Big Mike NY

I had this conversation with my bike mechanic the other day. He said that there is a possibility that if they are lightened too much or incorrectly, they have the tendancy to fall apart at high rpm... Anyone ever have this happen, or hear about it happening?

I picked up my 2003 Banshee today from getting a mild woods/trail porting job, forged Wiseco's and 19cc domes. Modifications are as listed: Cool Head w/ 19cc domes Woods/trail porting, stock crank Pro Flow intake Stock carbs Full FMF exhaust HD clutch V-Force Reeds stock gearing 50/50 mix 110/93 octane gas w/ Max Super M oil Weather was approximately 30 degrees here today, dry cold dense air ( I Love It)!! Bike started up on 1 kick, immediately noticed the kick starter had a little more resistance to it over what it was with stock internals. Let the bike warm up for 10 minutes and she held the idle perfect. I bundled up and headed out to take her for a test ride (on the street). I short shifted 1,2,3 & 4th gears at low rpms, then took her to a dead stop. The first 4 gears felt like normal. I then hit 1,2,3,4 & 5th this time taking her up to 75% thottle. I then noticed that my bottom end feels a little weaker than what it was w/out the porting and forged pistons, but my mid range and top end feel like an entirely different bike. From mid range to the top end of the powerband, the rpms jump much quicker and pull much much harder, and I haven't even went wide open throttle yet. Overall the bike definitely has a huge seat of the pants difference over stock internals. Today I ordered a timing plate which I will install and see how that helps out. The mechanic said it might help with the suffering bottom end. What do you guys think? Would going 1 tooth more on the front sprocket help wake her up down low? Please add your comments and suggestions to helping me improve my bottom end performance. I guess I'm used to the absurd amount of bottom end torque my TRX 370R has. In summary, the bike has woken up tremendously and will totally rip when I start to go wide open throttle!

Uh-oh.... I see this post going in a dark direction, a DARK direction...

Don't soak. I used to spray my old Boysen reeds with Ether (starting fluid). Then just wipe them down with a dry rag. Good To Go!

I will be taking pics soon. I just put new plastics and handlebars on the R, it looks amazing! I am getting my Banshee back from getting the porting done on Saturday. I will take some pics of the Banshee and R and post them up for you guys to see.

Definitely! Amongst other things such as piece of gaskets, dirt, debris, etc. Whenever I have anything exposed like an open cylinder, cases, carbs, I always stuff rags in there to keep it safe!

Good idea. I'll wait until the work is done and see how she reacts in the trails. Then I will make my decision. I'm good at changing to many things at one time and I know thats not good.

This looks real tempting! I spoke to Eddie Sanders and they claim 90-95 HP on their max effort setups! ESR/ProX 409cc Cylinder Kit

As I mentioned in a previous post last week, my Banshee is undergoing some minor porting work, forged pistons, 19c domes along with the mods listed in my sig. 95% of the riding I do is trail riding with occasional top end blasts. I am currently running the stock front and rear sprockets with 20x11x10 rear tires (holeshots). What type of gearing do you guys recommend I go with to get the most out of the type of riding I do?

Your outta your mind Bro!!!!!!

Holy crap dude, WTF kind of pipe is that you got on your machine? FYI, I raced a Bone stock LTZ 450 with my bolt on Banshee and I walked all over the LTZ! This was racing on the street.

Ahhhh, I almost bought a house in Miller Place!! When I get my Banshee done we should hook up! Riding on Long Island is dangerous in the sense that it is 100% illegal to ride anywhere on Long Island! I used to ride in Brookhaven State park and the riding was AWESOME! Only thing is you'd have to constantly look over your shoulder for park rangers. They would impound your bike right on the spot!

Yes fellas, I did my homework... I've been riding 2 strokes since 1989 when my Pops bought me my 1986 250R. I'm no 2 stroke guru, but I know enough to get by. Hmmmmm, a 2 into 1, Huh... I've actually thought about that! I'm happy now that you guys say that my FMF's will work well. Less money now I will have to spend on the Toomeys. Maybe in the future I'll through some Toomeys on there. As for tires, 2 weeks after I got my Banshee I threw a nice pair of rims and Holeshots on there. I have a spare set of rear rims with paddle tires for the deep snow we get here, when we do get it. I think the Holeshots work OK. Is there another tire out there that is better for trail and open field riding? What about suspension? woodro77, I live in Centereach and my business is in East Meadow. I own 86 acres Upstate NY where I do all my riding. The shop doing the work on my Banshee is Chuckwagon Racing in Farmingdale. Chuck definitely knows his stuff!!!!!

Thank you for the quick response! I actually think $850 doesn't sound like a lot of money to me... I'm good with that price. OK, lets go through this item by item. 1. Yes, he will stand by all his work. I have been dealing with him for several years now. He has been dying to get his hands on my Banshee to do some porting. He works on a lot of Banshee's here on Long Island. With my business, I have hardly any time to go riding, let alone start working on my own shit. 2. We are doing a MX/Dune port. I don't require nor do I want a drag port. Here in NY 90% of my riding is in the woods, 5% is out on the street and 5% is open fields. 3. For now, I will remain running the stock carbs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't a smaller carb give me more down low torque and overall power and a larger carb (s) will yeild more top end? Top end isn't really a major concern on my Shee as my Fourtrax is my top end bike. Has plenty down low too, but you get my idea. I really just want to wake up the Banshee, not looking for anything earth shattering. High 50's to low 60's on the HP would be great! So, going over what I said, do you think I will be fine for now with the FMF's? Thanks again...

My local bike mechanic (very reputable shop) is currently working on my 03 Banshee. The guy knows his stuff and I trust him greatly. He builds Pro Mod drag race bikes and is a top notch head porter and machinist. He is going to port my stock cylinders, supply and install new forged pistons, rings, service hone my cylinders, install 19cc domes and rejet my carbs if needed. He is going to charge me $850 to do everything. Is this a reasonable price? The work being performed is in addition to what I already have on the bike, see my sig for list of mods. Also, what kind of HP numbers can I expect, running a 50/50 mix on pump/race gas? My other important question is, should I ditch my FMF pipes and put Toomeys on? Is the switch going to be worth spending the money? I mean I could re-coup some money back from selling the FMF's to pay for the Toomeys, but HP and seat of the pants difference do you guys feel it's worth the switch? Thanks in advance... :biggrin:

DAMN dajogejr! You sound like you really know your shit! I enjoy reading and learining from your posts! :thumbsup:

Awesome write up. Very interesting!!!!! Just to add to the a bove list. I have a 2003 Banshee and a 1986 TRX 250R with a Eddie Sanders 370R stroker. The TRX destoys my moderately modded Banshee and beats heavily modded Banshees by 3-4 bike lengths. All my races are on flat grassy, fields and trail type terrain. There are no dunes here in NY!! :smile: Thanks, Mike

Thank you for the responses guys! Now my other question, is it really worth spending the extra $$$ to buy the Tooemy's over my FMF Fatty's? Is it going to make a difference that warrants spending an addtional $650 when I have aftermarket pipes already?

OK, can someone clear this up for me. I am currently doing a mild porting job and forged pistons. Along with that I already have reeds, cool head, intake, stock carbs. I am at this moment running FMF fatty's and want to convert over to Toomeys. Which Tommeys should I go with, the T5's or T6's? Thank you, Mike

Goctha! Thanks. Is the timing plate easy to install?

So bascially you guys are saying that they timing key is a well worth mod to do??

I run this one:

What... you mean dirt isn't good for the motor? Ahd all along I would put a fistful of sand in my gas tank whenever I would gas up... Huh, whatta ya know!

The pipes are very nice. I run them on my 4-trax!

01bansheeke, how much power does your 421 make??