2003LimitedBanshee

Timing plate is definitely worth it. As the others have said, I've heard a lot of good stuff about the Nology systems and plan on upgrading myself over the winter.

Clymer's... It will walk you right through it the first time. Essentially you need to have about .75" of movement at the tightest point. Make sure and rotate the chain so that you check it at multiple points. Short story, loosen the top and bottom axle carrier bolts, loosen the adjustment bolt locking nuts, adjust as necessary and retighten. Make sure and retorque the axle carrier bolts. I believe it is 80-ish ft-lbs (84? I think) on the top, and 40-ish on the bottom (45?). Sorry don't have my Clymer's with me right now.

I am also running the Toomey 2:1, with the Outerwear that is provided by Toomey when you buy the kit. It definitely flows more air than the stock box could ever dream of, and haven't personally noticed any lower quality filtration as compared to what you should expect from a K&N. Toomey claims the new 2:1 flows better than the K&N setups they used to sell, but I know K&N's flow a ton of CFM in automotive apps, so I bet that they probably do flow a bit more than the 2:1. Also, don't run the 2:1 if you plan on riding in moderately (or more) wet conditions, like puddles. I went out riding at a local dirtbike venue recently and decided to run it, even though I knew better. Doesn' t work well at all, luckily I got away unscathed.

I think all he was saying was that the dealer did not stock that item, but as you said I'm sure they could order it. To answer the question, I have a preference for the TM Designworks products. The have a website, www.tmdesignworks.com where you can order parts (I happen to live less than 10 miles from where TM is based so that is nice), but a fair number of online retailers sell TM stuff, and you might very well be able to find it on Ebay too. Most, if not all, of TM's stuff has wear warranties with free replacement if it fails inside of the warranty, a little more pricey but worth it in my opinion.

Not trying to hijack your post, but I have a suggestion I have kicked around and wonder if anyone has any experience. Has anyone ever had a set of pipes ceramic coated, somebody like JetHot etc? I've always run ceramic coated headers on all my automotive applications, thought about having my pipes coated after the chrome inevitably started to fail. The ceramic coating is also a lot better on containing heat within the pipe so that it can be more effeciently exhausted.

I would definitely run a boost bottle before ever considering running a degree key. If you don't spend the $25 for a boost bottle, save another $10 and buy a timing plate from Ricky Stator.

I'm not entirely sure which portion of the install/removal you are referring to but I think I know. The nut for the flywheel is standard, right-hand thread. The flywheel itself has left-hand threads for the puller to thread into the center. And you will thread the center section of the puller in (right-hand) for flywheel removal.

Oh man, now you've gone and opened this can of worms again... Purportedly the added weight of the boost bottle will cause additional stress on the intake boots and cause them to crack prematurely, causing an airleak and a dreaded lean condition. Also, some will claim the benefits of a boost bottle (I run one, and think it made a difference but it's definitely not whoa! ). Others will tell you you are a jackass and only an idiot would run one. For $25 I say try it if you got the $$ laying around, scrap it if you don't like it. In theory the boost bottle helps throttle response. It is also true that some aftermarket intakes don't come with bosses for any sort of crossover tube.

PM'ed

Stay away from the degree keys. I've heard nothing but troubles. A degree key will run you $15-20, so for only $15 more you can have the Ricky Stator plate, and dial up any amount of advance up to 10 degrees. For the stock setup most will run 3-4 degrees advance, up to 7-8 with an aggressive port, and most often dragging.

I would presume you will be in the 350-360 range for the mains, 27.5 (maybe 30 at the largest) on the pilot, and clip on the 3rd space for a stock needle, probably 4th if your running the Dynojet needle that comes in the Toomey kit. But, I don't ride Glamis, so I'm not super familiar with exact elev below sea level and air temp. Also, just my .02, but ditch the timing key at your first opportunity and throw in a Ricky Stator timing plate, only $35+shipping.

I would guess that you certainly do not have 230 mains, unless you haven't run it like that yet, because it wouldn't last long if at all with 230's and the Toomey's. So first check the mains, I would also guess that 320-330 would probably be close. If you have a high idle condition, that is a pretty much certain indication of a lean situation, and because your's is at idle that is on the pilot circuit. Given the air temp, elev etc. I would go with a 27.5 or maybe even a 30 pilot. I run a 27.5, when I ride at sea level, but it is usually 55-65 degrees, so you may be a 30 pilot.

To answer your questions yes. You should definitely check your jetting because you will flow more air without the lid. You should also invest in a Proflow or similar setup, or eliminate the box all together if you don't ride in a lot of water. The stock filter does use the lid to help seal the filter to the front of the airbox, and I would not trust the seal with the lid, let alone without.

I don't believe it is where you are describing, but I can't be sure. The pilot jet is in a recess next to the main jet. Where the plastic shield that surrounds your main jet, goes into the casting of the carb, is where you will find the pilot jet. It almost appears that this piece of plastic on the shield is a guide to make sure the shield is oriented right, but down in the carb in this recess is the pilot. You will need a small standard screwdriver to remove the pilot, and it will have numbers on it, but they will be small. I've heard some people saying that their numbers wore off after "X" amount of usage, but I have yet to see that.

This is essentially your water pump. A standard car water pump has an impeller intergrated with the entire housing that most people invision. Your banshee has the impeller installed in the side case. You should check it out if you really are up on your bike, because eventually the stock impeller will wear out. Also, the design of the aftermarket impellers is far superior to the stock design. The fin configuration is a closed impeller design, so it will give you better flow of coolant. A good billet impeller will run you $80-$100 depending on the source, but I consider it cheap insurance against overheating. Oh yeah, check into relocating your bottle too.

Or unless you don't want it to possible cause interference with your CDI box. The stock wires are resistor wires, so it is double protection... but if you buy aftermarket wires, they will not be resistor wires unless specifically noted, so if you aren't running BR8ES's good luck at that point.

First question, are you sand draggin, street what? If you're on the sand, my money is on the 450. After T5's, no airbox, and a 13 tooth, I was swapping with a buddy on a piped and filtered 450. After the timing, swapping to a billet impeller (cooler should = more power), I had him handled unless I screwed up. Obviously if you get it ported he's done, unless he steps up his game too.

Dude! How can you not have Halo 2 yet. Maybe this makes me a big loser, but I've been through that along time ago, plus XBox live on Halo 2 is unbeatable.

Read closer, it states that SST's and ATV pipes are chrome. And about the 4 stroke pipes, fmf's 4 stroke pipes (really headers, as they aren't an expansion chamber pipe) come in titanium or stainless steel. I agree with rjvoight though, from what I know Fatty's are a good pipe, and now at least I have some other people with me that agree with me right or wrong in some people's eyes.

I have heard, but don't know from experience...yet, of guys running 5-8 degrees of advance on drag ported bikes. 8 seems on the spookier side to me, but again I can't speak from experience.

Well kind of... You will usually be adjusting the position of the needle, to either richen or lean your midrange circuit. However, some/many, including myself will also change out the stock needle, for an aftermarket needle that has a different profile (generally longer with a more progressive taper), to allow for different tunability. And yes, a fair amount of time is spent adjusting the size of the main jet (3/4-WOT) and the pilot jet (idle-1/4), and the needle so that all RPM/throttle positions provide the engine with the ideal air/fuel ratio (Stoichiometric ratio) in a perfect world 14.7:1 at sea level with 60 degree ambient temp if I remember right. Re: Porting The intake tracts are the intake "runners" that lie behind the reeds. This is the cast portion of the jug that actually leads to the cylinder. Air and fuel travel from the carb, through the reeds, and down the intake tract to get to the cylinder for combustion. By opening (ie. enlarging) these runners you increase the volume of air/fuel the passage can flow to the cylinder. Essentially, the more air/fuel you can get into the same space the more power you will make. But you also have to be able to get it out. This is why the exhaust is also generally enlarged, to compensate for the extra fuel that must now be cleared from the cylinder. Transfer ports refer to ports that allow air/fuel to move from the intake tract to the bottom end of the engine. I believe the theory is because the crankcase is pressured in a two stroke, how efficiently the crankcase (bottom end) can exchange air will affect power, but my memory is a little fuzzy right now.

Have to agree with the others as to the ambiguity of any answer we could give. As bobbybonilla said, if all of your mods/tuning match your bike should run great for a long while. I bought my '03 with about 10 hrs on it, bone stock. Have since done a fair amount of bolt ons, and put probably 70+ hours on the bike. Still runs just as good (only faster) as my cousins new shee with under 20hrs. Even with porting, engine mods, you should still have an engine capable of several seasons in my opinion. Take care of your bike and it will take care of you. Sorry I can't give you X hours, but I don't think anybody could/will, and if so it would be a guess at best.

It always amazes me how many two stroke guys (not just shees) blow stuff up, or how many 4 strokers cuss 2's because they think they are grenades. Agree on the octane/detonation, and/or jetting. Top ends don't just spontaneously explode/implode, there has to be a reason, and those would top my list of suspects as well.

Jetting refers to the appropriate tuning of the carburetor. That is setting the appropriate sized pilot jet, needle, and main jet, to get the ideal fuel/air mixture. You should check out the forum pinned at the top of the jetting page, gives a very in-depth explanation of how jetting works, rather than repeating it here. Porting refers to the process of opening up the intake tracts, transfer ports etc. Basically the means by which air/fuel is introduced, transferred and exhausted from the engine. By porting you are seeking to increase the engines ability to complete this process more efficiently, leading to more power. Porting can also refer to changing the port timing, the time at which intake and/or exhaust begins/ends. However, guys like rocketboy, or PassionRE, and many others would be much more knowledgeable about this than me.

I'm anti sticker, because I feel the added weight and wind resistance outweighs the hp benefit.