How fast are our bikes comapared to....?

[alford78]

Since buying a 525xc with few mods I've been searching for a used 2006 Banshee or TRX250r. This bike will be for me when I have company or when wife rides the KTM.

I have never ridden a 250r and have only ridden a couple banshees which were pretty much stock.

How much of a difference is there between a 525xc with cam,13:5 piston, full exhaust and the banshee or 250r? I was really surprised at the power of my bike when I first hoped on it! But, is there going to be that big of a difference unless I heavily mod either of the two used bikes in question? Its been about 15 years since I rode a banshee so dont even really remember how fast it was other than it put a really big grin on my face.

My plan for the KTM is a 540 kit or little bigger but not too much more than that.

[kiwi-craig]

banshee's sound and feel allot faster than they actualy go in my experince, old school yesterdays news............

unless allot of $ spent they also handle horrid......... hard finding a clean 250R these days...........

two stroke just don't make the torque like the thumpers........

Most people view these old buckets with rose coloured glasses and nostalgia of the "good ole days"..................

with mega bucks banshee's can go fast, in a straight line ..............

a second ktm or a late model jap 450 will be a way better machine, or a rappy

all depends i guess on what you want ?

[mikebell72]

it depends how deep you go??? when it comes to drag race the banshee will always be the benchmark we are all trying to beat 2cyl 2 stroke that get in the 130hp range it just aint gonna happen.... with that said i have beat every stock lenght swingarm bike i have raced with my ktm 600 and my buddy has a racers edge 734 raptor that made 76hp at ls and i have video of me beating him by about 3 bikes, and man it just burns guys up when you put it in there extended swingarm " drag bikes".with a ktm with nerf bars that looks like its ready for the trail....lol
i would try to buy another ktm if i were you you would use the same parts same tools and get to know your bike better??

[alford78]

Yeah I totally agree about the handling of the shee. It will take a little cash to make it worth trail riding. But the 250r's handling is a lot better. The 250r is a lot harder to come by as well.

I have thought about getting another KTM but just the history behind the 2 best 2 strokes is awesome. So they are pretty much close in speed to a modded 525?

How is the 505sx compared to the 525xc speed wise? And how easy is it to upgrade the 505sx? I've seen a kits advertised for the xc but havent noticed any for the sx. I'm gonna search a little on the sx section.

[airborne]

One of my friends has a stock banshee and it pretty much goes the same speed as my wife's stock honda trx 450.. I drag raced him once with my 525xc and he couldn't keep up with me. I have another friend who owned a banshee with lots of mods but he sold it before I bought my ktm so I couldn't say for that.

[alford78]

Thanks for the comparison. there arent many vids of our ktms on youtube racing like most other atvs. If the performance isnt as fast as I remember it being then another ktm may be the option if cant find a nice 250r. I thought about a 2nd ktm at first after being surprised by its power but then started thinking about a 2 stroke.

How does a 505 compare to the 525 when both have the most popular mods? I read about the 6 things to do and the extra oil changes doesnt bother me as I'll be doing frequent changes on the 525 as well.

Say 505 with cam, 13:5 pison, full exhaust, and the 6 basic mods compared to 540xc with full exhaust? Oh and both have fast carb mod. I'm not too big but am 6'3 and 215#.

[5lblmbn2009]

I would say it would be close but the sx will have the snappy power and little low end while the xc will have power through the band until the top where it lacks some. If you know someone with an sx you should try riding it. they are a blast compared to anything else i have riden. only downside are the moto stock parts are a bit more expensive and it doesn't have reverse.

[sticko2]

Thanks for the comparison. there arent many vids of our ktms on youtube racing like most other atvs. If the performance isnt as fast as I remember it being then another ktm may be the option if cant find a nice 250r. I thought about a 2nd ktm at first after being surprised by its power but then started thinking about a 2 stroke.

How does a 505 compare to the 525 when both have the most popular mods? I read about the 6 things to do and the extra oil changes doesnt bother me as I'll be doing frequent changes on the 525 as well.

Say 505 with cam, 13:5 pison, full exhaust, and the 6 basic mods compared to 540xc with full exhaust? Oh and both have fast carb mod. I'm not too big but am 6'3 and 215#.

you will be doing pistons at 30hrs ish with that setup on a 505, where an xc would be 100+. I would only buy an sx if you were gonna race.

[alford78]

you will be doing pistons at 30hrs ish with that setup on a 505, where an xc would be 100+. I would only buy an sx if you were gonna race.

But as long as I replace the piston in time that will be the only thing besides gaskets that will need replacing correct? Sorry but am new to running high performance mods. I think I remember reading that the cylinder would last 8 pistons if they were changed at the correct time. How close is that to truth.

That would probably be worth it to me if that is the case as 30hrs would be a long time. Maybe twice a year at most.

[5lblmbn2009]

the stock piston might be more than enough for you on the sx compared to the xc. it lasts a lot longer than the aftermarkets. the crank bearings are a problem. the way it sounds people have had much betterluck wiht pro x bearings and rod.

[RDCooper4]

You can never go wrong with a 250r....

[sticko2]

Far more than just a piston. I would be doing piston and crank bearings every 30h rod and bearings every 60h cylinder and valves every 90-100h. Then you have trans bearings oil pumps etc. These things are maintenance pigs. I have an xc now to keep the hrs down on my sx.

[sticko2]

Not wanting to put you off the sx because they are awesome but just trying to make you aware of how much work they are.

[997GT3]

My stock piston outlasted the rod bearing,around 59HRS.I ride Glamis 90% of the time.

My engine put down 55WHP and 37WTQ after 3 heat cycles,with the mods in my sig.

Keep the reliability/convenience factor of stock compression and pump gas and have a blast.

My motor now pulls up China Wall in 4th gear at full revvs. Where before the mods it would fall on it's face at 52WHP.

I ride the same dunes a gear up now, because this thing just thumps it's way up anything with no sweat and lower revvs.Might have to gear down in the rear now lulz..

Anything more and it's just gonna wear you out a lot sooner and most likely slow you down at the end.Good Luck!

[JDU450XC]

IMO a banshee is good for one thing, hauling a$$ in a straight line. If you want a cool all around woods quad or dune machine, the 250R is a better way to go. Keep in mind, compared to the KTM, there is no comparison! You would need to heavily modify a 250R to make it even close to as good as a 525XC as an over all quad. I have had a lot of bikes and nothing compares to the KTM stock for stock hands down.

[alford78]

First off I'd like to thank everyone that is familiar with the 505 for chiming in on this! I'm pretty much looking for a bike that will be faster than my 525 once I mod it a little more (540-560 or so).

I'm gonna leave this post open with the discussion of the 505 since a few of you are helping me out. Dont see the need in moving this to the sx section unless topic slows down.

Like I've mentioned already, I am a complete newb to all the new power available to all types of bikes now days. 15 years ago it just wasnt that easy to upgrade a bike and have speed like a banshee or 250r from a 300ex.

If I can buy any 450, 505, 250r, or even honda 700 or rap 700 and make it faster than the modded 525 then thats what I will plan to do. I just want something used to build with my father in law and bro in laws father in law that owns his shop. Thats the main reason why I was considering the banshee or 250r (both need pleanty of work to make them really good and the awesome history behind them). Buying and building another ktm will be quite a bit more expensive so that is another reason. This second bike will only be for when I have company and need to let them use the 525. My wife may use the 525 a few times a year at most as we just had my first son a few weeks ago.

From everything you all have said about the 505 makes me believe that it will need quite a few mods to make it noticeably faster and then that will require pretty mucha total rebuild once a year. How much would that cost in parts alone, say run the bike 80-90 hrs a year. If its not much then I'll stick to looking for a used one.

If not a KTM then what would be the best bang for buck to build other than 250r? I've read about some frames on some bikes to steer clear of and a few other main design flaws but still not sure which platform would be best.

Thanks again guys!

[997GT3]

If you're going to ride 80-90hrs in one year,then go for the XC unless you can take the bill for the SX rebuilds,Its different machine and may or may not be worth it depending on how you like to ride.I like the way it revvs and builds power with the DOHC design.But then again I only put about 30hrs a year on my engine.So rebuilds every two years is not too bad...

As far as parts you are looking at around $800 on OEM piston,crank and cam bearings,oil pumps,cam chain,gasket kit and other odds and ends..every 50-60 hrs depending on how you ride,race and how well you can maintain the setup.

[RDCooper4]

Check this out... Not that you wanna go that extreme.. But pretty damn Impressive!!!

Puma 430 Kit

He also has the 310 kit and the 350 powervalve.... And you can guarantee it'll be hard to blow those motors up.. They actually build em with some meat on em unlike our bikes...

[alford78]

If you're going to ride 80-90hrs in one year,then go for the XC unless you can take the bill for the SX rebuilds,Its different machine and may or may not be worth it depending on how you like to ride.I like the way it revvs and builds power with the DOHC design.But then again I only put about 30hrs a year on my engine.So rebuilds every two years is not too bad...

As far as parts you are looking at around $800 on OEM piston,crank and cam bearings,oil pumps,cam chain,gasket kit and other odds and ends..every 50-60 hrs depending on how you ride,race and how well you can maintain the setup.



Its more about reliability once modded. If I can just set aside a one time rebuild per year that would be fine as my real speed baby is the maintenance whore!

[997GT3]

Sick ride,I like the GTR!

If you keep the compression down,and upgrade the con rod bearing,the reliability factor ten folds,with the 6 basic mods...new oil/filter every 4-5hrs and clean air filter every ride.Good luck..