Flip73

I agree, anyone can bash through a trail on a 4 poke - nothing against them, I've had 4 strokes and like them a lot, but I get a sense of satisfaction riding the Banshee through crap even the 4 strokes have trouble with. Guys pull over to let us through all the time and just shake their heads like they can't believe I ride a banshee on the trails (most of my friends are on 4 strokes)...so I roost 'em and blow their doors off. Get one and ride it, you'll love it.

I'm in Agawam, I'll shoot you a PM - we shoud hook up and ride sometime Labobte - I'm in Agawam, I'll shoot you a PM. We shoud hook up and ride sometime ahhh...errr...sorry fer the double post above...my bad.

I've got similar mods and I'm in Western MA too, you should be good at +4 with that set up.

You'll find a ton of info on this and everyone has their favorites. I have my stuff at F.A.S.T. right now and Jeff has been awesome to work with. Not sure about the mixed reviews you mentioned about Passion - I've read a lot of good feeback on them as well, can't say I've every seen anything negative. My vote goes to F.A.S.T. Jeff because of my personal experience with him. He's at FASTOYS on here, or 785-364-5325. He won't steer you wrong, prices are great and he understands what costomer service is. Be prepared to wait though, any good builder is going to be pretty backed up now...

BrianBanshee, the place near Otis you're prob talking about is Tolland State Forest. It has some good stuff, but lots of rocks and mud too. I actually go there quite a bit, it's the closest place to me...IMO best in western MA is Pittsfield State Forest. Put on the thickest skid plates you can get your hands on, and big freggin tires too. I have 22's on back and 23's in front when I ride those spots and my quad still takes a beating. Any time anyone wants to meet up, I'm in. I'm in pieces now, but hope to be back up and running in 2 or 3 weeks.

I'm in Western MA, ride around here and a little CT and NY too. PM me if you want to get out sometime, we try to ride once a week or so. I'm still apart from winter rebuild, hopefully up and running soon though.

Noss all the way. Nothing against the others, but Noss is a site supporter and makes a great product. VERY good to deal with as well. When I bought mine, I didn't know he offered a discount to HQ members - he (or actually his wife I think...) actually tracked me down to refund the discount. Now that's service. Plus, the thing is a work of art - I should have bought 2, one for the quad and one to put over the fireplace.

I've learned the hard way too, had an AC rear skid before and it sucked. I ended up tossing it after a few rides and getting a PRM. Granted, I ride pretty crappy trails, but the PRM is holding up WAY better than the AC...and it actually fits too. I feel your pain bro - but chuck it.

I tried to upload some pics I just took of them, but it says they're too big. I'm not sure how to shring 'em, if you want PM me your email and I'll send them over to you. Sorry 'bout that...

sorta depends on where you ride - if it's not so rough you're prob good with .125. I got the .190 chassis and .250 swingarm on mine and they are awesome. I beat the hell out of them, they're pretty scraped up but welds are still good and they're not bent to shit. I'd get 'em again.

I have the PRM frame skid plate, never really noticed how much it covers - I think it covers the back pretty well. I'll grab a pic of it tomorrow night when I get home and post it for ya. Been happy with PRM for what it's worth though...

I hear ya bud, I prefer to stay on the good side of the law myself. Enter sproket & tire size in that link above and it will get you pretty close...and keep your ass outta jail!

This should tell pretty good estimate of top speed, just add what gears you have. I think stock is 14/41. 85mph sounds a little fast for stock gear ratio, assumig rear tire is still 20". http://home.earthlink.net/~gellett/250r.htm

yep, take the top end off and send just the cylinders...I just sent mine to F.A.S.T. and it was about $16 from MA to KS so it's pretty cheap.

I've got the PRM swing arm and chassis skid plates and can't say enough good about them. I ride in the hills of W MA, some of the trails get pretty nasty. Most of the ground is rock and roots. Went all last summer on one set of skids - plenty of scratches and gouges, but no failed welds and no major bends. I got the .250 swing arm skid, .190 for the chassis...IMO pretty good stuff.

Not like he needs it since he already has a ton of good feed back, but great guy to deal with and fast shipping too. Sold me a Clymers, very good price and it looks like it's never been used...actually might be new for all I can tell. Thanks a lot!

Yeah, that makes sense, definitely more load in 6th than 3rd... I actually just ordered some stuff that's going to make me have to rejet anyway so I'm going to hold off toying with it now. I ordered the Noss head (not that that would change jetting...), Trinity CV Intake, and I just spoke to FAST Jeff to get some mild port work done so I'll wait till that stuff is all done and then play with it more. I appreciate the help guys, thanks much.

I tried searching, found lots of useful info but not much about why you can't use a lower gear. I just looked at that page you referenced - tons of info so I appreciate the tip. I can't ride near my house, but I could go up and down the street a few times in 3rd or so without causing issues. (That's why I was hoping it would be close enough, oh well.) It's too residential for a 6th gear run, dogs, kids...I'm sure nobody would appreciate it. Guess I'll have to keep taking it out to the riding areas to dial it in. I'll read through that site you listed this weekend when I have some time. Thanks for your help

I'm trying to dial in my jetting. I've been doing full throttle and half throttle plug chops, and they seem pretty good. However, I'm only doing 3rd gear for the full throttle plug chop - my question is do you need to be at full throttle in 6th gear to get an accurate reading?

I've got a set of 22 Holeshots on mine and I ride some pretty rough trails - depending on how rough your trails are you may want to drop a tooth in the front. The 14 is fine for regular trails with the 22's in back, but when I go areas that have really tight trails I put a 13 on front to help get on the power a little easier. Those 22's are pretty heavy though, if you can get away with 20's you're better off IMO. Trails around my house are just too rough, hitting the read skid too much with my 20's.

Check out exriders.com, it has pretty good forums on Honda sport quads.

Graydon used to make them but they've stopped - keep your eye on ebay, they are out there form time to time. Look for Trinity's out there too, you could pick up a used one there a lot cheaper that new.

Where are you in MA? I ride with some guys around Western Mass. We don't get out as often as we used to, but we try to head out every couple weeks or so. We head down to a spot in NY just over the line off Rt 84, too. Let me know if you're interested and we can try to hook up in the spring sometime.

I think pretty much everyone would agree that it isn't the best choice for trails, but there is so much avaliable for them that you can really taylor it to what you want. Some people say they suck on trails - not true. Like the other guy said - just set it up right. I have mine set up for trails, some tips are full skid plates (chassis and swing arm anyway...), tires (I have 22" holeshots and 20" knarleys - both are really good.) Then start looking at shocks, low end pipes, maybe a 2 into 1 intake, trail port job, endless...shocks and tires do wonders for them, stock shocks and tires are pretty bad. As far as reliability - I've ridden 2 strokes for 20 years - I'll never give them up. My buddies ALL have 4 strokes, and I am never the one who breaks down. Just liek your MX'ers, if you maintain it, it will treat you right! Nothing like the Banshee rush - my vote is to buy it.

From experience buying new and used, I feel you get hosed buying new. Certainly not telling you not to buy a new one, but if you look around you can buy a used one in pretty good shape all day long for $3k or so. Plus, it will prob already have pipes, filter, other stuff. I bought my 2002 for $3150 in mint shape, pipes, K & N, minor bolt on's. Dealer would be $6k to buy new one, plus tax, set up, after market stuff...so prob closer to $7k. Your call, but I'd nudge you towards used if it was up to me. Years don't really make a huge difference after 1990 or so. Just look for one in good shape. Remember, all quads for sale are clean so make sure it's really in good shape and not just a polished turd. As far as riding in the snow, I could come up with better machines for the snow but as long as it isn't really deep it will go. Put on the biggest nasty ass ugly tires you can and have a blast spinning all over the place! I actually like riding sport quads in the snow, can't wait to use mine this winter.