WINDYCITYJOHN400

So after looking at the pictures you posted I have to ask..... Were you really wondering if you got a good deal?........... Or were you just bragging? I'd say you got QUITE a deal! Nice looking toy.

X2 - Modded star, shift pro roller, stock spring = SWEET!

I think I'm about an hour straight North of you. (I'm in Geneva 60134) But your pretty close to one of our ride spots. If you go West to Ottawa IL, we ride at "Fox Valley Off-Road" 5-6 times a year. We also hit the dunes in Silverlake Michigan 5 times a year. (Once a month all summer) You new to the area? New to Banshee's? Or just new to the site? We're always looking to add to our ride group. You could come up and put your machine on our dyno over at ILLINOIS POWERSPORTS and get that thing running like a raped ape!

Wait, Wait , Wait....... "Aggressive Porting" "Shaved Head" "+5 Timing" on "Pump Gas" ??? FMF's are nice pipes, but they are NOT drag pipes. I'm thinking he shouldn't believe the words from the seller. Maybe a little research would have done wonders. Any chance you have pics of this bad boy machine with the single carb, wheelie bar and works shocks? Who runs works shocks on a drag bike? (I can't wait to see what this "Bar" looks like.) Better yet, get some pics of this "Aggresive porting.'

Well this post got wild fast. I'll let you know what your motor makes because we've had a bike with almost matching mods on OUR DYNO. (But it had a cool head) Sorry to break it to you but your only making 57HP MAX.

Yeah, I like that bored to 370 line. You see that alot, or bored to 380-390. NOPE, just bore .020 over not 20-30-40cc's! How about "Bought it new for $8,000 but don't have time to ride. Mint condition. Only two tanks of gas since new." Bought for wife/daughter, but too much bike for her. She wants a 400EX. CUSTOM BANSHEE - Has aftermarket pipes, TORS eliminator kit, and shock covers. CUSTOM!

OH SHIT! I thought you told me JEFF was fixing it and Trinity just wanted to look at it to see what was going wrong with all these 4 mill Cheetahs. So it got sent to Trinity and they fixed it their way. If you don't know what was wrong or what they did different, than neither do they! Now your story is playing out EXACTLY like mine did. Your getting back a fresh pile of parts and your going to have the same issues. After you trash this next set of pistons and need the Nikasil redone for the second time, your going to be telling my same story. I'd get all the info/specs from Jeff before you put anything together. If you don't know what you have.....who does? (You know I'm just telling you this to have your back. I don't want to see you waste another season with the same massive, expensive motor issues.) If you have the same issues again...I'm pretty sure YOUR going to come down with a bad case of Tourettes syndrome yourself! I'm waiting for a full report back from you on this one. I'd just about PAY for your dyno time just to prove my point! I'm wondering... (In today's age of 421cc 80HP Serval motors) if your fresh 485 Powervalved Cheetah is going to make the same 68HP your last one made. I'll say this much........I sure wish Jeff was the one setting this motor up HIS way and not the other way around.

What I mean is it doens't act like those motors that are ported so much that they get to be more of a drag bike than anything else. Yes, you feel a pipe hit when it gets into the powerband, but it's not a light switch. The exhaust edge of the piston is dropped 1mm to simulate a raised exhaust port. But... it's not like the whole piston top is dropped. So Your not going to get flow like you would with a real port job. But you can get an extra 8 HP by just dropping these pistons in on your next rebuild. They are made by wiseco for vito's and they are cheaper than the standard wiseco piston kit. So that's why I'm a big fan of them. Let me be clear...I'm not saying they will last as long as a standard Wiseco piston, but we've gotten 80+ hours on a set that the guy beat the crap out of. (He rides HARD! Cracked frame, 3 blown out shocks, bent swingarm, ripped ALL the foot peg bolts out multiple times, 3 clutches in a season, etc.) But he got two full years on a set of pistons before he made the final step and got it ported. Hope that explains it. Nothing wrong with either choice. Whatever fits the needs best at the time and into the near future.....

Might not hurt to do a leakdown test while your at it......you would hate to burn it down if you also lost a crank seal with that backfire. Just a thought.

GAME ON! So what all did he do to it? I know Trinity saw it at one point......................anybody learn anything? (About the motor........ or Trinity.... ) Who did what and who thought what was wrong? (I'm sure it wasn't anything on your end, cause I told you what would happen if you ran it as delivered and it did. LOL) Did you get all your specs? (squish, squish band size and dome angle, timings, compression, piston to cylinder clearance, etc.) Or is this an "OK, Your all set" motor delivery. Is it going on the dyno for tuning and power verification? I'm looking forward to seeing it in the sand!

Correct. Most (basic) port jobs are just that....raising the exhaust 1 mm. That's why the lowered piston edge ads HP. It "Tricks" the motor into acting like it's go a port job. But it doesn't pipe hard and make the bike un-useable. It's a cheap port job for free with a piston purchase. Plus the Vito's pistons are cheaper than the wiseco. But if your happy with your current power and just want a fresh top end, then there is nothing wrong with going with the wisecos.

Most used statements in a banshee sale add....... #1 - ARM RIPPING POWER! (Well you might rip your arms out loading this 400+ pound un-washed mud encrusted tank into your truck.) #2 - Scary fast! (Ok, scary fast on pavement with no helemt on, oversized Blackwaters on the rear, bald factory tires in front and an alignment problem.) #3 - Not a beginners bike. (Well, I was a beginner when I bought it......But I'm more of a man than everyone else.) #4 - Never been beat. Beats all 4-strokes....some even with Nitros. (AKA...I beat a stock 04' yfz450 with 100 hours since his valves were adjusted) #5 - Fresh motor "Polished and Ported" with EVERYTHING done to it....the works! (AKA ... last owner did a top end 3 years ago, No porting, a boost bottle and jet kit.) #6 - Radar or GPS tested at 90+ MPH (I raced my buddies car. I got out ahead and as he BLASTED past me....HE was going 90. So I guess I was going 90 too.) #7 - Dyno Tuned and tested. 94 HP! (on pump gas with stock head and carbs right?) #8 - Over $15,000 in this machine. My loss is your gain. Just spent over $5,000 in fresh motor alone! ( Same condition as when I bought it 3 years ago, other than the rust I covered by painting 1/2 the bike with Chrome spray paint. Plus the bent rear grab bar...carbs need cleaning... 3 year old plugs....fuel leaks out carb overflows...etc.....) #9 - Trinity built (Still has the TORS.....but I guess Trinity ported those too right?) "Special TORS Dune/Drag/MX tune" #10 - Runs on race gas. (Shit I run race gas in the weed wacker!) Guess I should get a "TEAM STIHL RACING" Tee shirt. Honorable mention - Fluid changed after every ride. Nothing but synthetic. (AKA - I just changed the tranny oil for the first time since I bought the bike.....Well what I mean is.....I topped it off cause it was 1/2 empty and wasn't showing on the dip stick. I might have just used 10W30 cause my 15 year old neighbor said I could.)

Nick, your not going to need to spend the big $$$ for the carbon wheels for sand. (Unless you just want the look.) lThe carbon wheels are heavier than the light thickness aluminum wheels. I'd also run the 8" rear rims. They offer better flotation, better footprint for dragging, and will be a little more forgiving when your drifting sideways and catch a rut. If your not going to go with a tire straight blade paddle like an Extreme or a Hauler, I'd get the Scat-trac EDGE that was mentioned before. I think with your motor and your arm....in the places your going to really be riding, I'd pick the 21X12X8 - 9 paddle EGDE. For fronts I like the 21X7X10 Mohawks or the classic Sand tires unlimited single rib fronts. (Cascade has a nice front tire too.) Light weight DWT rims all around. You coming riding with us this summer at SL?

Thanks Nick. I'd chime in with info, but I ran the 35PWK's and the signal strength thru those is a lot stronger, so they pull more fuel thru the jet. So my jetting info would be off the mark for 39's. But for what it's worth......I was at 35 pilots and 148 mains. But (As I've said enough times that they finally just deleated all my posts) unless he gets his domes custom cut and get's the "Trinity Fingerprints" out of that motor.....no mater what he runs for jets....he's still going to blow O-rings and destroy pistons till the end of time. (I know I told you that one ahead of time on your motor. Right Nick? What's your status? Do you have your new pistons and Nikasil yet?) So correct jetting will get it running. But only long enough for it to destroy it's self. I know CAMATV loves his 485....but the only thing that Cam's motor has in common with Smoker's .....is the cc's. (And Cam has VERY custom domes!)

I've owned both brands and the fitment was not the best on either. But neither one was worse than the other in that regard. Now as for power......... My motor was/now is a 472/492 Cheetah. My motor liked the Shearers to the tune of 14 more HP over the CPI's and it's torque curve was as good in the lower RPM's as the CPI's. So needless to say, I'm a big fan of the Shearers. For your motor ....I would pick the Shearer Small Bores. They were designd for the 421 cub. I know the port timings are lower with the serval, But I think that pipe will best fit your needs. My two cents........Shearer Small Bores.

Yes. Some hate Vito's (I wouldn't buy their "stock style" replacement piston.) but as far as the Super Stock pistons go....I have had good luck with them. You will see a very large increase in power with those. Now it's true that you will get better performance from a good port job from a site sponser. But for a low price pair of pistons, you will get a big increase in performance without porting. I'd say that those pistons (In a properly machined cylinder. Even and same size top to bottom, chamfered port edges.) They will be a solid 80 hour piston. If you can afford $350-$400 for porting PLUS the cost of Wiseco pistons....well do that. But since your new to Banshees.....better to learn on cheap costing stuff before you jump with both feet into the HP game.

WOW, one of the first posts were a guy was actually running carbs that are too small! More times than not it's 35's on a stock motor. But stockers on a 10 mill? Yeah, time for new carbs. 35's for most any riding or 39's if it's more about fire roads or dunes.

Deep pea gravel in areas at "The Badlands" is murder on your sprocket/chain when it sinks in while your in the throttle. One of our group showed up with some 18" mx tires and found that out the hard way. It took 10 min of rocking the bike and pushing little pebbles out of the chain with little sticks from nearby trees to get that bike rolling again. Thankfully he didn't have a skid plate or it would have been worse. The skid plate would have been an "Autofeeder" of pea gravel straight into the sprocket. I like the idea of a single sided sprocket guard. Great for protecting gear while making it easy to prevent getting hung up on tree stumps and things. The disk brake guard will prevent those nasty disk bending rock hits when running river beds. I'm sure JD will make something that looks as sweet as it works.

They DO sound check! It's happend to both me and my wife. Me, this last season while on the wife's bike. (370 long rod dune ported motor) and Her two years ago. The FMF Turbine Cores will work fine. My wife's bike makes 63HP and when sound checked we hit 97 db. The limit is 94 with a leeway of 3, so I was told to "Repack my pipes next time" I informed the sound check officer, that these silencers were BRAND NEW and only had 2 rides with maybe 4 hours total on them. They just told me that next time I might not be so lucky. The "Hush Kit" for the Toomey's will quiet the bike down more, but you'll have to re-jet, because it does kill the flow (AKA Power) more. If you can find the clamp on Sparky's, they work great. (I run them on my high HP bikes. ) Just clean them before every dune trip. NOTE: They try to only test bikes that they think will pass. (They HAVE TO test a minimum number or vehicals due to a court order.) They aren't trying to shut us down. But if your bike is just STUPID LOUD...they are going to pull you out of line if they are testing at that time. I've been going to Silver Lake since.......1997. We go 5-6 times a year. (Once a month all summer long) And out of our entire ride group, we've only had three sound check issues. Nobody has missed any ride time. BUT.......Don't roll the dice. Have your sparky's and fresh packing, or you just KNOW they are going to pick YOU! As for Sparky's....don't try the old screen door mesh in the tailpipe trick. A few members here have snuck past. But we've had 7-8 that came with us and tried it to save money and ended up paying TOP DOLLAR for clamp-on's or full exhausts over at Duneland last min after DNR caught them at the inspection hut.

Just wondering.....couldn't those of us who run the "Honda style" round carriers just order the items for a Honda 450? Or are the mounts more specific due to our Rotor/sprocket spider offset, etc? Also, if your still running the factory Banshee swingarm and carrier......I'd highly advise you ditch that set-up. You'll wonder why they ever brought it into production. The original Banshee design is light like a boat anchor and all the bolts and hardwear are about as needed as fish hooks on a condom.

We've spent alot of time in the past dialing in carbs on our bikes. One of the guys we ride with doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to carbs. (Our local builder just set his 421 cub up with jets 3 sizes too big so it would never burn down.) We bust his balls because he thinks the bike rips...but we have 350's and 370's that crush him in a race. We have told him for YEARS to try leaning it down some. Anyway, he bought a wildly ported set of stock cylinders off Ebay for real cheap. He put together a "Rat Banshee" from everyone's spare stock parts. Then he bought some 35 Air Strikers for it. (cause thats what is on the other bike) He just slapped them on the way they came and rode it. He brags like crazy that "Yeah, I bought these carbs off Ebay and slapped them on and never even jetted it. I bet it just pisses John off that my Ebay carbs run so well." Then I go out there and whip his ass with the wife's bike. So do the rest of the Banshee riders in the group and he just rides off with his tail between his legs. (The bike is so CRAZY FAT you can hear it! It only cleans up when he gives it a healthy dose of back loading.) So, yeah.....Now we just tell everybody....."What, this old thing? Yeah I just bought it off Ebay and threw it together."

Yeah, it was running FMF's too. I like those pipes for a general pipe. For our 370 long rod bike with a D+M dune port it's FMF Fatty's and Turbine cores (Cause we need sparkys for the dunes) It might make a little more with a SB CPI, but I use the bike as my woods and trail machine. (It's the wife's duner.) So I like the bottom end for that bike more than the added top end of a pipe more drag oriented. It's still in the 63-65 range. I was running a graydon 2 into 1 on that bike too. But it was a 36 Air striker. Only reason I switched to twin 28's was that the porting is a little off. The mixture isn't balanced and with the single carb, I couldn't keep one plug from fouling. (One cylinder draws a little harder than the other. ) That was a real head scratcher without the dyno. Once I could see the A/F ratios of each cylinder, it was easy to figure out what the problem was. I have to run one carb with a full jet size smaller than the other to get each cylinder happy. Everyone goes and spends a mint on the bolt-ons. They drop coin on carbs, when for the same money you could get a great port job and see overall power just JUMP and still use the carbs you own. ( But I'd ditch the airbox.) Changing jets with an airbox sucks! Stock carbs sell for cheap. You can bore them out and have a real sleeper that will leave alot of guys wondering WTF? I wanna do a ported 4 mill or the wampus stealth 421. Then use the stock looking head that fits the aftermarket domes. Run stock modded intakes, V-force 3's with the sides painted flat black, stock carbs bored out to 28's (for the sleeper effect) or the graydon single with the 36 (for the "how is a single carb beating me" effect), factory side covers and shifter. It would be fun if I could just say "It's fast because I got a boost bottle and the TORS eliminator kit" or say "I didn't know how to adjust the stock carbs after I got my new pipes....so I bought this single carb set-up on Ebay and just threw it on." LOL.

35's on an un-ported motor are overkill. 28's would be fine. We've made 70+ HP with the stockers. (dyno proven) We also have a 65 HP 350 with a Graydon 2 into 1 and a single 35 pwk. So either will work. (I don't like the Trinity 2 into 1 model cause it crowds the reeds) So, if you want to only have to mess with one carb, go with a 2 into 1. (Jet changes are cake, cause you just rotate the carb a 1/4 turn and you can get right at them.) But if you want to run two carbs, just don't go crazy big. Bigger isn't always better. Mikuni flat slide 28's work great....but jet and needle changes are much easier with PWK's. IMHO

Oh that was some funny ass shit! On another note. If he's stacked that deep with cash.....I'm sure his tastes are far beyond 3 mostly stock rat banshees.

Stellar all the way!