csrmel

l-cross is open this weekend, december 28-29-30. its an adult event which means therer is going to be nudity, mad partying, lots of booze etc. they also have a very nice mx track we are free to run all day and night. the track is open practice meaning you just show up and ride. if you want to do 1 lap, thats ok. want to stay out there and do 40 laps? thats ok. there are no classes or track time limits. you just show up and ride it as fast or as slow as you want whenever you want. im leaving tomorrow morning and will be there all day saturday. i might spend the night in the car and ride on sunday as well. if anyone wants to come along, drop me a line at my phone number. 561 601 3322 and let me know so i can expect you. its a rediculous ammount of fun. i normally ride the track all day and ride the banshee around the campgrounds and skirt the edges of the mud pits partying at night. the main gates are open 24 hours so you can enter and leave whenever you want. i think its $15 or $20 for each day to be there as well. last time was there i saw plenty of nekked girlies wrestling in the mud. http://www.l-cross.com/ check out the site and drop me a line if any of you want to come! l cross is mostly a big mud site, but there is lots of clean dry areas to ride and you can ride between the mud pits to get anywhere in the whole compound without getting wet or muddy. i dont take the banshee through any water or mud. but i ride all around this place to party with different peoples. its pretty much an open area. park where you want and ride where you want. there are no time limits and no quiet areas. lots of rednecks though. but those people are usually cool to party with. they have restrooms and a water hose to clean off, but honestly if you stay out of the mud you wont get dirty. there are loads of people with bbq grilles and tv's, satellite tv, radios on the swamp buggys etc. its basically one big ass party this weekend. im going with a few friends from palm beach. hope to see some of you there@!

i have never been a fan of the 2 into 1 setups for a banshee. when i go riding with friends i always love to swap bikes for a half an hour with other people just so we can get the feel for different banshee setups. i see how in theory a 2 into 1 would provide more bottom end, but a banshee isnt a bottom end kind of bike. it doesnt work with reality. the motor doesnt have bottom end ports. it has midrange ports in stock form . things like weed wackers, outboard motors, etc have bottom end port jobs and work fine with 2 into 1 or 3 into 1 setups. they also have bottom end exhaust pipes and that is assuming they come with a tuned pipe at all. i have seen plenty of weedwackers, outboard motors and personal watercraft which dont even have expansion chambers, just a crude exhaust system. so their porting is set very conseratively to take into account of this. if you look at a 2 into 1 intake manifold, it just looks like a poor design how the air goes from the back of the air filter straight forward through the carb, then a sharp 50 degree turn to the side through the intake, and another sharp 50 degree turn to straighten it out and go into the reeds and finally the crank case. thats a lot more angles and turns than a dual carb setup. that just doesnt look like a good way to make power at any rpm as far as i am concerned. not even so much the airflow byt the fuel in the air probably seperated from the air somewhat in a 2 into 1 setup because of the sharp turns. also the intake on a 2 into 1 is longer than a dual carb intake. longer intakes with carbs espically premixed carbs is generally not a good thing. from what i can tell you generally want the carbs to be as close to the reeds as possible. i have seen some high end 2 stroke gocarts that mount the carb right on the crankcase without even using an intake manifold. the airflow through a dual carb setup is nearly a straight shot from the back of the air filter, through the carb, through the intake, a slight down turn (maybe 5-15 degrees depending on the intake) and then a straight shot through the reeds and into the crankcase. and if you use a 2 into 1 or dual carbs, both have to make that slightly downturn from the intake to the reeds. since both setups make this turn, i wont count it against either one. im no expert on motor setups but i do know enough to be curious. if a person would want to run a 2 into 1 intake, then i think they would need to mill down the bottom of the cylinders in order to reduce port hight which would lower the point at which the motor starts to make power. this would provide loads more bottom end, but the motor would sign off early so the person would need to run taller gearing. they would also need an exhaust pipe designed for bottom end power. probably one of those dyno port 2 into 1 exhuast pipes would work good here with a short stinger and a free flowing muffler. but i have never used one and never even rode on a banshee with dyno port pipe so this is all speculation. i would think the cylinder head squish would need to be reworked, and this would be an area where the banshee could greatly benefit from added compression. go for as much compression as one would think they could get away with and not damage the motor. and the timing would need to be advanced a few degrees as well, but again its speculation since ive never actually used a setup like that. fun to speculate though. wish i had more mokey i would LOVE to try out weird combinations of parts and setups like that. i bet you could double the bottom end power by shaving the bottom of the cylinders down. also roughening up the intake on a 2 into 1 intake would probably help it out a bunch. better uet, dimple the intake to make it look like a golf ball. wither its banshee or not, the whole motor must be considered as a package. you need carbs that match the motor size and setup including the ports. you need an exhaust pipe which matches the motors intake and espically the port work. the head must match the exhaust pipe and intended rpm's at which you want most power (as well as octane and type of fuel) the ignition timing must match the porting, exhaust, head and type of head chamber as well as the type of fuel and engine temparture. all the parts of the motor must be selected to work together as a package. that way each part will complement the next part in an effort to raise power and reduce heat. as an obvious example, a set of shearer or cpi would not work good on a bike with woods port job or no porting at all. a woods or mx nbike needs midrange pipes. so why do people put 2 into 1 intakes on a bike with porting and midrange or top end pipes? the banshee is made to scream, not to pull jetskis on a trailer and go through mud and tight technical trails. technical shit is what a new 450 is for. dont get me wrong i love trail riding as much as the next guy infact woods riding and technical shit is probably 80% of the riding i do. LoL maybe i bought the wrong quad then. , but i wont pretend my banshee is half as good as one of them 450 4 strokes, or even an old 250r. i have never seen a 2 into 1 setup that pulled harder on the bottom end then a set of properly jetted stock carbs on a stockish motor. and im no expert on this stuff either espically highly modified motors. but that is my expierence and if you ask shane, dave, fastrthnu, or methyman they will tell you that my bike is pretty dang quick for being a stock port motor thats never been opened up and im only running 22cc domes wihch is only a few psi higher compression than the stock head is. my motor cant hold a candle to a ported bike, or even an identical banshee with a rider who weighs less or even someone who knows what they are doing! but with my big 250lbs ass hunkered over the seat i like to think i do reasonably well for my obvious weight handicap. yeah i know the stock banshee carbs get a good beating by people here who consider them little more than useless junk. but the stock carbs really can be made to perform good on a relatively stockish motor, and even some ported and stroked setups. you just need to take the time to properly jet them. i have said this probably 20 times already in past threads, but it seems like everyone i meet who owns a banshee has their carbs setup to run really stinking rich i mean pig ass rich. i see some bikes that run so rich they never stop smoking even after the motor and pipes are fully warmed up. the motors run so rich they only fire on every other revolution (4 stroking). i guess most people think that if you run the motor rich on gas then it might last a bit longer between rebuilds. but honestly if you jet the carbs really good the motor will last just as long, and maybe even longer since you wont be 4 stroking so the throttle doesnt have to be open so far to maintain constant speed. less throttle means less heat produced. the things that i dont understand is why run the motor pig rich on gas? if someone is worried about motor life, then run the oil ratio that the factory recomends which is 20:1 or 25:1 depending on the oil. then jet the carbs properly and it will barely smoke if it even smokes at all when its fully warmed up. when my bike is fully warmed up with the pipes good and hot and no residual oil in the pipes it wont even smoke at 20:1 oil to fuel ratio. its only after ive been puttering around for a while at low rpm's and low throttle positions that the motor smokes when i get back on the throttle and let her rip. this is all of course assuming we are talking about a stockish motor here. sorry for the long winded and very off topic post. im a little fucked up right now. i probably fucked up all the points i was trying to make. go easy on me with the replies. seemed like they made sence when i typed them. wonder what it looks like tomorrow.

thanks captain obvious.

the banshee electrical system is super simple. it is basically wired up just like a typical 110v house is. one side of the stator is connected to the engine. some people call that a ground. since this is alternating current, it would be properly called a neutral.. so one of the 2 stator wires is a neutral. the other side is the hot wire. (just like a 110v house eh?) the voltage regulator is basically a very simple shunting device which engages if there is excess voltage. it basically shunts excess power to the frame which is grounded. when the motor is running and the lights are on, the lights are consuming power and any excess power that is generated is shunted to ground via the regulator. if you turn the lights off then the regulator shunts 100% of the excess power to ground. you could use a regulator off another bike, but it would have to be a simple a/c lighting system like the banshee, and it would need a 1 wire regulator. you could also use a regulator off a 4 stroke ute like a wolverine, raptor etc, but you would need to cut the stock harness, possibly float the stator ground, and basically convert the banshee from an a/c lighting system to dc. you would also need a bunch of capacitors wired in parallel from radio shack to act as a battery eliminator. this is the most complex way to go but would yeild the best results. no more flickering lights at idle. i have a passion for electronics. if you need more help just pm me.

so heres the deal. i want to tig myself up a nice 6 pack rack for the banshee. im tired of carrying along drinks in a backpack. the actual welding and fab is not hard, but i have to wonder if my banshee would feel more balanced in the woods and trails with a 6 pack rack on the rear grab bar or if i made one that bolted on the front where the bumper is. so what do you guys think. front or rear?

+2 is the shiznut. im 6'5 and a +2 is a requirement for me. not only that but the handling gets better because you can put more weight on the bars in a turn and because they are higher it has more effect. just make sure you dont have low bend bars. because going +2 stem with low bend bars is defeating the purpose. i use the stock ape hanger banshee bars with my +2 and its still a little short for someone as tall as me. the very best part is that fatigue when riding hard is greatly reduced.

friend of mine got me some cat eye looking blue lights to replace the stock ones on the banshee.

i have seen everything from type f, to dexron, to 75w90, 80w, 10w30, 15w40, 20w50 and various gear oils designed for 2 strokes etc etc. almost everything has been tried in a banshee with sucess. it probably doesn't matter what you use. but just for reference, the official word from yamaha is to use a 10w30 api rated oil of se, sf, sg or higher as long as it does not say "enegry conserving II" that is quoted right out of the factory manual sitting on my lap.

yeah that is too bad.

the air we beathe is composed of mainly nitrogen and oxygen molecules. nitrogen and oxygen molecules are larger than helium, by a significant ammount. if you were to fill the tyres with helium you would forever be having leaks, because helium is smaller and can leak out of rubber easily. that is why helium balloons always go flat quicker than when you blow them up with regular air. beside that, it is not a significant amount. a balloon you buy at the grocery store that is bigger than a banshee tire can only manage to list something the size of a pencil, or a few paper clips. if you actually filled the tyres with helium you might save a few paperclips worth of weight, which is NOT worth the cost of the helium. and yes, the red head is smokin.

i beat some little 9 year old shit talker on a brand new yfz450 who claimed no banshee could beat it. and i beat him BAD. felt real good too. i mean i had my head real high for the rest of the day.

a friend of mine has a 400ex with 440 big bore kit, exhaust, intake, drag cam, high compression piston, and a bunch of other go fast mods for the engine and frame. hes always bragging about how fast his bike is even though i can beat him. so he got a new clutch because the old one is slipping and the new clutch makes him accelerate faster. he weighs 100lbs less than me, so i made him strap 100lbs of weight on his bike to race me. and i beat him good a few times. then we raced without the extra weight, just me at 250lbs and him at 150lbs, and i still beat him real good. so finally, and this is the good part, i made him a bet i said 'you race me and ill add 100lbs to my bike. if i win then you have to buy a banshee. " that was the bet. so we drag raced a few times and i still won! that makes it me at 250lbs plus 100lbs of iron vs him at 150lbs. i cant believe it but i won each race. go banshee! (now hes going to get one)

banshees in general consume alot of fuel. couple that with copious amounts of throttle usage and it really suffers. now add on the fast that most people have their banshees set up to run pig ass rich and the fuel economy just plummets. honestly almost every banshee i see is setup to run way too rich. you can hear them running so rich they are 4 stroking from idle to nearly full throttle. alot of people really need to put in some smaller jets and adjust those pilots and needles! i find that its best to ride in a higher gear when you are getting from one place to the next and stay out of the powerband if conditions allow it. if you drive efficiently you can conserve a lot of fuel. when you get to where you want to be, go have fun with the throttle and tear it up like it was meant to be. but take it easy on the way back to camp and you will have saved a bunch of fuel. using this method, you can stay out there a lot longer having fun before returning home. but just for reference, my bike consumes just about twice as much as my buddies 440ex big bore with a drag cam, ported head and a bunch of other mods. banshees in general just consume a lot of fuel. no way around it besides buying a 4 stroke. if i run around on the throttle all the time then its about 50% worse.

low 6's in the stock banshee class.

friend of mine wants to get rid of his 440ex and go to a banshee. his 440ex has well duh a 440 kit, stage 2 hot cam, 11:1 piston, port and polished head, white brothers full exhaust, k&n jet kit, white brothers foam filter with airbox removed, ebc dirt digger clutch, rev box too. the chassis and suspension is mostly stock except that its got a brand new durablu adjustable axle and new white maier plastics, new aluminum handlebars, brakes, seat cover, aluminum bumper, full skid plate and an assortmant of sprockets and chains, new suspension bushings too. it also comes with 2 sets of whels and tires. the first set has razr's that are 50% worn out. the second set has some kind of paddle tires on the rear and some typical oem tires on the front that are about 50% worn too. his 440ex is from 2001, its been adult owned, never beat on. valid florida title and green offroad sticker. the quad is in great condition. no rust, no significant pant is missing, no bent frame parts, i would rate it a 9 out of 10. he is looking to trade for some kinda banshee. not really sure what he wants. post up a reply or send me a pm and ill get it to him. we are in florida, west palm beach to be exact.

here is what you should do. take the time to make a decent rebuild video, go through all the steps, make it into a dvd and sell it for $15 like rippen did. you could make a tonne of money. personally i would like to see you focus on intricate things of the rebuild like shims, how to remove grind and reinstall the shift star, etc. i would love to pull my shift star out and grind it down but i don't know how involved it is to get it out.

tracks like that should have warning sign at the turn, or just eliminate that area ll together. if youre the 3rd person to do it, they should do something about it.

yeh. i have a call into them. ill post back what i find out. thanks for the reply.

banshee won't run backwards unless you change the ignition timing or get the engine revving really high before turning the ignition on. 2 strokes, as well as all other engines, have ignition timing. for the banshee, this means around 17 degrees before top dead centre at idle, for a stock motor. that mean the plug is firing before the piston goes to the top of the cylinder. if you run the motor backwards, it would have timing of 17 degrees after top dead center, which means the plug fires but nothing happens because the piston is already going down a significant ammount. this is unique in the engine world because 4 stroke gas alcohol and diesel engines all start their timing curve with a relatively low ammount of advance at idle, and it gradually increases the timing as the rpm's rise. 2 strokes are unique in that they work exactly the opposite, starting the timing curve with a high degree of advance which lessens as the rpm's rise toward redline. because a 2 stroke ignition timing curve is unique in that it starts advanced and gradually retards from that point as the rpm's rize, the banshee has ignition timing of around 2 degrees btdc at high rpm's. this is close enough to top dead centre that if the motor was run backwards to a high rpm and the ignition turned on, it could theoretically run backwards, but only at high rpm's and it would be down on power because its running severely retarded timing. if you let off the throttle and the rpm's dropped the motor would quit running, possibly violently without first flicking the kill switch. theoretically, the crankshaft, rods, pistons, top end, carburettors, exhaust pipes, etc can all work backwards like this without any consequences because a 2 stroke has no cam or vales, it actually can run backwards. if you hand crank the engine foreward or backwards, the carbs and reeds still pull air through them in the same direction. makes no difference which way you spin the motor. there have been plenty of 2 strokes built with adjustable timing to run forwards or backwards. model airplanes come to mind specifically here. you can run a model airplane 2 stroke backwards or forwards simply by which direction you spin the prop to start it. IF you change the ignition timing on a banshee to account for this you could run it backwards. if you don't, then you wont be able to run it backwards. although you might get an occasional pop or backfire that might destroy things. i dont know what the transmission would do if you tried to shift while the engine was running in reverse though. maybe nothing. maybe it would grenade.

i have heard they offset the bore, meaning they make the hole taller but not wider, or some shit like that. that is the kind of stuff i would need to tell a machine shop, and i think it should be difficult to get those specs. ahh! i just find out rdz racing does care boring. $35 each plus shipping. so its basically $90 after shipping and a can of carb cleaner. shit thats almost the price of a set of filters for an aftermarket pair of carbs. wonder if anyone else does it cheaper.

thanks, but a $10 fuel pump can fix the running dry problem. if i went with aftermarket carb, just the new filters alone would probably eat up the cost of shipping and a good chunk of the machine work price. not to mention new jets possible different manifold, etc etc etc... shit thats a lot of money right there. if i can get a bit more out of the stock carbs then ill be happy. also remember that stock carbs are the only ones allowed in stock banshee class. if i went aftermarket, id be bumped up a class and i dont want to do that.

anyone know of a builder or machinist i can send my carbs to to get bored at a decent price?

looks good and you seem to know youre turbo's, but i think you probably need 12-13psi to reach 400hp, considering that no turbo is 100% efficient and all 8-10 psi isnt going to get 400, unless you are doing some motor mods that i am not aware of at the same time as the turbo install?