bansheesandrider

Bike Bandit part numbers are NOT Yamaha numbers, the Yamaha numberis 90462-16130-00.

I use regular old Prestone mixed 50/50 with distillled water and then add Water Wetter at the recomended amount for the system capacity. I drain and flush every two years and put in a fresh mix. I have NEVER had a radiator or hose fail on me, or any head gasket problems, there is absolutely NO corrosion biuldup in any part of my cooling system and one of my bikes is an 89 that i have had new since 10/89. I didn't start using Water Wetter until about 1994. The only time I ever have a heating problem is if we are travelling with the wind at the same speed as the wind which results in no airflow over the radiator.

You know to do a battery that you need to do a DC conversion-float the ground in the stator add a rectifier/regulator and modify the wire harness as needed. The only thing you gain with a battery is the ability to run HID lights or to have lights when the engine is off. If you are trying to run more than 70 watts of lights you need a high output stator not a battery.

Last time I lost a crank it cost me about $700 to repair the damage- I had the crank rebuilt by Twister, bored the cylinders, new pistons,rings and bearings, and had to have the head cut and rechambered to repair the damage to the combustion chamber. Plus I ate a ton of sand towing it in and had to sit around camp for the rest of the riding trip. My point is that you are in to it now and I think you will be ahead to fix EVERYTHING now while you are into it and then you will have a reliable ride in the future.

Both plugs fire at the same time, twice for every crankshaft revolution. Therefore they fire when #1 is at TDC and #2 is at BDC and then they fire when #1 is at BDC and #2 is at TDC.

Put the head gasket on dry. Put the head on and torque it to 20 ft. lbs. using a good torque wrench, not a harbor Freight or no-name one. Start the bike and bring it up to operating temp. Retorque the nuts while it is hot and then let it cool. Do this one or two more times, you can go to 22 if you need to. Are you using a good gasket, I prefer a genuine Yamaha gasket. If your head and cylinders are flat, the cylinders have to be equal height when bolted on the cases, this should be all you have to do toseal it up.

Keep them covered when you are not using them, this keeps them from getting blasted with dirt, sand or rocks. When you clean them, don't wipe them off dry, and don't use a cleaner that will soften the plastic lens. On that note my 89 has actual glass lenses and my buddy's 02 has plastic lenses. I don't know when yamaha made this change. His plastic lenses have melted from being left on with the covers on. I have done that with my glass lenses with no problems.

As far as I know R50 does not breakdown in a capped jug. I would shake it up good to make sure it has not settled out, and then pour it in a measuring(RatioRite) cup and see what it looks like. As long as it is the reddish purple color and not chunky, watery or cloudy I would use it. I have used R50 that was over two years old with no problems, but you need to make the call, it is your bike and your problem if anything happens.

I have a twist on all my quads. We had to put one on my daughter's blaster when she was eleven because her thumb got too tired on rides through the dunes. Everybody I ride with has a twist. My experience has been that if you grew up riding dirt bikes or started out with a twist on a quad you will be fine with it. As I am not the youngest rider around, there were only ATC90s for ATVs when I started riding so I grew up on dirt bikes. The only people that I have heard complain about a twist are the people that learned to ride with a thumb throttle. I think if they would commit to it that most of them would adapt and like it. I run a Magura 312 on mine. It is a dual rate throttle- you can choose 1 of 2 different turn rates, I use the slower one but it is still faster than any other throttle on the market, but I got used to it and love it now. It is very smooth because the pulley is on an actual bearing. It is no longer available, but supposedly the Magura 314 is the same throttle with a plastic housing instead of metal.

If you do replace the cases, MAKE SURE YOU BUY A MATCHING SET, not an individual top or bottom. Yamaha machines the cases as a set- the bores for the crank and transmission bearings are machined to dimension after the cases are bolted together. Some guys on here say they replace just a top or bottom and it works fine, but I would not want to take a chance on having more problems down the road that were caused by mismatched cases. Just my opinion.

No you can't, the "rivet" on the stock basket is actually cast into the basket, after the factory put the gear, cushions and backing plate on they peen the remaining metal sticking out into a head to hold everything together. If you could locate the holes properly you could drill all the way through the basket, countersink the holes on the inside, and bolt it back together, BUT you would have to get the holes in EXACTLY the right place.

Same here, ever since I put one on, I have had no problems with plugged jets or sticky throttles. If you really think a filter leaned out your bike, you should have put a bigger filter on.

My buddy got talked into the buffed Mohawks and he hates them. He says they are great for straight line racing but the bike won' tgo where he points it in the trees and trails. For drag racing you want the lightest tire and wheel you can get, but for all around duning you need to sacrifice a little weight for something that will turn and won't get a hole it it when you run over something. I run 22X8-10 Sand Stars on the front and 20X10-10 8 paddle haulers on the back with a fairly well built 350. My next set of rears are going to be 20X 10 or 11-10 9 paddle Extremes for a little more hookup. Alot of people prefer a V paddle for all around duning, but I like the straight paddle because they slide a little better. As far as wheels go i have had problems with .125 thick wheels bending so I recomend a thicker wheel. I am currently running stock OEM 89 or 90 Banshee wheels on my bike, the rears are the 4X156 pattern which only allows a ten inch wheel but thats what I like. One side benifit of the OEM wheels is I have not had ANY problems with bead leaks since I put them on. So you need to decide are you racing seriously or play racing and just riding the dunes and then figure out what combination is what you want.

Nice cut job. It gives the bike a more modern look with out putting on that goofy Raptor plastic that Maier makes for the Banshee. Definetly makes the bike look like a current design bike while keeping the Banshee personality.

The wire harnesses break between 01 and 02 because in 02 they added the brakelight and the corresponding switches and wires. While all tailight will fit all years they are different between 87-01 and 02 and newer because of the brakelight. Also , the front brake calipers changed between 89 and 90, the old ones the rubber hose screws directly into the caliper and the 90 and newer attach with a banjo bolt. Because of the different calipers, the spindles are different also, the way the inner shield attaches is different- the older ones use a bracket and the newer ones attach directly to the spindle with two bolts. Other wise things look pretty accurate.

So who's dome is best? For a stock stroke mild dune port? How about for a 4 mil dune port stock cylinder?

Which aftermarket head is the best? I have heard that the ProDesign does not direct the coolant flow properly through the motor and you have to change the studs. The Noss head you don't have to change studs, they claim it directs coolant flow properly but it uses O-rings which some guys have had problems getting to seal. Then there is the Modquad head- it is one piece so it doesn't have O-rings, or at least as many, it uses the stock studs and it supposedly directs coolant flow properly. But are the domes compatible with Noss or ProDesign. I like the idea of being able to use a stock type of head gasket as it is easier to get parts when we are at the dunes. So give me your opinions of which one is best AND WHY.

The biggest stock cased Banshee I have seen is a 565 but it was using an aftermarket monoblock cylinder. You can get stroker cranks upu to 70mm or more but you need aftermarket cases to run them.

I ride sand only, just general dune cruising with some play racing against friends. Originally I ran the 10W40 that Yamaha recommends but it did not shift very well and there were metallic particles in the oil, I even tore it apart to inspect everything, all I found was some patterns on the gears that a Yamaha mechanic said was normal for a Banshee. I then tried ATF but it still shifted like crap and still had the metal particles. Next I tried BelRay Gearsaver, it shifted better and the metal particle went away. Then I tried the Honda gear oil becuase my dealer was out of the BelRay, that shifted really crappy but there was no metal in the oil when I drained it out. A different dealer recomended the Klotz MTL(part number KL506) so I tried that. The bike shifted better than it ever did and there was no metal in the oil when I drained it out. After six years of running it, I took the bottom end apart to inspect every thing and I could find nothing wrong in the transmission,the tranny bearings were the original ones and had been in there for nine years total.They looked fine, but I did replace them becuase I was in there and bearings are cheap. I had put a Toomey clutch in when the bike was six years old, but the original was fine and I still carry it for a spare. I put the bottom end back together nine years ago and the only thing I have done to it since is repair the damage from the snap ring for the kick idler gear coming off. So I have been running the Klotz for 15+ years now and have no complaints with it. It is a little expensive but I would rather spend a little more on oil and know my tranny is not going to fail than have to eat a shitload of sand towing it in and lose out on some riding time.

I have checked out their site, I am thinking about their transmission bearing kit. What they are talking about applies to a 90 degree firing crank with the TZ style PTO bearing, not the traditional 180 degree firing Banshee crank that you would get from Wiseco or Hot Rods. So if you are running a TZ style bearing then maybe you should have a groove for the circlip but I would not groove for the O-rings. If you are going to run the TWo Stroke Shop crank, then send them your cases, let them machine them as they see fit and make them stand behind the motor.

I would not pay more than 1/2 of what it is worth if there is no title. Getting one is a hassle and if there is any kind of a problem you could lose the bike and/or end up in jail. Hell, the guy selling it could even report it stolen, produce the title, say the Bill of Sale is a fake and get the bike back. Make him apply for a lost tile and give you a title when the deal goes through. Then again, you could buy it, apply for and get a title with no problems, but you don't know until it happens. I have walked away from good deals because there was no title. You should be able to take the VIN to your local police and they can tell you if it is hot. Good Luck.

It is OK to do it with the scotch brite wheel on the die grinder if you get the one that is made for cleaning aluminum, it is grey in color. Just don't use too much pressure or stay in one place. Professional mechanics have been cleaning aluminum parts this way for years. I have been cleaning intake manifolds, transmission cases, and other aluminum gasket surfaces for over twenty years and have never had a problem from doing it this way.

The roller was just a small ring that went over the pin on the fork and sat down in the groove of the drum. Is this what you have and do you have the roller also? I have a whole tube of the bearsings to go on the stator side of the shift drum and I am having a local machine shop modify the drum for that. The bearing kit that I am talking about from the Two Stroke Shop is for the mainshaft and countershaft bearings and they have more balls or more and bigger rollers depending on the bearing. I have been trying to cross reference the bearings so I can buy them at the local bearing house and not have to pay shipping from Australia.

Go to www.trinityracing.com, check the Banshee products section and look at the CHEETAH engine kit. Since you measured it at stock stroke it is the 400cc version that uses the stock crank.The reed cages are the same , the head and powervalve covers are similar, and the bolt on nipple for the water hose is the same.

The original 84 & 85 RZ350s had a roller on the pin that engages the shift drum and tracks in the grooves to move the forks. This reduced the friction in the shifting mechanism which resulted in an easier and smoother shifting transmission. Yes the later Banshee forks are interchangeable but it won't shift as easily or as smooth. Currently all online pictures show the Banshee forks because that is what has superceded the original RZ forks. The RZ350 continued in production in Canada and other countries after 1986, just like the Banshee is available in other countries after 2006. Someplaces it was called RD350LC or 350 YPVS or some other variation of this, but they all seem to have used the Banshee style forks. I am sorry, the bearing kit I was talking about is from the Two Stroke Shop, not The Scooter Shop.