Is a Quad A legitimate way to learn the balance point with wheelies?
 

Is a Quad A legitimate way to learn the balance point with wheelies?

if so out of these two which is better with regards to

Banshee

or

YFZ 450

Honestly this quad will mostly be used on the street to learn how to wheelie but might see a few trails, a track, n def will see some snow duty

I personally am leaning towards the 450 with regard to the electric start (don't have to kick it over), Not needing to mix the gas, and third i feel i have to do less maintenance... I may be wrong about the last bit...


I def want to hear everyones opinion on the following <listed below> as well as tell u so far the 1 person i spoke to had this to say

Wheelies- (banshee, 450)- which will be a smoother, easier to wheelie machine as well as give me a relative idea of the balance point and how it feels on my 954

Track- (banshee, 450)- which would be hypothetically better?

trails- (banshee, 450)- which would be better to ride in just regular wooded trails <no sand dunes{pretty sure banshee reigns king still} or other extreme conditions>

snow on the streets- (Banshee, 450)- which will provide some traction <im assuming the 450 in this case

street blastin around- (banshee, 450)- Im undecided

maintenance (banshee, 450)- i'm assuming the 450 will win this category

overall fun- (banshee, 450)- I am goin to assume tht the banshee wins hands down

For learning wheelies, I'd probably go with the 450 because it will have engine break and its alot easier to learn to wheelie on a 4 stroke quad. (2 strokes dont really have much engine break)

But for all around fun/trail riding/racing, I would go with the banshee. I don't care what anyone says, my banshee will smoke your 450 everytime! (I have some minor work done to mine) Drag race or through the trails, as long as you learn how to keep it in the powerband, you can't loose! And learning to wheelie a banshee isn't that much harder, learn to cover your back break and you will get it. Don't get me wrong, I have heard alot of good things about the YFZ 450's. But if you take the extra money you would have spent on the 450 and put it into a few mods on your banshee, your 1989 banshee will smoke that 2010 450 all day. Plus working on 2 stroke motors is super eazy so you can probably do all of the mods you want to in your garage.

I'm sure alot of folks would tell you to go with the YFZ 450, but I am kinda partial to 2 stroke off road machines. They are a blast to ride in all conditions, and there is nothing like the look on the guys face after you just dusted the doors off of his brand new 450 with your 20 year old banshee :icon_emm: I have a 2001 banshee, but I had a friend who had a 89 and they really didn't change much through out the years. (don't fix it if it ain't broke) Parts are easy to find because of this.

I guess it is all about what you want out of it, but in my opinion, there is no ATV that is more fun to ride than a banshee.
Get pipes and it will sound awesome too :icon_wink:

uuuuummmmmmm........why are those your only two choices?

i'd have to say neither. go with the honda 450r way better machine then both of those.

i even have one i'll sell ya for cheap.:icon_wink:

I dont see a quad giving you a good idea of what its like to wheelie a street bike. the ballance is completely different. I think a dirtbike would be better, but still, different than a street bike.

as for which one to get. I'd say the 450. The banshee, when tuned right, will be a blast. But thats the problem. they are 2stroke and finicky. Its hard to keep one at is best. the 450, you just hop on and go...and go...and go... you get the idea. Also, the durability of hte newer quads is far better than it use to be.

for wheelies... the 450 will be so much easier than a banshee. torque and linear power. no all of a sudden power like the banshee.

Track.... 450 again. the banshee is a great quad, but doesnt have anywhere near the capability of the 450 on a track.

Trails.. again.. 450 will be much easier to ride at any pace with power anywhere in the rpm range. the banshee.. no power downlow and all of it up top.

snow... all depends on tire selection. the 450 should have an easier time of getting power down, since its not peaky like the banshee.

street blastn... i'd call it draw.

maintenance. 450... no question.

overall fun.... 450. Anything other than straight line fun and sand dunes, the 450 will dominate the banshee. The banshee was a great quad and always will have its place. But in todays mondern machines, it can't compete. Its chassis is no where near what the 450 is. The 450 maybe a 4stroke, which many relate to being heavy, but they are ballanced so much better than the banshee..

When I started to wheelie I learned on a honda xr70 dirt bike and I also used a polaris 330. That 450 is to agressive. Johnnyh

either way you will have fun but a dirtbike (426 or 450) will definitely help out more in the wheelie department like mentioned above and other aspects of sport riding. i have a 426 and it definitely helps learning and practice how to wheelie, endo, sliding the rear end, practicing locking up both front and rear tires with out falling and body control. plus jumping, wheelies, sliding, and endos always look better on a dirtbike than a quad.

As others have said.. a quad will help you learn balance some, but a dirtbike is really the way to go. It's much closer to how a streetbike will act.
Ha. I first learned on an XR80 (although I looped a Yamaha 60 a few times first...lol) Then on to an XR250.

I've always wanted an xr250, hows the powerband and balance point on that bike. Johnnyh

the 450, i would LOVE a banshee but the 450 is probably more practical. But if you want to start wheelies you need a dirtbike, I had a 96 250r with a flywheel weight and a couple other small things and it was great, would wheelie even tho i didnt want it too in 1st through 3rd. If your going to be trail riding i would ride the 450 or the 2 stroke with a flywheel weight. I did my first wheelies on a quad and yeah it helped, but only with the feel of a balance point.