Modify my 400ex or sell it for a Banshee??

[Snad Rider]

I ride my 400ex in the sand 95% of the time. I ride with people who have piped, ported & modified Banshees. I have not seen a 400ex that could keep up with a fast banshee, is it possible to modify my 400ex to the extent that it will keep up? Would it be cost effective or should I just sell the 400 and buy an older banshee and go to work? It is tough to beet two stroke power.

[zephead400ex]

Depends on what you want out of your quad. Are you just wanting to keep up with them in sand drags or in the trails? My friend has a '97 Banshee, piped, RAD valves, K&N, etc...I prefer my 400ex (check sig for mods). The Banshee will beat my 400 in a drag, obviously, but he cant touch me in the trails. Personally I dont like to wait for the powerband to kick in on his Banshee...when I want power I want it now, not in 2 seconds. 400 have very good low end which gives more bottom end power. My personal preference is the 400 over the Banshee.

[250x#93]

Please do the right thing don't buy yamajunk, instead mod your wonderful Honda:)

[goinhonda]

Originally posted by 250x#93
Please do the right thing don't buy yamajunk, instead mod your wonderful Honda:)
yamahahahaha

[Brad]

i second that


wanna know a funny joke?

yamaha

hahahahahaha

[goinhonda]

Originally posted by Brad
i second that


wanna know a funny joke?

yamaha

hahahahahaha
LOL

[toby400ex]

why not sell the 400 and get a 250r, they have great 2 stroke power, and when you arent in the sand you can rule the bashees:cool:

[Brad]

my friends 03 warrior breaks down every week and i just laugh because i know that every week i can ride and he cant

all i can say is yamahahaha

[toby400ex]

all usually just add sucky to the end of other brands names. kawasucky, yamasucky......yomommasucky:o

[shamisc]

GO WITH HONDA YA CAN"T GO WRONG! I'd rather be slower on a Honda than be broke down with a Yamacrap.

[trx400ex]

well you guys should be proud of yourselves, so far the only reply ive read that wasnt pure dumbass was zep's. I have both of these quads and i hate to say witch one i pick for a rec. quad, for racing MX the banshee just doesnt cut but thats not what you asked. The banshee is alot more powerful and i spent about $1500 in motor mods on it and it is a beast now. Mine lasted about a year before it blew up, but i ride them very hard and most people would say i tear te **** out of them. Also my 400ex engine only lasted a little over a year and it is a "reliable" 4 stroke, so that puts the reliability pretty close. Your not going to get a 400ex to beat a full on drag shee, the best you can do is like chadexers 505.

[rhandw69]

I happen to own both bikes. Now Im sure the banshee has a disadvantage when it comes to tracks and tight trails, but there in idaho in them dunes......yeah,,,im thinking id prefer the banshee. I bought a banshee last year for my wife (ha ha), its piped with just small mods to it, nothing fancy. Now I can honestly say that that bike starts up easier than the 400. Pull the choke pump the throttle, one kick its running. I wont say its junk because its a yamaha, i think owners of bikes have more to do with whether its junk or not more than the manufacturer. I love my 400 in any terrrain. But I really love my banshee when im looking for nasty hill climbs and flat out getting on it. Both are nice, both have goods and bads. Still though if most of my time is in the sand,,,,,id take the banshee.

[toby400ex]

Originally posted by trx400ex
well you guys should be proud of yourselves, so far the only reply ive read that wasnt pure dumbass was zep's. I have both of these quads and i hate to say witch one i pick for a rec. quad, for racing MX the banshee just doesnt cut but thats not what you asked. The banshee is alot more powerful and i spent about $1500 in motor mods on it and it is a beast now. Mine lasted about a year before it blew up, but i ride them very hard and most people would say i tear te **** out of them. Also my 400ex engine only lasted a little over a year and it is a "reliable" 4 stroke, so that puts the reliability pretty close. Your not going to get a 400ex to beat a full on drag shee, the best you can do is like chadexers 505.
'I was just thinking that maybe he could get the best of both worlds, honda handling and durability, and 2-stroke power,LOL sorry if that was a dumbass comment:huh

[lilpoppy]

I have a 400 and I love it but if I spent 95% of my riding time in the sand I would deffinatly have a banshee. It costs way too much to get a 400 up to the speed of a piped banshee and with just a little extra money the banshee's are unstopable. If you are gonna consider an older banshee then I would look into a 250r too but that is your call.

[EricB]

well i don't own a shee' and i haven't rode one yet but a lot of people i konw have them. pretty much most people you talk to say the banshee is one of the best bikes for sand. only because they're extremley fast and there is a ton of differnt aftermarket parts i guess. but for an all arround bike i'd say 250R or a modded 400.

like the other guys said your prooly not gonna beat a Shee in a sand drag but you can tear em up in other areas, like not going fast in a straight line.

[Scott400EX]

I had the exact same thought of trading my 400 for a Shee!! Boy am i glad i didnt. I descided to mod my 400 and now look what i got!!! I could have had al this stuff or a mostly stock Shee.

Which im even in a drag with a toomy piped Shee last time i race one

[speedjunkie]

Banshees rule the sand, Period

[speedjunkie]

I love my 400ex. It all depends on what you do most. Do you drag race up comp hill, or go on all day dune rides? My bike is not slow by any means, but I still dont line up next to a banshee at the bottom of the hill and expect to win. They are power houses when it comes to climbing that hill. Last weekend at Buttercup in CA. I raced my buddy up comp hill and we stayed pretty even most of the way up. (I got the jump on him at the bottom:D) If you like dune rides you will miss your 400ex, they are the king sh*t when comes to handling through all the bowls and over those hills. 400's just move better!

[Sucky_250ex]

Keep the 400ex, 400's have been proven to be more reliable and can defiently are faster.:devil

[Bean]

for your situation, i would really suggest a 250r, now dont listen to some of the morons on this site, that preach about age and all that sh*t, they are idiots, dont know nothin, an R is as reliable as the owner is intelligent, if you work on it a bit, it will work with you, treat it like sh*t, it will leave you stranded, lol

but really, an R has a good mix of 2stroke scream which is what you want, and trail grunt, which is also nice, so look into one

[speedjunkie]

Originally posted by Bean
an R is as reliable as the owner is intelligent, if you work on it a bit, it will work with you, treat it like sh*t, it will leave you stranded, lol

but really, an R has a good mix of 2stroke scream which is what you want, and trail grunt, which is also nice, so look into one

Bean, You are 100% correct! Get the best of both worlds

[Sick0]

You went to the wrong site for this ?. Evdery body is going to tell you to stay with the honda. But if you ride mostly sand then the 400ex is probly not a good choice. It don't make nearly enough power for the sand. Plus you can spend a shiz load of money at the 400 and still not touch a good banshee. Theres is a reason they still sell the banshee. It does one thing the best and thats is dunes. There pretty good for Ice racing too. If I lived out west I would own a banshee.

[steve]

put a pipe filter and a 440 kit, he pulls 38 hp
that is more a stock raptor. That should keep up with banchees, or at least my buddies 440 will.

[Impala400]

stock Shee's push out close to 40HP and they rev to the moon,

i agree with all the people that say shee is your staying on the sand traps and hills, but if your an all-around guy sand, trail, snow, mud, etc. they stick with the 400 and the shee has that extra gear to help the low-end. you need to decide what you are going to be riding in....

I do little bit of everything, so i picked the 400 but thats me. in the winter i wish i had reverse summer eh sometimes.

[speedy400]

If you want a banshee, I have a '98 banshee for sale, shoot me a PM:macho

[oynot400]

In my opinion if I was running 90% dunes, I would say the shee. Up until this last fall anyway. My buddy got the Gas Gas 300hp. :macho This machine kicks arse! It handles like a Honda and it has POWER! I guess it is all in what you want and can afford. If you have about $7500 to blow then get the Gas Gas. Other wise you can build up a banshee cheaper than a 400ex, just to keep up with you friends.
Good luck......:)

[Snad Rider]

Thanks for all of your comments. Honda makes a fantastic quad and I have really enjoyed mine. This post was not intended to start a debate over which quad is better but rather if anyone has modified their 400ex to run in the sand as good as a slightly modified Banshee, without costing an arm and a leg. I have worked on Banshees quite a bit and know them well. I have to admit that modifying and maintaining them is part of the fun of quad ownership. I don’t want to start a debate but it appears (arguable) that the Banshee is one of the quad best for the sand. It’s much cheaper to make horsepower with a two stroke and rebuilding / modifying a two stroke is easier than a four stroke.
Today I picked up a new 02 Banshee (the price was right). My opinion, they’re both great quads.

[300exHILLER]

GET A 250R. Be different and smoke all your friends. I'm really thinking of moving to Zona and picking up a 250R for the dunes. Life will be good.:D :blah

[Steve-o 400EX]

Originally posted by zephead400ex
Depends on what you want out of your quad. Are you just wanting to keep up with them in sand drags or in the trails? My friend has a '97 Banshee, piped, RAD valves, K&N, etc...I prefer my 400ex (check sig for mods). The Banshee will beat my 400 in a drag, obviously, but he cant touch me in the trails. Personally I dont like to wait for the powerband to kick in on his Banshee...when I want power I want it now, not in 2 seconds. 400 have very good low end which gives more bottom end power. My personal preference is the 400 over the Banshee.

I agree. Keep the 400, maybe do a 416 kit and stroke it to a 440, that will fly. There are many options open to mod ur ex, I say keep it an tear into the motor.:devious: :devil :macho :bandit:

[ChadEXer]

I guess my problem is the opposite. I havent found a Banshee that can beat my 505 yet! And nothing feels better than putting the whoop***** on those Banshee boys, especially right after they asked you, if you wanted a drag bike why didnt you build a Banshee. Of course I havent raced any triple cylinder hillshooters or any other "wild" Banshees as im sure there are many Banshees out there faster, but I have beat a 420 Banshee on alky,,,and Im still on gas...

[Str8Wicked]

When in the dunes I have had my friends ride beat me in the dunes with a 300ex over my 400ex. He usually runs a 250R which will spank my 400 easy. But if I were in the dunes riding his 250R and him riding my 400 he would still beat me because I've only been riding for a few years and he's been riding all his life....

I've also got a friend with a new banshee who just started riding and I can spank that thing in the dunes anytime since I ride a bit better and am getting used to the terrain out there.... In a drag it'll still win thou...

Riding skill has a lot to do with how fast you are in dunes.....