quadwanter Posted August 2, 2006 Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 Alright this whole summer i've been working my ass off and have about $4500 and thats enough to get a quad. My friends have yfz, 450r's and a z400 and they do every type of riding from sand flats, drags, to tight rocky trails (if you have been to st. joe in missouri you would know what im talking about). Im wanting a 450 but with that kind of money i think i can pick up a used banshee for like 3 grand and sink another grand into it making it really nice. My one friend with a yfz said that you need to rebuild the top ends a lot on banshee's and i have been aware of this but how long inbetween rebuilds is it? i've heard around 2 years all depending on how much and how you ride it. Tell me what you guys/gals think and give me some advice (or smack me around :baseball_bat: ) Thanks -Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watkins Posted August 2, 2006 Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 (edited) Some people say 100 hours, some have 10 years on a stock motor. Usually the more you do performance wise you start to lose the reliability. I don't 100% agree, yes as you start adding power to a stock crank motor you will start to play russian roulette with reliability, but I feel that if you do the work right and get the right parts for the job a full drag'd out motor will be just reliable as a stock shee. Just my $0.02. Banshee's are great bikes and so what if you have to do a top end every once and a while... with a two-stroke its simple. My buddy blew up his '05 YFZ450 and it cost him twice as much to fix it. If you want to join the big boys get banshee... greatest thrill on earth. Edited August 2, 2006 by watkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chase@miamiatv.com Posted August 2, 2006 Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 ima be dead honest with you... 4 strokes are boring and when they do break it will cost way way way way more to fix. Considering you could gather the knowledge to put two new pistons in and getting it bored out once a year ( if that ) your fine ...... Your looking at alot more HP to smoke your friends , for way less then they spend on there 4 pokes.. Im not a fan of the 4 strokes ( i have owned 4 ) and never EVER EVER was happy with them ...... my warrior was a peice of shit . Take ure time finding a bike , you can get a older shee 94 , 93 , for around 2000 /3000 . A top end boring / pistons / gaskets rebuiild will run you about a honest 400 . The motors are amazingly simple to work on. A banshee is a big bad ass weed wacker motor. lol i have one banshee bored 20 over , and about on 80 or so hours and its still runnin strong and psi has not dropped in my cyl's .... AND I ABUSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE my motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2stroker4ever Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 GET THE SHEE!!! Just a month or so ago I was looking for a new quad, much like you are now, and my friends ride 400's and warriors and stuff.. I was thinking of getting a 400 for the reliability/etc... but Instead of bought a '97 Banshee for $1900!!!!! It was in near perfect cosmetic condition, and perfect running order. PC'd red frame, black swinger/aarms, pipes, new back tires, etc.... and SMOKES all my friends with easy. My friend's 300ft or so grassy strip through his field, he has a piped 400, and i take off in second, and dont even have room to get to 4th a lot of times.. Leave him in the dust with a little clutch work on the take off to keep spinning down to a minimum and in the power. SO WHAT YOU MAY HAVE TO REBUILD, it's EASY to do, and only needed once in a long while. Man if you found a deal on a 'shee for 2500 or less, then you could take that other money and put it waaaaay ahead of your friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullet Man Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) i would buy my banshee get the TORS elim kit, repaint or have the T5's chromed or ceramic coated, put a Noss cool head on it with 21cc domes, an adjustable timing plate at about +4*, some paddle tires for St.Joes and enjoy the rest of the cash for the rest of the summer. then next summer, have the cylinders ported by Eric Gorr and get a +4 swinger and rip but i'm biased of course :baseball_mitt: Edited August 3, 2006 by Mullet Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animalman294 Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 I would so get the banshee, and leave the 4 pokes behind. I completely agree with Watkins and if built right with the right parts you will still have a reliable shee, with normal maintainence............... :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyFitz Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 Do your best to find a used shee for under $2000 or just around there, Spend another $500 on some mods and clean her up and your quad will be just as good as your buddies and you'll still have the cash left over. And just like chase said it'll only cost you around $400 every rebuild and my first top end went 2 seasons of every weekend riding before I needed a new top end. It all comes down to what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMoore Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) My Banshee is an 01 and it is still on its original pistons and rings. It doesn't get ridden alot, but when it does I wind the piss out of it. If you are mechanically inclined, and have a "GOOD" set of tools (including a torque wrench), get a used one, but take someone with experience when you go looking. If you hate mechanical work, I would steer clear of used stuff. (especially if you have to take it in for repair, they smell you coming!) Of course a new one could break the day after you get it home, but it is highly unlikely. The first jump I took with my Banshee almost killed me because the dealer didn't tighten the handle bar clamps. BTW I find it amusing that chase@miamiatv.com would admit to owning a Warrior. :baseball_wassat: Edited August 3, 2006 by PhilMoore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheefourseven Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 I am relatively new here and was in the same situation as you. I picked up a bone stock 96 shee that sat in a garage and was ridden a total of 6 weekends sine the guy bought it. $2000 Checked everuthing Yesterday I got to run with a bone stock 06 honda 450r and a bored stroked 250r on some asphalt. We ran the first 2 races from a dead stop for about 300 or so feet. The 450r pulled us both and beat me by 1.5 quads and he beat the 250 r by a quad or so. I was impressed and a little pissed. THEN we doubled the distance, when I shifted into 6 th gear I was passing him with the 250r just a tire ahead of me. I then understood the power of the new 4 strokes. I weigh 240 lbs but ride it like its stolen so an average sized rider or one 50 lbs lighter would have no trouble keeping up with a 450 . The next race from a 3rd gear roll he pulled out a quad and we both then walked right by him. It was fun . I was happy for what the stock banshee could do. Now with pt pipes K&Ns cool head and new jetting Hes gonna need a good head start to win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00tbanshee Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 if i was you get a shee takes less money to go faster. my buddy owns a yfz450 and he has spent alot of money to get where he is now (still behind me but close) and i don't have alot of internal work done to my motor. t5's, reeds and cages,little port work i did myself, stock head redomed to 19cc thats about it and he has probly has 5 times as much money in his motor then i do. so go with the shee if you want to be out front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chase@miamiatv.com Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 BTW I find it amusing that chase@miamiatv.com would admit to owning a Warrior. :baseball_wassat: Honesty gets you along way...... i had a alba 450 warrior stroker kit from them . TOTALLY PEICE OF SHIT !!!!!!!!!! i got so mad at that bike that i parted it out and built the green bike. " fuck four strokes " ANY NICELY ported banshee with some decent mods will walk on the 450r's ....... NUFF SAID Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkc Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 I got about 100 hrs or more on mostly stock shee(fatty pipes, timing,no air box pro design and soon to have more)and I still have 130 psi on both cylinders. I run 40 to 1 w/mobil syn. 2 stroke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quadwanter Posted August 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 Thanks guys for all the responses, now im just going to wait a little longer to see what kinda deals pop up. Im still not sure which i want to get but you guys have really opened my eyes to the banshee. I love torque which is making me lean toward a nice 450 but the damn cost of a banshee used you cant beat. Im not really mechanically inclined but then again it will be my first thing to actually work on besides changing the oil in my car. On the other hand my dad is pretty damn good with motors she he's gonna teach me he said so it'll be a fun learning experience. Do many of you guys ride trails? I've searched and all i've found really is handling and just need to get good with the clutch/throttle and it'll be just fine. Any more suggestions are greatly appreciated. :smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chase@miamiatv.com Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 paitence pays ** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanYE west Posted August 3, 2006 Report Share Posted August 3, 2006 I got both, Banshee and 450. I'll get beat up on this one I'm sure... I have more fun on my 450 doing everything but dragin. When it comes time to line up, I go get the shee. I have no problem beating lightly modded banshee on the strip with my 450 but I get my share of getting beat too. 450's are not designed to be dragers, they were designed to have great handling and quick exceleration which makes them ideal for everything except drag racing. I just find the 450 to be a more versitle machine. I think both motors are realiable with proper maintainece. Just my opinion.. Dont hurt me too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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