iv had an 87 banshee and i currently have an 86 R. i have to admit i miss my banshee since iv sold it, but after i sold it i bought an R and i wasn't dissapointed at all! my banshee was modded pretty good, and my R is to. but wow that R woulda smoked that banshee so bad. you wouldnt believe how much faster your quad can be with a lil engine work. i like my R's handling and suspension, but like you guys said i liked the top end on the banshee. the banshee's more comfortable cause its not ripping your arms off by the power like the R. but if i could pick between an 86-89 R or fairly new banshee id take the R!!

 

Make that the TWO best R's ever produced...

RoostKing...

 

<< the banshee's more comfortable cause its not ripping your arms off by the power like the R. >>



Ok, and you have a banshee.... Sure your not talking about a blaster?

 

Roostking, when I had my 250r with bolt on's I killed piped banshees up Olds all the time and that was with Cheng Shin paddles. My girlfriend's dad had a bone stock 250r 3 wheeler with paddles. You should have seen the look on banshee riders faces when this 6'4 hillbilly looking guy on a stock ATC was roosting on them. The steeper hills were even easier because of the banshee's lack of torque. Now I have a ds650 and it's even faster and smoother. Don't hate because you paid 5 grand for a bike with 1987 technology and a motor that has less technology than a 1984 RZ350, at least that had power valves.
I owned a banshee and they are fun, but they have no bottom end, terrible bump steer due to the a-arms being too far apart, the worst plastic design for accessabiltity, with the exception of the Tecate 4, and we all know about the chain adjustment so I won't go there.
Sheeman, ditch the blaster, buy a 250r and have LRD or Curtis Sparks or FTZ port it and bring it alive. Whatever you do, buy it as a kit, don't piece it together or it'll run like crap. You can make an R scream like a banshee, but the larger single cylinder will always make more torque and therefore be more fun to ride. Oh yeah, I paid $2,600 for my 87 R in good shape with works shocks, an FMF pipe and paddles and razors. Take the other 2 or 3 grand you would spend on the banshee and build the hell out of the motor and kick @ss.

 

Hey roostking, i wasn't saying that my 250r was the fastest 250r around i was saying that it is faster than piped banshee's, sure banshee's with pipes coolhead's ported polshied, reeds and all the good stuff is faster but i have alot of time into my 250r. Sure i get beat by banshee's but not just by little stock banshee's with pipes. I'm only 16 years old and i just like to go out and have fun at the dunes with my buddies. Some of my other friends have big bore 250r's like one has a ct 350 r in a 3 wheeler and that thing hauls. That 3 wheeler kicks banshee @$$. I'm not going to the dunes to drag race i just like to have fun.

 

Mintychip, your right about ditching my blaster, I cant wait...But i'll ditch it for a banshee. The 250R is a legend and all but I ride in the dunes more than the track, plus I like the way the banshee sounds, feels, looks...the way the way the top end rush feels like your going twice as fast as you really are, and that I can get one that isnt a decade and a half old. I'll lose to the Honda on the track but its payback in the dunes...and its worth it.

 

If you guys say so, but I have yet to race a 250R and be beat. I guess its just me. Im not trying to be arrogant, but I am running a stock banshee, with bolt on parts. No porting, no coolhead(mine is shaved though) and some steeper gearing. Im going to Glamis this weekend and im going to race every 250 r trike and Fourtrax that I can get ahold of. I will count the races and let you guys know what the outcome is. Im not only about dragracing either, but its inevitable. MintyChip, what does drag racing have to do with torque? We all know the banshee is a top end screamer and thats what drag racing is about, torque means nothing. Actually check this link for some videos, 9 and 10, of me racing a big bore (703) DS and a stock DS. I of course am on the banshee. Now I admit, the 703 was coming on strong, but just a hair too late.

http://www.glamisdunes.net/4_stoke_wars.htm

(Need to cut and paste the link, for some reason the software keeps adding an &quot;s&quot; to http when I link it.)

RoostKing...

 

4 stoke wars

 

Depends on where you ride and what kind of deal you can get on either bike. But dont kid your self, I mean the banshee I bought below I picked up for 4,500.00 and I sold my 88 completely modified 250r about a year agofor 4500.00. I like both machines but if your talking aobut hp for the dollar... dude dont kid yourself. I would challenge anyone to find a 250r to match a banshee dollar for dollar for the hp. IT aint gone-a-happen!

My vote goes for the banshee. The R and banshee are vary similar and you can build them up to do almost anything, but the banshee's powerband and hp goes unmatched. I'll take the brute hp rush over the smooth torqued powerband of the 250R any day of the year.

 

the 250r is a great handeling and jumping machine, but remember, back in the day stock for stock it was the slowest of the 3 250s. i have an old dirtwheels and it was an 87 quadracer vs. 87 250r vs tecate 250 vs 87 banshee vs 87 quadzilla and the honda came in first in handeling and last in speed. they drag raced down a paved road for i bevlieve 500 yards but i'm not sure, i just remember it was a pretty long race.