bansheetimes2

On my 96 Banshee I was told by the previous owner that it had a dirt digger clutch. My question is, it feels like it kind of slips when you are at WOT in like 2,3,4th gears. It's also a very hard pull on the lever, not so hard that I can't pull it but it is quite tight. Just wondering if anyone would have info..... Only had it a few days and already ripping some nice wheelies with it..... Actually shocked my friend that has had a 04 banshee for a year now and can rip some himself.

One more quick question, when a clutch starts to go, how do you know. Does it just start to slip. I've noticed at WOT in 3rd, 4th gears it feels like its slipping a tad. Supposedly it has a dirtdigger clutch, not familiar with them and the clutch is quite hard to pull. Any info would be appreciated...

So if the axle nuts are loose there will be play??? Ha....that might just be it. The outside nut was actually loose enough that I could unscrew it with my fingers. But I didn't think that would be the reason for the play. I tightened the nuts(the inside nut was fairly loose also) but didn't see if that reduced the play or not. I'll have to check when I get home to see if it did, that would be awesome if in fact the axle bearings are ok. Yeah as for the choke I have to make some sort of a clip so that I don't have to hold it. I'm so ready to go home and rip the hell out of the lawn.....

Cool, thanks for the ideas. I definitely have to check out that leak a little better. I easily found where it is dripping from, but didn't get a chance to find where it was actually coming from. I'm going to really clean the area up well tonight so then it'll be a breeze finding where its leaking from. As for the rear caliper, there's no fluid whatsoever in the reservoir/lines. I asked the guy about it and he said that it had never worked and that he had never looked into fixing it. So i'm assuming that the caliper leaks and they just never fixed it so the fluid all leaked out. I checked all bearings, bushing and tie rod ends and they are all in great shape. I did notice the bearing on the 98 in the rear axle will need to be replaced probably within the next few months. There's a tiny bit of play in it. Now if I go back to the stock exhaust do you have to rejet??? Just curious, I know on sleds its a definite must. One last question, do all banshees have the choke that you have to hold out in order to choke it? I've never seen this type of setup before and makes kicking it over a little tricky. I think i'm going to fabricate a small clip that when you pull out the choke you can flip the clip and it'll hold the choke out and after it starts just flip the clip out of the way and unchoke it.

Thanks Cotton, i've learned not to start these in the garage and they have a full system, I can't imagine no silencers. Man I love the sound of them but within 15 mins i'm like "ok, i'd rather it be a tad quieter". I have a friend that has a formula z sled and it is so obnoxiously loud, at first we all thought it was cool. But now it's annoying. It's funny because whenever you hear him coming you think it is going to be this heavily modified race sled doing 100 and here he comes doing about 45 WOT which actually looks like he's doing 25. I just laugh at him. I would like to maybe see if I could trade my pipes and silencers for stock replacements. I just don't want to do it if there isn't going to be much of a difference in noise. The guy I bought it off of said he rode beside a friend in a car and clocked it at 85mph. Take away the 10% exaggeration factor which is about 76mph, that's plenty fast for me and the little bit of hp i'd loose going back to the stockers, I still think i'd be happy. I bought these to pretty much pass the time between snowmobiling seasons, so its not like I want to be able to do 100 or clear triples or drag it.

Thanks again to all that replied. I started going over them last night to really check everything. The guy that had them before me I don't think he was the best at maintaining them. He kept them very clean but there were a few areas that you could tell he either didn't know much about or was lazy. For instance when I greased it, it doesn't seem to have been done for a while. Both chains were very loose and actually had to take a link out of one because it was so loose. Changed the rear tires on the 98, let me tell you, that is not an easy job even with a tire changer. The only things that I have left to do is put fresh plugs in both, determine why the rear brake doesn't work on the 96(I think it has a leak in the hydraulic line some where) and replace a gasket on the left side of the engine because it's dripping a tiny bit of oil. It also looks like its missing the bottom 2 maybe 3 screws that hold that side piece to the motor. I will say one thing though, they rip. They shred my lawn like it is a sand pile. One last question. They both have dg pipes and fmf fattys on them and while I rode them at 10:00 last night(test ride) and trying to be somewhat quiet they can be obnoxiously loud. If I was to go back to stock pipes and leave the silencers would it be much more quiet??? Or would I have to go back to a completely stock entire exhaust system from motor to tail piece??? It used to be that I liked everything loud but i've learned(by having loud sleds) that you can get away with alot more on roads and limited access trails with a somewhat quieter toy. Any replies are appreciated.

Yeah I thought I got an ok deal. My wife wanted me to get rid of my street bike because she hated it and was nervous as hell over it. So I figured i'd throw it in the classifieds for $5500 which was $300 more than I paid for it back in the spring or partial trade for banshee. I had a guy that wanted to trade these 2 banshees and $1000. The axle, a-arms and tie rods all seem straight and in great shape. This was one of the few things I knew to look at after talking with a few friends. Now you said the clutch is wet? What brand oil do you use? I was already planning on changing the plugs to get a fresh set in. Would you recommend Klotz for 2 stroke oil?? I've always used that in my sleds and it seems to work well in them.

I just picked up a couple banshees and would like to go over them the best I can before I start really riding them. If anyone can give me some tips as far as what to look for, what to check, what fluid levels to check any preventative maintenance that would be great. One is a 96 that's got pipes, silencers, hot rod crank, bored, reeds, dirt digger clutch.... The other is a 98 that is stock except pipes and silencers. I've had my share of dirtbikes, motorcycles, sleds but was never big into wheelin'. Had a polaris 250 that you just through gas in the tank and oil in the oil injection and you rode it until you were out of gas. So far i've noticed that it looks like the 96 is leaking something....not sure if its brake fluid out of the rear caliper or not but want to really look over things. As for everything else, it seems to be in check. As for the antifreeze what do you all normally run for a mixture 50:50 or different??? And last what is a good 2 stroke oil to use??? Thanks to anyone that takes the time to reply.....