Banshee? yes or no need help

[rdtrp13]

alright i have some questions for you banshee guys out there.
i have been thinking of a banshee but i ride alot of woods, some slow some fast, i also run track every week is different, i live in southern illinois so not to hot but in the summer they are very humid, winters sux. everyone around here runs 400ex and 450r ( not wanting the maint. of the 450) smoker main. dont bother me i also have a 2002 yz250. i have a 400ex i am building but thought of just getting a banshee instead and building it, how do they compare to like a 450r on the track and what upgrades would need to be done to be competitive on it? are they worth a damn on the track i have only rode them in fields, and in the woods. i would take one to the track and try it out but no one has one anymore. a pic of a mx race ready banshee would be nice to, or does anyone race them on mx anymore because around here they dont, and i if i run harescrambles again would i be able to run it there semi-comfortably?

If you plan on getting into some serious MX racing, your going to need to drop quite a bit of money into the banshee. As much as I love them, they are FAR from MX-ready stock..

Stock for stock suspension-wise on a track a 450r will eat up the banshee.

To set it up properly, you will need-
+2 +1 A-arms Standard Travel
Quality Shocks (I prefer Elka)
-1 Swingarm (Will make it hook up way better and improve geometry)
+4 Axle
Rear Shock Rebuild (Already highly adjustabe, just get it rebuilt to MX specs for you)

When a banshee is set-up properly for MX, they kick major @ss. It just takes a few bucks to get it there.

That suspension setup along with PT Mid's for the exhaust, and you have the ultimate MX/Trail banshee with tons of midrange power.

Here's a link to a BUNCH of MX banshee's. DMCBanshee's is by far my favorite. He has a 250r geometry aftermarket frame though.

http://bansheehq.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71137

[800screws]

i caught the last neatv race this year, and one guy had a banshee....after the race it was up on craigslist....
they just don't seem to have the torque for mx racing...
don't get me wrong just as it was said before, u can do it, but u need to sink some money into it...

elka now has a new link for the banshee to go along with their rear shock, and u can get long travel arms and shocks...
but i would think u would need some serious motor work to get mx power, 2 into 1 pipe, big bore kit, v force reed cage, etc...

Originally posted by 800screws
i caught the last neatv race this year, and one guy had a banshee....after the race it was up on craigslist....
they just don't seem to have the torque for mx racing...
don't get me wrong just as it was said before, u can do it, but u need to sink some money into it...

elka now has a new link for the banshee to go along with their rear shock, and u can get long travel arms and shocks...
but i would think u would need some serious motor work to get mx power, 2 into 1 pipe, big bore kit, v force reed cage, etc...

I disagree highly about the power. If you ported it, and left is stock cylinder no big bores or anything, with a high compression head, you can easily make more power then the MX built 450's. The problem with a banshee is not power, it has tons of that, it's hooking up.
A quality MX portjob, with a high compression cool head, will put you right around 58hp. (A dune port will put you over 60 easily, but you want the MX port for the mid-range torque.)
Paul Turner Mids are also set-up for a hard mid-range torque.

Like I said, on a banshee it's not power, it's traction. You really need a -2 swinger to get a good holeshot and pull out of corners fast.

[machwon]

800 screws, I'd stay away from the mx tracks with a Banshee. If you want to run a half mile oval track with a sway bar, get a banshee. 3/8 mile tracks are pretty even with 450's pulling the corners, Banshee pulling the straights. 450's have too much torque down at 5000 rpms so they pull hard out of the mx track corners and rev to 9000 for a damn good straight. Even 250r's can't put good torque numbers up that low and that long. Banshee's don't start singing until at least 6500 and really start to wake up at 7500. Depending on the pipes, some like to twist up to 11000 so they rule the straights.

[tyleroar]

nobody loves a good banshee better then me i think you would be a lot better off with a 450. banshees are not competitive on mx tracks thats that! they are awesome for endurace they are a blast on the trail but you can only race them in open class with hybrids that will run all over you in mx