on where you are goin to do most of your riding. if they are wide open trail where you go really go fast or you are goin to be on the track i would go with the BANSHEE.

if you are goin to be riding on tight trails and hill climbing you would be better off to go with the WARRIOR. the BANSHEE's powerband does hurt it. on hills where you are spinning your powerband will go in and out which will foul out the spark plugs. if you do trail ridin that you are just luggin or goin slow it will also foul the plugs.

my cousin has a 97' BANSHEE and he can kill our WARRIORs out on the track and on the road. but when it comes to trail riding, i've seen him foul out 6 spark plugs and then we pull him home with the WARRIORs (our WARRIORs do pull pretty good to if you don't slip the clutch).

so for trail riding i would go with the WARRIOR. but for the track i would go with the BANSHEE. there is NOTHIN more fun than when the powerband comes in on a BANSHEE fling down the road or track.

hope this helps

 

Hmm... alright.

I think I forgot to mention that my friend rides an '01 Raptor, and I'd really like to be able to beat him... but it's not a necessity.
Also, does anyone in here happen to know how well a 440EX does against a Raptor? Because I'm seeing a 440EX for sale for about the same price as a new Warrior, and if it'd be fast enough, I'd go for it...

 

Campy, it sounds to me like you know quite a bit about each quad...now you just gotta decide what you want.

I've ridden both quads and overall I like my Banshee better, BUT the Warrior is quite fun on the trails. I see my buddy (on his Warrior) "hopping" over the little water bars and pulling wheelies all of the time. I have to admit that I am a little envious because with the Banshee's powerband you literally have to set yourself up for a jump or a wheelie on a tight, slow going, trail. He can just do them at the last second which is pretty cool.

In our normal riding group we have 2 Banshee's and 1 Warrior. Out of the three of us my buddy with the Warrior gets stuck the least. The low end torque really helps out on the trails. And no matter what anybody else says, reverse is nice and it helps a lot.

However, all 3 of us like the Banshee better overall. My friend bought the Warrior because it was a little cheaper, and he liked how it went. He has owned a Banshee a couple of years ago and forgot the rush you get on one. When I bought my Banshee I let him take it for a spin and the first thing he said when he got back is "you are such a d!ck". I asked him why and he said because now he wants a Banshee again. Unfortunatly for him he still owes a fair ammount on the Warrior so he will have to wait a little while.

I think that since your buddy has a Raptor you will be in the same boat as my friend. You will love the Warrior on the trails, and for goofing around, but when you hit an open section and get left in the dust it will have your craving for something faster.

If I'm wrong and you aren't the type of person that needs to be the guy with the fastest quad, the Warrior would be perfect for you. It really is a great quad.

-Josh

 

Piranha, you pretty much hit the nail on the head.

I'm wondering if maybe I could get the Banshee and do some work on it to get the bottom-end torque, without sacrificing TOO much of that wailing top-end.

If I had the money, I'd probably get a Raptor, put on a pipe, filter, and jet kit, and go from there. I use reverse all the time on my Xplorer, but thinking about it, most of the time I don't actually NEED to use it... but still, it'd be nice.

But when I see ads like this:
"'02 Yamaha Banshee, like new, low hours, no time to ride anymore, 4700$" buying a Banshee sure is hard to resist...

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

 

Have ya ruled out a 400ex ?? I have a Warrior and a Raptor and have riden Banshees as well. Even though I am normally brand loyal to Yamaha I truely belive that the 400ex is a solid machine and the best bang FOR THE BUCK. It's by no means the best but FOR THE MONEY, its a great bike. Maybe consider a used one. Around here, you can pick up a clean used one for $4 - 4.5k. Throw on a pipe and K&N air cleaner and you have a real nice trail bike.

My 2cents - I can already here the uproar.....

 

Why not wait for the LTZ400 if your a trail rider, it would be perfect, reverse, liquid cooled, and is faster than a 400EX. And it should be out right around the time you sell your snowmobile. It is probably going to be a little more than you want(or have??) to spend, but I think it would be worth it. However, I have seen 440EX's for $4K and basically stock for $3500. Well, those are my thought on the matter.

 

Campy,

Looks like you have plenty of time to think about what you want, so I'm sure you'll make the right choice.

I forgot to mention that if you are looking for a Warrior my buddy has his that he is selling. It's a 2000 (stock) and I think he wants right around $3000 for it. I'm sure he'd be willing to meet you somewhere in New Hampshire if interested. Later.

-Josh

 

Campy.....If you do get a banshee and want more low-end torque, you can buy a set of FMF gnarly pipes. They will greatly increase bottom end and still give you a little extra on top.




JaMeS

 

I have the dyno graphs here in my hand, warrior 18.3 hp, banshee 40.5 hp.
The biggest difference between the two are the banshee comes on at about 5500 rpm were the warriors power comes off from idle.
Given the type of riding you are going to do you will not go wrong with a four stroke.
The two stroke is awsome fun, but unfortunately you need some space with these.
The four stroke is better gauged by the tourque figures, that bottom end for crawling around the woods is pretty fun as well.

But I would listen to these guys, $4000 will buy you just about anything you want used, just take your time and let the money in hand get you the deal!!!!