trail rider

ive always run maxxis razr 2 front tires. one of THE best tires for trail riding and woods racing. they are 6ply and tough as nails and last a long time as long as you dont ride on the road 100% of the time. they got good spacing between the center and side tread rows and let it stay cleaned out if your in the mud alot. the holeshots are good tires, just cause one person doesnt like them doesnt mean they automatically trash. the tread is very durable on the holeshots and will last for a long time. the knobs are closer spaced then the maxxis raxr 2's so it doesnt offer as much cleanout in mud and stuff.

im guessing thats chris borich's LTR in that pic?? grooving the tires like that is very very popular in XC/gncc racing. I got a used set of razrs from bill ballance that are grooved exactly like that on a 400ex. when done right, they let the knobs flex and help a ton with traction on hardpack, like the slick ass ruts that develop during a cross country race, and especially with the angled grooves in the side knobs. they help keep the tires digging in the corners instead of sliding sideways. if you ever rode on both a regular and grooved set of tires like these, you would deffinatly notice a difference. and as far as the grooves getting packed with mud/dirt, yea they do, but as long as the tires are spinning, they're gonna stay cleaned out.

yea thats what ive always heard too, that o ring chains are better for mud and dirt and where your chain gets all nasty. and non o-ring chains are better for dryer conditions where your chain stays cleaner.

heres some pics of the swingarm

yea if you are gonna buy the holeshot gncc's, get the 21/11x9's in the rear. or if you wanna spend a little extra and get a similar more aggressive tire, then i'd recommend the maxxis razr balance tire. heres some pics of it,

I went ahead and made my renforcements on the swingarm, added two cross tubes close to the holes where the carrier bolts on. everything fit up nice too after I welded em in. im taking it to get powdercoated today, so i'll have pics of it when its done. these cross tubes should help alot in keeping the rear of the swingarm from bending sideways whenever you land a jump crooked or anything.

has anybody took the time and put some gussets on their stock swingarm? I know most people just upgrade to a roundhouse swingarm, but I dont have the money for a new one and a good used one is almost impossible to find a good deal on. so I was thinking of beefing up the stock swingarm before I take it to get powdercoated. Im going to put in two steel rods close to where the two carrier bolts go through. ive already checked clearances with the carrier and the rods will fit just fine. I know that is the weakest part of the stock swingarm so it should help alot.

are you trying to get more traction or a smoother ride? I usually run my tires a little soft so they flex and roll a little bit in the corners and berms, if you air em up hard they like to spin and slide easier.

yea I reinforced the steering stem hoop. and I have a set of full fenders as well as some cuts, not sure which ones im gonna use.

do you know how much compression the motor's got? and you could try taking the filter off and using some starting fluid. if your getting spark then it should at least start frome the starting fluid. just hold the throttle wide open and spray 3 or 4 squirts in the intake, the crank it while holding out on the choke.

it was ported by flotek, just a all-around trail port, currently at 66mm bore and stock head/compression. heres one more video of my dead engine start lol

heres a pic of the fresh powdercoated frame

you'd just be asking for it if you didnt have your crank welded and running that much compression. and you had better be running some top quality race fuel or your pistons would be cooked in no time. that much compression would be best for a midrange/lowend type motor built for mx or woods racing/trails where you would be on and off the gas alot and in the lower rpm ranges. you can bet it would be snappy as hell and probably have a shit load of lowend pull with the right exhaust/porting/ and gearing.

well I decided to go with a yellow frame, took it to the powdercoating shop today, should be ready in about 2 or 3 days. i'll post some pics on here when I get it back. I didnt take any "before" pics cause it was just pitiful looking with what the previous owners did to it.

heres a video to show the difference between porting and stock and heres me getting the holeshot at the 09 ironman gncc race

well nevermind on this idea. the 250r swingarm is just a hair to wide to bolt up in the frame, although it wouldnt take much to make it work, just a little grinding with a sanding pad on the frame and maybe a little on the swingarm dust caps to make it squeeze in tight. but I guess if you want a roundhouse swingarm its best to just get a aftermarket banshee swinger

thats the same color fender setup that I will be using (minus the stickers). and I will be using a set of black header pipes and a mostly black motor., so I think I might end up going with a yellow frame to offset the black.

yea thats one thing I didnt really think about was dirt and grease showing up easy. although im not too worried about it staying shiny clean cause its gonna be a trail/play bike. and tonight I won a set of black T5's off ebay, so im not sure which way I want to go with it. I think the black pipes with yellow frame would stand out nice, but I dont know if it would look funny or odd looking? the motor has stock black cyinders and head. and thanks for the pics papa_smurf, I did alot of searching of pics and found yours on here and thats where I got the idea for the yellow frame.

got another cheap banshee (all stock) that I currently got stripped down to the bare frame. working on cleaning up tabs and making gussets right now, but it will be getting powdercoated here within the next week or two. But I cant decide on a color scheme.........either a black or yellow frame. the reason for the black/yellow is cause I have black fenders (trimed fronts) with yellow tank and radiator cover. here is my two options I had in mind 1. yellow frame/black fenders/yellow tank and rad cover/black seat cover/black aftermarket pipes and black a-arms 2. black frame/black fenders/yellow rad and tank cover/black seat cover/ chrome pipes and possibly chrome a-arms. any opinions?

well im plannin on sellin the bike after its back together and running, so im not to worried about how long its gonna last. all im worried about is getting a fresh bore with good compression. its pretty much gonna be a stock motor with fmf's. stock head too. and another thing is, I can get some 66.25mm pistons CHEAPER than some 66mm's. and one more quick question, are the blaster pistons the same as banshee pistons, or do they have different pin heights?

got a cheap banshee that im rebuilding/fixing up to sell, and the cylinders have alot of wear with 65.25's in em, compression before tear down was like 50/80 psi (and surprisingly it did run but had to be pull started) the insides are not scratched up and I ordered some 65.50mm wisecos, but the shop that does my bore jobs called me and said that the cylinders are not even gonna clean up decent with the 65.50's. so my question is, should I try 66mm, and hope it will be enough to clean up the cylinders, or would it be safe to just go to 66.25mm (1mm bigger than what was in it)? or would I be asking for trouble with heating issues?

yea thats another thing I forgot about. it would probably make it set either real low like a flat track bike or have the rear end jacked up. I guess I'll just have to try it myself sometime.

has anybody ever tried using a 250r swingarm on their banshee? I know it will bolt on there because the banshee and 250r have pretty much the same width on the swingarm pivoit bolt. what I dont know is if the sprocket will be correctly lined up or if it will be offset any? I have a nice aftermarket 250r swingarm that im probably gonna try it on later, but dont have any axle or rear end parts for it to see if the sprocket will line up.

they were pulled out by the bulldozer in the first pic and by big tractors with dual wheels

Heres some of the pictures that I took up at the Gncc ironman in Indiana I got the holeshot in my class and ended up getting 76th out of about 400. Heres the video of the hole shot and some race action. Heres some pictures....