TWILES

I had a minute today to mess with it and I swapped the plug wires and it started running on both cylinders. How much Syncing can you do to these carbs? The slides open exactly the same, the jets are the same, the needles are the same and the idles are turned out the same. I'll dig deeper Friday. I'll have the jets tomorrow.

The carbs are spotless and synced and everything is there, inside and out. Again, it idles great but only on the right cylinder. The plug on the left fires when I kick it but something is keeping it from igniting the fuel when its running up till the slide is opened close to half. I really didn't catch it until I grabbed the left pipe and it was cold. Run it up to half and rev it past half a few times without letting it drop back to idle and the pipe gets just as hot as the right. Let it drop back to idle and the pipe cools off. The pick up gap hasn't been checked. I'll check those when I get the 27.5 pilots in this week along with the reeds. What is the clearance supposed to be? Travis Wiles

I bought an 01 thats stock with Pro Circuit pipes, K&N filter, and 40 pilot jets. When you get on up close to half throttle it hooks up and screams on both cylinders and when sitting, if I'll push the throttle far enough that it fires and keep revving it out that far, it continues to fire. At idle, its dead but it idles. I pulled the plug and its sparking really good which is weird. My conclusion is that the pilots jets are too big and that cylinder is not in the best shape and its flooding that cylinder out. Once the slide is opened and its getting enough air, it fires the gas like its should. I've ordered 27.5 pilots but they won't be here till next week and this is bugging me. Anyone have any other ideas. The wiring was stripped down to bare minimum and looks like shit but if it was a sensor issue I didn't think it would get above idle on either cylinder. Travis

Will do. Went looking for pilots Saturday and no luck. I've got a list of stock parts I'm ordering. I'll put a couple needles in there too. Since we are on the same page now, what would a main jet size be with the stock needles? I guess you can still get the 5 packs of main jets. Just need to know where to start. Travis

I'm thinking the same thing. I hoped someone would know something about the purple needles. The transition from circuit to circuit is so poor its impossible to keep in the power. I'm going to the local Yamaha shop today and if they have the pilot jets I need, I'll put them in and let her go. I'm getting a list together of little stock parts I need. I'll throw needles in there too. One more question - Are the dynoport needles not worth what the kit costs? $80 or so is steep but if it runs right......

I bought the bike Wednesday and tore into it last night. The carbs were full of trash and the K&N filter didn't look like it had ever been cleaned or oiled so it began. The carbs are now spotless. The filter is cleaned and the stock cage is now glued to the airbox with silicone and the throttle cables are dead even. So, no excuses. Heres the deal. I bought the 2 into 1 filter and jet kit from Toomey on my last Banshee and remember the jetting and it ran great other than not idling. This one has 290 mains, purple needles, and 40 pilots. It idles great but thats about it. The pilot circuit is way rich, the needle picks up decent once the flooding from the pilot clears out and the main shuts down and pops. I'm lost on the main jet circuit. I had 280s in my last one and it was a hand-full. This seems like its really lean but should be getting about the same air as my old banshee. Could the taper on the needles be cutting down on the main jet flow? If so, where would a good place to start on main jet sizes? And, does anyone know who makes the purple needles? Pro Circuit pipes Stock ports K&N in air box w/o lid close to sea level. Like 500 above Travis Wiles

Yea the fronts are adjustable. They have the 5-click prelaod thing at the bottom. You just turn it. You'd be supprised at what that will do.

Could have fooled me. Every shock I've ever had got harder when I cranked the spring down. Have you never seen the old 5-way preload adjustable shocks like the stock one's on the front of a Banshee and numerous other? I'm sure you have. Have you ever adjusted a shock or do you even know how? Do you know how a shock works? You are dead-on when it comes to Zero Preload shocks but regular "limited-mass" type work off the spring as well as the internals. ZPS springs pretty much hold you up and keep the tires on the ground. Stock shocks are totally different and pre-load is an adjustment to stiffen the shock. Try getting a set of stock shocks to act like ZPS's and you'll see what I'm talking about because it doesn't work. That stock rear shock has a WIDE range if you know what you are doing. I wish I could get a couple old video's on here and you could see what a STOCK Banshee will do IF you know how to adjust the shocks INCLUDING the fronts. I'm on an MX track 5' to 20' in the air on the stock shocks two months after I bought the bike. I raced 6 250Rs the next weekend and won by 1/4 track and the track was over a mile long.

You can crank the spring down and play with the rebound and compression and get it where its OK. I weighed 220 when I got mine and get it to where I was happy untill I got a new set all the way around. The stock rear shock on a Banshee is NICE compaired to the rest out there, it just doesn't have the travel.

That would be wild but I don't see it going over very well in area's without sand. ATV's are so restriced ( I guess its the government) that I do think they would put something out like that. My wife said a Yamaha Rep told her when she worked at a Yamaha dealership that the main 4 signed something saying that their ATV's wouldn't go over 80mph and wouldn't weigh more than 605lbs "dry". I didn't know that but it does explain the weird gear ratios in the 450's and the stock exhaust on the Banshee.

I used to Toomey kit in mine with his 2into1 airfilter and stock carbs with stock cylinders and mine did fine. I never really got into it that deep or tried to refine it but it ran good most of the time and really good around 70 degrees and low humidity.

I saw Doug Eichner race that Pro-Trax Banshee at Loretta Lynn's in 1997. I saw where it came up for sale right after I bought a new. I'd have give anything to have known it would have been up for grabs. I'd paid the shipping before building a new one.

First thing is that you don't really turn a 2-stroke with the handlebars, you turn it with the throttle. A Banshee can go as fast as anything out there with the stock frame and a good front-end IF you can ride it. It takes a bigger, heavier guy to really get the most out of a Banshee. If you talk to anyone who has been around ATV MX since the mid 80's they will tell you, a Banshee IS the fastest MX bike out there with the right rider. It took me a while to really learn how a Banshee worked and how to use all the motor. The main thing that a person wanting a Banshee needs to realize is that they are ment to be ridden FAST! The reason the 250R's turned better was because they were ment to be ridden at slower speeds. At 20 mph anything turns and handles better than a Banshee but at 50+ there's no competition with a guy who isn't scared of it and can RIDE it.

Here's my run-down of buying a quad(or bike) or anything. 1. Which one fits you the best when you sit on it and use the controls at your feet? 2. Price...spend a little or less and make up the difference. Handlebars and stearing stems can be changed...footpeg, shifter, and breakpedal placement can't 3. Which one comes the closest to what you are looking for when you buy it? The yamaha doesn't need a longer swing-arm and the stock shocks will get you by for a while and has a great rear linkgae. The honda just sucks all the way around in stock form and costs a ton to get it to where an uncorked Yamaha is motor-wise and still won't handle as good. The Suzuki is fuel-injected. That gets complicated and I personally would stay away from that. Same goes for the Kawasaki. 4. Which one gives me the most for my money. I know the last 3 seem like the are the same thing but when you start digging into the bike and fine-tuning to for you, they are all different. Hands down, I'd go with the YFZ. If I had an unlimited budget and help, I'd go with the LTR. I'm really interested in seeing this new CanAm and what Yamaha and Honda will do for 2008. Its just 3 months until the 08's will be out.

Those are almost identical to the HSD symmetry a-arms I had. No one believes how fast a Banshee can go once you get it to turn. Once you get the front-end wide and stiff you can really throw one around.

I read what you said and agree about more stress being on the spindle BUT I ran 4+1's on MX tracks for a while and never had a problem. Just because the bulk of the wheel is on the inside doesn't make it any easier on the spindle. You just moved the center out instead of in. You can argue and call me stupid all you want. I've tried it and it does fine with them turned out. It doesn't turn as good but its more stable. You have a good point and you are right but its just not that dramatic.

My problem with flipping the wheels is that with the positive camber the Banshee has, it actually pushed out worse than with the tires on right. As for more stress, turning the wheels around isn't any harder on anything than using 4+1's and I never had a problem I didn't have before. That is a nice looking bike above my post.

HSD Racing makes the best Banshee front-end in existance. Its a little cheaper than the Laegers and if you are wanting to race and don't mind buying 4+1 wheels it would be the one to go with and it bolts right up. This was my old bike. I sold it to a kid who used to get on here a lot. I guess I comitioned it built. He said he would build "custom" a-arms upon request. These are 49.5 wide with ZPS shocks and 4+1 wheels. They are +3+1. Thats the first set made in the picture. It took him 5 months to make them. They are as long as possible and use the longest shock he could get on them. I wish they had been like the Laeger where the shocks mounted inbetween the tubes but I don't see a Banshee handling any better with anything else.

If you will just but a new rear shock you will get more travel. The swing-arm can drop down a lot more than the stock shock allows. I raced mine with a stock rebuild by Elka in the rear and it would bottom and wasn't as nice as it could have been but the Elka ZPS shocks make more of a difference than you would think. When did LoneStar start making +4 a-arms? I thought they just made +2's.

Take the plugs out and put one back in the cap at a time. HOLD THE PLUG CAP not the plug and kick the bike over and see if you have spark on both plugs. If you do, push the throttle in until you are where you are feeling the cylinder go down and do the same thing. Do that at a few different throttle positions. If at any time you have no spark check ALL of the safety wires that kill the spark " in case of problems ". You can take an ' in line splicer ' and put it on ever safey wire on the bike. There is one that goes to the throttle, 2 that went to the carbs, one to the clutch, and I think there is one in the transmission. I bridged all the ones on mine after having a problem with the one in the throttle. That might be a start. An air leak won't shut the spark down.

My 500 Quadracer did that once but it was pulling air from the back of the cylinder. Too big of a main jet won't do that. It should just flood out. I'd bet you have pilot circuit problems. Clean the carbs out good and use a 280 main and stock pilot. I think the air screw needs to be out 1 and 3/4 turns with the needles on the 3rd or 4th clip or do what I did and pay $80 for the Dynoport kit. My Banshee never did idle with aftermarket pipes. I set the carbs the way the paper said and left it.

How tight or loose are you all running your chains? ALSO...How much play is in your clutch lever? You want to be able to pull it in with two fingers and it disengage right before you hit the two fingers that are still on the grip. Those are the only 2 things that had any determination on how my Banshee shifted gears other than me and I missed 3rd rarely and 4th rarely but they never jambed up. When I missed those gears was normally when I was playing around the house and not trying too hard.

I have a 2005 WR450F for sale in Western Kentucky that is like new other than tire wear. I bought the bike last July when Hurricane Dennis was sitting on top of this area. I don't ride it much. I've taken to a local riding area 2 times for about 3 hours a time. The bike is flawless other than normal tire wear. I did the free mods....rejetted with tip out of muffler, Pro Circuit fuel screw, snorkle out of air box with the right side insert cut out ( like the YZF has ), throttle stop changed to YZ and grey wire cut ( YZ spec ignition curve ). It runs great and has plenty of power. I also have a plate for the bike. The lady at the dealership put it in as a dual-purpose instead of off-road. There is a kit to make the WR street legal that I didn't buy. If you are looking to have a dual-sport dirtbike this one just needs the blinker and speedometer kit. My wife now works for the dealership from which the bike was bought and she can take care of an legal work in transfering the title and licensing. $5,600 ....payoff. Feel free to call with any questions 270-703-3438. Travis

Not to bring up an old reply but the Pros are running 450's because Pro class is now a production class. That means if the bike is not in production you can't race it. The cases have to be stock and the frame.

I checked in on the the frame after he had won the Open championship and they never told me that. loboboy........ Have you ever ridden a Banshee with the Lobo2 front and rear end. I tried to mimic that with the front-end I had built. I was at Loretta Lynns the year Spader raced I guess the first Lobo Banshee. He was moving but there wasn't an aftermarket framed Banshee there to compare to. How do they do? I might go that route.