pepehaha Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 (edited) We all know that the yfz450 in stock has far better suspension than banshee etc etc. Iam just curious, if you compare a fully built shee (ie elka long travels front and rear, wider axle, wider LT aarms, steering stabilizer, +2 antivibe stem, fasst flexx handle bars, foot pegs relocated down and back) vs yfz450 with the same amount of handling mods? Does that lower the difference in XC/MX? Thanks Edited November 19, 2008 by pepehaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trick2stroke Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Well where you end up depends on where you start. The yfz has better geometry from the get go that the shee does not. So to answer your question no, if anything the gap becomes larger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shogs Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 I have a z400 and a banshee and my z400 definitely handles better in the woods. I do think it is kinda cool though if my shee ran good in woods and trails so i'm slowly getting parts here and there to make it better. I wouldn't go out and get all that stuff done to your banshee without riding a 450 with the mods and see if you can notice the difference and its worth putting all those mods on your shee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajogejr Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 One thing you guys didn't mention is power delivery and where the bike is gonna be run. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for proper suspension setup, etc, but the power/engine and suspension/drivetrain work as one. After you put all that money in suspension for the banshee, you still have a 20 year old frame and a screaming two stroke twin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trick2stroke Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Don't get me wrong, with the right mods you WILL run with the 450's if you know how to ride it will just take more effort. Just because the frame is 20 years old isn't the reason why it's bad, the 250R frame is older than the shee and it's a staple in frame design. With the right engine mods you can get a shee with a bit of grunt, obviosly it's not where it shines but making things work and using them for what it wasn't intended for is half the fun! That's why I have a full tilt mx yfz with a shee engine lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajogejr Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 250R was a better frame than a banshee, hands down...and a starting point for the 450R.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollinRhino Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 This question has a lot of dimensions to it. Already covered but what kind of riding are we talking about? A dune rider would give the Shee an advantage as it was designed for that even with 20 year old technology a few hundred bucks in engine mods and a few hundred in suspension goodies and you are competitive at least. If we are talking MX, forget it. The YFZ will dominate you. End of story. It will take more than a few hundred bucks to turn your Shee into a competitive MXer. Why even try when you can find a good used YFZ for half the cost as the mods plus the Shee would be. If you are talking trail riding then the gap widens out a lot because the YFZ has torque to begin with and that is what gets you through the tough times. I knew most of this before I bought my Shee from what others told me and from riding friend's quads to see and I still bought a Banshee knowing what I know. The FUN Factor on a Shee can't be bought. It comes standard. Two strokes are a rush to ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trick2stroke Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 250R was a better frame than a banshee, hands down...and a starting point for the 450R.... I know, that's why I said age can't be the basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001Stroker Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 I have a z400 and a banshee and my z400 definitely handles better in the woods. I do think it is kinda cool though if my shee ran good in woods and trails so i'm slowly getting parts here and there to make it better. I wouldn't go out and get all that stuff done to your banshee without riding a 450 with the mods and see if you can notice the difference and its worth putting all those mods on your shee. You're crazy as hell. There's a 2008 LTZ-400 sitting in my garage right now. That thing handles like a tank. So does my buddies Honda 450R. They both feel top heavy as hell, and push through corners, BAD. I still have the stock shocks on my banshee, and that thing handles like a sports car compared to those bikes through the woods. I'll walk on a ltz or 450r with my ALL stock suspension banshee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Jackson Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 (edited) i think alot of people, mainly the ones who DONT ride banshees in the woods/trails , dog the shit out of them, b ecause we arnt using them to go in a striaght line its not as bad as some people would lead you to believe , decent set of shocks and wider a-arms its a new bike and handles great, maybe not as great as a 450 with +3's and long travel elka elites but good enough, i dont think most people are pushing these worked 450s near to what they are capable of, go on any 450 forumn and look at the pics of these peoples bikes, you arnt cool unless you have +3 long travel arms and $3000 worth the shocks on it. take a good rider, put him on a banshee with a average set of shocks and no name brand wider arms and he will smoke the wana be on the worked 450, of course the "geometry" is better on the 450 frames, well so they say, personally i feel much more comfortable on my piece of shit 20 year old banshee frame with a set of arms and shocks, but thats just me, i feel cramped on the all the 450s i have ridden, i dont care if on paper its better, everyone always talks about paper and numbers meaning nothing when it comes to racing and dyno charts, but for some reason when it comes to chassis and shit like that, whats on paper is what seems to count to them... for me the onlything i would like more about a 450, is the power delivery , if it was TIGHT woods riding, the 450 powerplant us much more freindly and easy to run through the tight shit, Edited November 19, 2008 by Michael Jackson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNick Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 My friend has a YFZ 450 and it felt awkward riding it. For my personal preference it sits too high and that damn narrow ass seat...I guess if I rode enough I would be comfortable on it. Riding on some woods trails we both stay with one another rather closely no matter who was in front..Maybe are riding ability is equal in regards to that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
278 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 This question comes up alot. I asked the same question when I first got on here, but it really just matters what you have and what the YFZ has, and riding experience, without upgrading the suspension the shee will most likely win except on an MX track, but once you upgrade the suspension you wont have a problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bzy2p Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 its whatever you get comfortable with...if your comfortable on your bike and know where,when,and how it will come on you have an advantage of someone that just has a bike thats built better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Potteiger Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 The 450 is the obvious choice for MX (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki), although a Banshee can be a great track bike too. I ride mine in the sand and on MX tracks. I am a good size guy, and for me sitting on any 450 or even 250r, the bike feels like it was made for a little kid. The Banshee motor will definitely work you harder on an MX track than the 4 pokes will, so it takes more skill to ride a Banshee on MX. You have to work hard to keep the RPMs up and really focus on not bogging the motor out of a corner into a jump. The 4 pokes do have the power right there all the time, which would be nice I will admit. That being said, no 4 poker will ever keep up with me in the sand on my Banshee through the trails and whoops. I guess it all boils down to how you like to ride. I prefer the Banshee over all the new "better" built quads with equal suspension mods done to both. The 4 pokes feel small and not very stable to me in cornering. My opinion: stock vs stock = 4 pokes hands down, but modded vs modded = Banshee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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