Hey guys, im looking into getting either a Banshee, TRX250R, or LT500R and I would like to know some pros and cons and comparisons between these 3 machines. I do not want any 4-stroker inputs in this, i already own one.

some questions i have:
Reliability comparisons between the 3?
Aftermarket parts availability and prices? (banshee's more since its a twin?)
Power comparasons?
Types of power? (which is high rpm power? torque monster maybe?)
Which handles best?
Top speed guesses? (depending on mods?) maybe some personal experiences on this one

any input will be helpful, thanks!

i've owned all 3.
all around riding the 250r can't be beat. best handling, light weight, easy to work on, reliable(depending on mods and maintenance). new aftermarket parts are drying up but tons of mods still available. check the frame for cracks. 86-87 were faster than 88-89 but the 88-89 handled better with they're 1" shorter swingarm and 1" forward a arms also were lighter with an aluminum swinger.

banshee is fun in open areas and not so technical trails. revs high, explosive power delivery, loves to be modded, plenty of aftermarket available from mild to wild. it's kind of heavy, harder and more expensive to work on(being a twin), everyone complains about it's lack of lowend and handling but they're not as bad as they say. it's not a top level mxer but the average rider can have lots of fun on it. and as with any 2 stroke, it's only as reliable as you maintain it

lt500's are big and heavy machines, but have loads of torque, kind of seem lazy. they have had reliability issues with head gaskets and wearing out the main bearing counterbore in the cases(87 models) but my 87 was very reliable. 87 was also the fastest year, they went to case reeds in 88+ and added an extra head stud to help contain cylinder pressure. basic mods bring the motor to life. biggest down side is that the aftermarket never produced much for the chassis so parts are limited.

hes right what else can we help you with ride red

thanks very much, thats very helpful. Im leaning very much towards the 250R's. I have found a few i am interested in.

Now how about the power of a mildly modded 250R (maybe pipe, jetting, filter, fresh top end?) compared to my 400EX. my 400 with its mods as of now will beat nearly any stock atv. I've beaten Raptors, YFZ450's, Z400's, 450R's, and a mild banshee on all out drags. from start to top end. Havent raced anything else, but i know a slightly modded DS650 and Raptor have a tiny bit higher top end than my 400, but i took the 650 with no problem through all the gears. How will a solid 250R run against a lot of the machines nowadays? I'm hoping its going to be quicker than my 400!

a 250r will destroy a 400ex.add aftermarket shocks and it will run with the yfz450.hav`nt made them for 2 decades and they still best there is.

how will it "destroy" my 400EX yet run with a YFZ when my 400 already takes a YFZ with no problem?...... youre talkin a stock 400EX. if the 250r is on par with a YFZ, i will be disappointed....

You must have some major mods done to your bike to take a stock yfz or trx.

head shaved .009", jug .004", 11:1 piston, cam, exhaust, filter, jetted perfect, rev box. thats it, stock bore and it does take a YFZ with no problem. 450R's seem to be even slower.

idk sounds like your bike is fast enough all ican tell you is from when they were new till about 92 when i stopped ridin them, we had pipe and air box mods and we went faster than most but the riders abilities are whats gonna win id put my 87 250r against most quads ive seen but theres a sick few of you that have some awesome rides, but i have one of everything i want so i can only mod them so much.lol

sounds like your 400ex is runs real good.at least until it gets hot.

never really have a problem with getting too hot. one of the raptors and YFZ's i raced were both at the end of a 1 1/2-2 hour ride on a 90 degree day and i still beat them with no over-heating power loss on mine. from dead stop to 2nd gear rolling to 4th gear rolling. no problems.

but anyways. I have heard from many folks that a well built 265 motor will run harder than any stock ATV around? and most piped ATV's. is this true or will a piped 450 or raptor be able to pull by?

it all depends... way too many variables to try say whats faster than what. a 265 is 15 more cc's than a 250, that aint much. well built is also very generic. go look at some 250r's, take them for a test ride and see if you like them. they're not about top speed, they're about handling. a stock r is about the same as a stock ex in the power department, neither is very impressive. if it fits you well and is a good deal, speed is only limited to your checking account.

Who gives a hogs ass about handling. Ive ridden all 3, owned 1, the Banshee and the 250R are pretty close in terms of speed. The lightweight helps the 250R alot. The Quadzilla is the shit. There the fastest. There pretty easy to handle and I found them a breeze on a motocross track. They have power everywhere. I love those bikes. But they are just as fast as a YZ250. If you want to have some real fun, and be the fastest without having to do any mods, a CR or KX 500 is the way to go. Very light, probablly one of the fastest fastest bike/quad/trike you can get that is built for dirt and that was ever produced by anyone.

I will be the proud owner of a lightly modded 88 250r hopefully by the end of the month.

All i can say is you must have one hell of a 400ex.

If you want slat out speed, the banshee is probably your best bet. But like said earlier with 2 stroke it all depends on your bank account.

[quote name='Bubanator' date='May 14 2008, 07:23 PM' post='3973879']
Who gives a hogs ass about handling.


anyone who knows how to go fast.

i know the 250R handles best and is lightest. im pretty set on either that or still maybe a banshee if the right deal comes around.

now lets say i go and look at a few different 250R's and banshees. Can anyone make a checklist of things to look for on either of these that are a common problem? or anything that is upgraded that is well needed? pretty much whatever i ought to lookfor to make a good buying decision. any aftermarket mods that i should avoid? ive noticed many 2-strokes run the high-rev pipes which i would imagine are hard on the motor over-revving a lot?..

i have ran many an ex and even a hotrod stroked 500 ex with many many mods done and i could kill it with my pred,my pred is not stock but your still comparing apples to oranges.

congrats, your posting in a thread that has nothing to do with what youre talking about. and i know im comparing apples to oranges because i have a 398cc air cooled engine and everything else nowadays is super high compression liquid cooled motors. anyways, back to the subject please. im going to look at a 250R tomorrow so a list would be great!

frame is the biggest area of concern. check for cracks, motor mounts and around the swing arm pivot bolt area. other than that just look at the basics... bearings, good compression, good spark, does it start easy when it's cold, look in the airbox(clean or dirty?), stuff like that. a stock frame, stock suspension, stock motored R isn't worth a whole lot unless it's mint OEM.

your the man tough guy.

anyone who knows how to go fast.
[/quote]
You can go fast with anything that steers. Handling is for the people that cant handle big motors. They have to have something light and easy to ride so they can fell good about them selves and have fun without shitting their pants. You can go fast in a strait line or even on an oval with whatever you want. No matter how bad the handling is. Remember, the rider controls the bike, the bike doesnt control the rider.

thank ya much, that will help. i have heard that the frames are common to have cracks

you can go fast with anything that doesn't steer also... a big motor will in absolutely in no way compensate for poor handling. an underpowered machine that handles well will smoke a high powered poor handling machine with equal riders. look at nascar for example, races are won in the corners. when they use to run outlaw quads at my local dirt oval the 2 top quads every week were lt250r's, beat all the banshee's, zillas, a tiger 500 and even a 900cc ninja/zilla hybrid. it wasn't because they had the most hp, the 1/3 mile track favored hp, it was because they handled the corners. zillas and banshees never did well in the gncc or mx series, no doubt cause you never raced them.

the banshees r so much fun to play around with...

picking up a 86 250R today. 310cc mid-range ported, adjustable LRD pipe, CT silencer, Air striker 38mm carb. lots of goodies. needs plastic and seat (poor shape) and a good cleaning. but everything is top-of-the-line parts and just hadnt really been detailed a lot. i hope it goes well! rode it a bit in downtown Minneapolis and it was pretty damn snappy and scary going between all the cars onthe streets haha!

Nice job on the grammar. I have raced a Banshee and a Quadzilla. They both handles fine. They were very easy to steer and more than easy to throw around. So your telling me that a perfect handling LT50 will beat a crappy handling Quadzilla on a track? B.S. A big motor will compesnate for poor handling. if your machine doesnt handle well, but you are able to run a bigger engine of the same type, you will be able to hang with anyone. I highly doubt that anyone on here will be racing GNCC. B.S that those LT's beat everyone. And you cant compare a quad to a 3 wheeler. Plus tiger 500 would not be at a motocross track, or any track. Very rare bikes. But what if you want to drag race? Hmm....never thought of that did you. I think that the one that gets the holeshot and that has the bigger engine wins.

jesus christ dude, you're dumber than your posts indicate...

yeap^ ok so if you have your lt500 with crappy handling, you would take my ltr 450 on the track right? right, handling is a must!
man that must be some wild 400ex there, i had my 400ex with a 440 big bore in it, fully piped, cams, big gun rev box and i would still get eatin by predators and banshee's on top end.