All You Banshee Owners

[dabombdale]

I was looking at trading in my 2002 blaster for a older model of a banshee or something. Does the banshee need to be reved all the time through tight trails? Do they climb hills good, do they beat 250R's? And please tell me any problems you have had with them and any stories about them, send pics and other stuff, i want to get one soon.

[Zero Z400]

Not speaking from experience but the Banshee is not very good at tight trails. You need to rev alot, the mags say it is a tiring machine on a MX track. But some people are really good at riding on trails though.


Later

[dabombdale]

so lets say I should maybe get a 400ex, since i do a lot of tight trails and steep hills

[Poncho]

The banshee rules on steep hills. And for mx I like the 55-60 horsepower motor.hehe:D No 440 or 416 kit just pipes,filter, and jet your carbs.:p

[trx400ex]

well first off the banshee is the best machine for climbing hills..hands down, i have a 400ex and a banshee, if you want to do wheelys with your feet hanging on the handlebars and giving it gas with your foot forget it. its not going to happen. the 400ex is a fun machine that is alot faster than a blaster (it rhymes) but the banshee is about 2 400exs in power, and i can go faster on a mx tarck on the shee than the ex, if your not racing hard, the engine will last a long time, not quite as long as a 400ex, but its a high proformance machine, tight trails,, ive never had a problem, you just have to keep it in the pwer band that isnt hard...if you like climbing hills tho get the shee, if its more of a flat trail area get the 400, gravel pit=shee mx track=personal preference it takes about twice the nuts to jump a banshee as it does a 400ex, treat it with respect or you will be on your @$$, and i speak all this from experience

i love my shee on hills but it dose require some work in tight woods. if you ride real tight woods any thing with a manual clutch is a tough.the banshee handles like a heavy blaster and is more tiresome than a ex. if your going real slow it wants to burp antifreeze out of the over flow. but if you can ride your blaster there with out over heating you should be safe.

not bashing the shee i love them dearly and still recomend them highly :D

mudboggin banshee

[yellowrider]

Banshee are fun !
400ex has a smoother ride and you can do anything that a guy on a banshee can just not as fast.

banshee look good
400ex look good


they both are fast
neither one of them has good bottom end i dont think . . i geared mine down 2 teeth and maybe going for a 3rd tooth if i can find a company that makes it that low

on jumps i like my 400 better but in a open smooooooooth field i like his banshee its bad

hill climbing i can see what you are saying that it is the best but if you not in the meat of the powerband your in trouble,...

also it can catch un wanted grip trust me i been there i about wreck my friend four wheeler and i climb it on mine all the time so i guess hill climbing is a personal prefrence but i think the 400 is the best in hill climbing riding through water and stuff

cause his 02 banshee will not get in the water in run right that thing hates that water

[4punksdad]

moving from a blaster to a banshee is quite a jump...........maybe you should try to get a test ride on one the next time you see one on the trails.

the banshee is a really fast machine. Its a thrill a minute. I will say that it is a far superior hill climber than a 400ex. it has gobs of power, and a heavy front end.

a guy that rides with us has one, and he has NO trouble on the tight trails. here he is hammering up a pretty steep hill.

[Zero Z400]

Thats a steep/big hill their. Looks like fun.


Later

[BANSHEEadam]

If you don't have both to compare you'll never have a problem, you just learn how your bike acts and reacts. Trust me you'll be happy on either one.
If you want something with a seemingly neverending pull go and buy a banshee. I don't have any problem on tight trails. And they do climb awesome- powering up a big hill is a great feeling.
4punks is right, going from a blaster to a banshee IS a huge step, but I did it from a 300ex to a banshee so don't let it discourage you....just be extra careful and like I said, learn how the bike acts and reacts. If you get one don't think you're gonna just start rippin up earth, take is easy for a while and get used to it.
They are a scary bike to jump like TRX said. I never had to worry about my 300ex in the air but the shee has a mind of it's own. I don't even trust myself doin a no handed lander on it, but maybe it's just me.
The bottom end thing...the people just aren't good enough to keep it in the powerband I guess. It really is a simple thing to do..
Like, say if you're in 3rd and you slow down, it's gonna bog. Woah hey maybe I should pull the clutch in give it some gas and shift down a gear?!

If you don't maintain a banshee you're going to run into problems. Just look at mine I've been fixing it more than riding it.

A 400ex is not going to require as much work on your part to keep it running strong. So if that's something you look for, if you don't like taking a couple minutes to do little things, if you like to hop on ride it hop off and take a nap, then get yourself a 400ex or something similar. If you get a shee and do that you'll be sorry.

[trx400ex]

yep, jumping is easier on the 400, but in some instances i can get way further on the shee, especially jumps out of a corner, lowend does matter though, one time i hit a step up 3rd gear hard , it decided it was going to sail all the way up and land on the grabar, well i rode that one out, the next time i let off a litlle before the jump in third, big mistake, it bogged all the way up the face of the jump and nosed into the stepup, i rode that one out to..so my point is, if you dont get it just right and pay attention to what your doing when your jumping, the banshee will bite you, and yes it does have teeth

if you cant handle that type of power the 400 is for you

here's a good question what can you afford? an older banshee can be found cheap. where as the 400 ex is only a few years old and has not lost it's resale value as much. that is unless it has been abused.

you might find a nice 250r but most i have seen want a premium price for them. one last idea do you want reverse?all other bikes weigh more than your blaster and will be harder to pull out of a jam.a used warrior or 300ex might be a thought. they are capable trail bikes and both climb well.

[DEAL]

The 400ex is an AWESOME machine , Don't get me wrong the banshee is a great machine , they friggin rip. But the 400ex isn't without its thrills , mine (which is bone stock) wheelies in 4th no problem. It has lots of lowend compared to my 300ex. I REALLY like it.
I've never ridden a banshee before so I can't directly compare them tho i have ridden with banshees before and they do rip!

[dabombdale]

i hate being 15, my parents talked to me about getting a new quad and they don't understand why they think i am too small for my quad, well every time i jump, i bottow out, the "no ground clearance" always gets stuck, i want more power too, or i just might modify my blaster until when i sit on it the shocks go all the way down.

[Zero Z400]

Hey buddy...you should feel lucky. I'm 15 and riding a 90!!! I can bottom out by hopping onto it. And i still jump it, i've gotten atleast 5ft of air but past that my helmet slams into the bars. But my Z400 should be here soon and i got my dirtbike working but lost the air filter, figures i always mess up something. But i got a bike that has been sitting for 10 years to run:D

[DEAL]

I guess your gonna have to go out and get a job, Thats what I'm doin now because i want to mod up my 400.

[dabombdale]

yes, i am applying at almost every store, i hope i get one

[bansheeguy77]

blaster to shee aint that big....i went from a polaris trailblazer to my modded banshee...it scares the living **** out of u for the firt few weeks then u get used 2 it and u get good it rocks....and like i always say NEVER BELIEVE THE MAGAZINES. the shee does just fine in the trails....keep her in 1st on slow crap and u have power and 2nd rules. mx i love my shee i beat 400s and raptors all the time no biggie...and yea they def rule on hills. get 1 but the only dis they have is 2ce the expense for everything engine related.

[trx400ex]

you can get a single carb and 2 into one pipe tho

ok dude listen, it dont matter what machine u have on a mx track the fact is if u are a $hitty rider than you'll get $hitty places. I have smoked moded banshees on my moded 400ex and i have had moded shees smoke me. that is all. i do know ( from experiance) that the banshee is allot of machine to move around. i mean the things feels heave it looks heavy and it IS heavy. the shee is a pain to get into the corners but is a bat outta **** out of the corners. i like the 400ex caus it rules on the mx track if u mod it it has lodes of power (after u wake her up) and she jumps like a dream( i didnt coment on the banshee jumping caus i have never hit a real jump with it and i only open my mouth if i know from EXPERIANCE) the mods may cost u a bit more on the shee. um................ o yes the shee is harder( way harder ) to maintane not only because of the 2 stroke factor but they tend to brake on u constantly. i also like the durability/ruggedness of a honda: i have a blaster and u can tell (in the hond)a deffinant difference in the time spent designing them and the quality of the machine. my brother loves his way-moded yamaha and swears it is better than mine:huh well just tryen to help u. it is only my opinion all u banshee owners dont get all pi$$ed off.