Anyone With Knowledge Of ATV's, Questions Inside...

[SRT-4 Turbo 7]

I am looking into getting into another ATV. I do alot of trail/pit riding. I have been looking at multiple ATV's over the last few weeks and have narrowed my choices down to the following:

1. 2002 Yamaha Banshee 350 Twin. Bike has T5 Pipes and is jetted. Plastics are slightly beat up, and the frame has it's scuffs on it from wearing boots when riding. Starts right up, compression and leak down test are good. $1,900 which is a steal IMO.

2. 2007 Yamaha Raptor 450 GTYR edition. Bike is bone stock and doesn't even have 10 hours on it. My buddy own's the bike and I know the history of it. Super clean, $4000 with ATV trailer.

3. 2008 Kawasaki KFX 450 Monster Edition. Bike is exceptionally clean as well and looks like it was never ridden. Bone stock for $3,500. Only 450 to have reverse and seems to be the most trail friendly.

Which bike would you go with and why. I love the sound of the Banshee and the raw power band of the 2 stroke, but it's probably the least trail friendly. Your input is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[boatcop1]

I have owned all those exept my Raptor was the 660.

Banshee's are the most fun easily but the lack of reverse would get old to me now as I'm gettin older plus they are obviously more maintenance.

I had a KFX400 when they first came out and that was fun, not as fast as the Banshee (then again what is?) but light and nible, with the right mods will beat the snot out of the heavy 660 Raptor, not sure of the 450 Raptor, I've been out of the seen for a while.

I then switched to cadilac's, Had a Kawi Brute Force and a Polaris Sportsman 700 both with IRS = SWEET and very quick for their size. Once I started climbing over shit the sport bike phase was quickly over. lol

If your into Tuning and going really fast than the banshee for sure. If you want really good speed (ride wheelies and such) with good manners you cannot go wrong with the KFX.

plus the price looks nice! Good luck!:beer:

 

[JMD0346]

Banshee. IMO.

Easy and relativley cheap to mod. Easy to work on. Nothing has or ever will make the kind of raw power that a properly built banshee will.

Add a good trail/dune/mild drag port with some 30-35mm carbs to those cylinders and make 60-70rwhp.

Cons are dated chassis(yet rides very soft and smooth). If you're looking for clearing doubles the Banshee may not be for you. For fast trail/dune riding there is no equal.

 

[SRT-4 Turbo 7]

Thanks for the input guys. I will only be doing trail riding and pit/sand riding. I will hit the occassional jump here and there, but I will not be racing on a motorcross track. This is just a fun hobby. I will not mod the bikes heavily either, just exhaust work mainly as all bikes are pretty quick out of the box.

I am so lost. I have rode all of them besides the Banshee, but I keep hearing that it's the most fun out of all the 3 I listed.

 

[RaD28r]

KFX450 Monster Edition!!!

The details you provided, that quad sounds like your best bet.

I have one myself and love it! 08, white and black. Reverse is a life saver. Its power is competetive with all the other 450's but it has alot of potential, the airbox is really restricted,after market exhaust will improve it too. You cant go wrong the EFI, unless you like messing with carbs, sometimes i do but EFI is alot easier for starting and throttle response. For that price, its a killer deal!

The Banshee is an awesome quad, but it really is best in the dunes and drag, not trails. Those pipes you mentioned sound straight nasty! but its still a 20 year old design. Highly respected, just not too great for trails, also high mantinence


Now for the Yamaha, did you mean the YFZ450 or the Raptor 700? Im guessing the YFZ, also great quad but it does have a carb and a steel frame, KFX is aluminum. This would be my second choice for trail riding/sand pit riding.

Hoped this helped, any questions, just ask

 

[JMD0346]

If you ride a Banshee youll see why its the most fun. 2-stroke riders call it "getting on the pipe" or "hitting the power band". The power builds up and hits like a turbo. Alot of high end HP. Very little low end TQ. A Banshee is meant to ride fast and hard. With pipes/port/carbs etc... Banshee engines turn 9000-11000rpm.

The Banshee engine is based off the Yamaha RZ350. The RZ350 was Yamaha's racing bike engine. Im talking 70's-80's crotch rocket racing bike.


As far as maintenance it is more so than a 4-stroke. However you can rebuild the top end of a banshee several times for what it cost to rebuild a 4-poke once.

 

[JMD0346]

If you're interested check out BansheeHQ.com

 

[RaD28r]

If you ride a Banshee youll see why its the most fun. 2-stroke riders call it "getting on the pipe" or "hitting the power band". The power builds up and hits like a turbo. Alot of high end HP. Very little low end TQ. A Banshee is meant to ride fast and hard. With pipes/port/carbs etc... Banshee engines turn 9000-11000rpm.

The Banshee engine is based off the Yamaha RZ350. The RZ350 was Yamaha's racing bike engine. Im talking 70's-80's crotch rocket racing bike.


As far as maintenance it is more so than a 4-stroke. However you can rebuild the top end of a banshee several times for what it cost to rebuild a 4-poke once.

True, the Banshee is probably the most fun quad to ride, but i would say only on open stretches, drags, and the most popular place where you'll find banshee's, the dunes!

Nothing can beat the power band of a two stroke!

 

[SRT-4 Turbo 7]

Thanks again. I test rode my buddies blaster, nothing like a Banshee, but I wanted to see the two stroke's powerband in the woods. As you all have stated it needs to be ridden hard all the time, but I had so much fun on that little 200CC 2 stroke.

I just found a bone stock, never modified, all black 2006 Banshee Limited for $4,000. Should know today if he accepted my offer. The bike looks downright mean!

 

[lxlawWFO]

I would get the Kawi, the Banshee is OLD design, and it is alot more maintenance. I love the power of the big 4 strokes. They have bung loads of tq, just look at motocross, everyone went with the big 4's. They are torquey and alot more fun to ride.

 

[mc01svt]

I am looking into getting into another ATV. I do alot of trail/pit riding. I have been looking at multiple ATV's over the last few weeks and have narrowed my choices down to the following:

1. 2002 Yamaha Banshee 350 Twin. Bike has T5 Pipes and is jetted. Plastics are slightly beat up, and the frame has it's scuffs on it from wearing boots when riding. Starts right up, compression and leak down test are good. $1,900 which is a steal IMO.

2. 2007 Yamaha Raptor 450 GTYR edition. Bike is bone stock and doesn't even have 10 hours on it. My buddy own's the bike and I know the history of it. Super clean, $4000 with ATV trailer.

3. 2008 Kawasaki KFX 450 Monster Edition. Bike is exceptionally clean as well and looks like it was never ridden. Bone stock for $3,500. Only 450 to have reverse and seems to be the most trail friendly.

Which bike would you go with and why. I love the sound of the Banshee and the raw power band of the 2 stroke, but it's probably the least trail friendly. Your input is appreciated.

Thanks

Couple of points here........

Nothing beats the Banshee on the sand dunes or at the drags but for trail riding it would not be my first choice. These are very peaky and are basically designed to run wide open all the time. Most trails will have situations where you need to crawl and that takes smooth low end torque. Also Banshee's have an archaic suspension, so as far as whoops are clearing jumps newer bikes are much better. I may get flamed for saying this but I could care less about a 2 stroke. I really don't have time to be rebuilding my top end and changing piston rings all the time. Plus if its cold out, or your at at high altitude good luck on getting it started. :sleeping:

There is no such thing as a raptor 450. Not sure which bike you're reffering too. :shrug: Raptors come in only 250/350/700. Unless you really meant a YFZ450 which is a completely different machine. If so, these are at home on a motocross track or GNCC racing. They come with aggressive tires and a really firm race suspension. May not be that comfortable on a long trail ride. There is a new YFZ450X made for trail riding but there are about $8k.

Kawi 450r isthe best choice here IMO even though I'm a yamaha man. 10x better suspension than a banshee and you cant go wrong with fuel injection. Reverse comes in handy too. Not as fast as the other 2 in ultimate speed but you won't be going 70mph on any trail so its a moot point.

these are some other good sport ATVs for trails.... Raptor 700R, Honda 700XX, Kawi KFX700, Polaris outlaw 525irs......

 

[almostfinished]

All seem like very good deals along with being great quads. I personally would go with the kawi, I ride ALOT and reverse is always good to have especially in trails. If its more pit riding or open area riding than woods I'd say reverse isn't a problem. Have you thought about a Suzuki LTZ400? My friend had an 03 that I loved and I picked up an 08 special edition. Has some great power, well balance and easy to ride. Also has reverse. Prices don't seem to bad at all on them either. I am getting out of the "sport" quads and going back to big utility, too many trails for the sport quad. Best of luck with what you choose, its a great hobby!

Nick

 

[SRT-4 Turbo 7]

Sorry the Yamaha is a 2007 YFZ 450 GYTR Edition. It comes with a single quad trailer, helmet, goggles, chest protector, boots, gloves, shirts, pants all for $4,000. Best part is that he is the same size as me so everything fits which is a huge plus.

So torn between the YFZ 450 and the KFX 450. KFX seems like the better trail bike, but the YFZ is almost too good of a deal to pass up. I even think I could get him down another $200 to $3,800. He faxed me a copy of his bill of sale. He paid $8,899 for the quad, $800 for the trailer and probably another $700-900 in gear. He has receipts for the first service in which Yamaha stealership charged him $400. Bike really doesn't even have 10 hours on it.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....

 

[lxlawWFO]

Dude, it doenst seem like that hard of a decision. The 450YZF is a MONSTER, and dont think it is not, I know it will whoop that Banshee all over. The Kawi is a trail monster. I guarantee, just go buy the Kawi and ride it on the trails and you will have no regrets. I have had many friends with the 450YZF, and they sold them because they were really unfriendly on the trails. Most of them went with the Suzuki or Kawi, or even a 400ex Honda.

 

[kbsonicstang]

the kfx 450 because of reverse, but if you were going to do some open riding, i would go for the banshee

 

[SRT-4 Turbo 7]

the kfx 450 because of reverse, but if you were going to do some open riding, i would go for the banshee

I am going to be doing both. The trails lead to a huge sand pit, but there are a s**t load of whoops in the trails which is a concern with the Banshee and it's suspension.

 

[lancec2c30]

I've got an 05 YFZ, and my dad has an 02 banshee. Both are just intake/exhaust setups.
Just cruising around in the sand and tearing through the gears on the straights, the banshee is the most fun. But when it comes to doing hard riding, and railing around technicals trails, whoops sections, stuff like that. The YFZ is a lot easier to ride. If I had to have one bike, it would be one of the 450's.

 

[JMD0346]

I am going to be doing both. The trails lead to a huge sand pit, but there are a s**t load of whoops in the trails which is a concern with the Banshee and it's suspension.

The Banshee has a big thick seat and very soft suspension. It rides like a caddy compared to the new 4 stroke bikes.

Adjustable front springs and adjustable rear shock/spring.

For me the Banshee frame setup is perfect. It fits me. IMO I feel like im riding "in" my shee. The new bikes feel like youre riding on top and trying to hold on. They feel more like a motorcycle. I think that is the design point.


However Ive heard and seen good things from the Yamaha 450R. Good running bike.


For a new guy its a tough choice. If you do get the Banshee you can thank me. ;-)

 

[evil04svtcobra]

the banshee sounds great, and is a lot of fun... but the 2-stroke is a pain. the more you mod a 2-stroke the more problems you will have maintaning it. they are six speed and have no balls down low.

just my 2 cents.

 

[foxman92]

BUY A HONDA!!!! best 450 engine out there, easy to mod, and make great power.. but if i had to choose from your selection id say kawi..