BenBB

Just checking to see if anybody had some decent front tires they wanted to part with before I bought new ones, would like Holeshot XC 22x7x10, stock front rims would be nice too. Plugs in the tires are ok as long as they hold air and the sidewalls aren't cut (I already got some of those, heh). Lemme know...

Hell yeah chipdog, looks great, shee's ready to run it! You got plenty of time before Carlsbad, make the plans and be there if you can. That does really suck ABM, Los Lunas sounded like a great course, and was alot closer than Las Vegas, heh. Oh well, that tire I cut in Socorro is toast so I gotta get a new set of fronts, at least I got a little time to get 'em before the next race...

If you just rebuilt it, I'd check the pickup coil gap first, then the wires from the stator/pickup coil in case they got cut when (if?) you mounted the stator to the motor. If that checks out I'd go over all the wiring for any shorts to the frame and check all the connectors. If it still won't fire it's probably either the CDI or stator, you SHOULD be able to rule out the stator with the resistance test but fixitrod had one go out recently that still tested good. Anyway, got lotsa stuff on chasing electrical probs in the FAQ below if you want to check it out. Good luck.

It's not that bad Mike, I didn't notice any power difference, just the stockers are heavy as f*ck. I still use the stockers when I hafta have spark arrestors. But loco's right, you'll find a good deal on some silencers sooner or later...

Probably. I had the same deal with FMF Fattys, and I was able to adapt my stock silencers to fit. I'm not sure how different the T5's are, but if it's a really good deal it would be worth trying. On mine I just had to cut the stinger tube a little shorter and use part of the female end of the pipe at the joint, but the stock clamps covered it and it worked great.

Dunedemon summed it up well, just thought I'd add a little more... Anything will be an improvement over stock, on the front shocks. They are only preload adjustable and while mine held up pretty well to big hits, the little stuff beat me to death. Since they only have a single spring, it's at best a compromise between surviving a large impact and being smooth over ruts. Almost every aftermarket shock will have multiple springs, this allows a softer spring rate for little bumps and a stiffer spring rate to absorb big ones (correct me if I'm wrong Dunedemon, you know way more than I do about springs, heh). Dual rate means two springs, triple rate means three, and there are a couple out there that offer four springs; in general the more springs the more you're gonna pay, and for the average rider you probably won't ever be able to tell the difference. I couldn't explain rezzy's or reservoirs better than Dunedemon, it's essentially a canister that allows for more shock oil and separates the gas from the oil. The canister mounts away from the shock to help keep the fluid cool so they perform better after prolonged use, the oil heats up with hard use and the compression/rebound damping is less effective. There's three adjustments to a shock; preload, compression, and rebound. Preload controls how much the spring is compressed, this will affect ride height and how the shock reacts to impacts. Compression is how the shock, well compresses from an impact; the adjustment allows the shock to compress faster or slower, and with the springs it controls how hard or how soon the shock bottoms out. Rebound is the opposite of compression, it controls how fast the shock returns to fully extended after an impact, same as compression it works with the spring to re-extend the shock after it's compressed. In general, low-end shocks like stock have only preload adjustment, and high-end shocks will have all three (some even have high-speed and low-speed adjustments for compression and rebound). The rear shock is an Ohlins and a pretty good unit in my opinion. It is fully adjustable and works well in most conditions. I think that unless it's blown, you won't see a significant improvement with an aftermarket rear shock. It will help of course, but again for the average rider it's not going to be a night-and-day difference like aftermarket front shocks. When you're pricing shocks, get the best ones you can afford. At the high end of the price range you've got TCS, Custom Axis, Elka and PEP. In the middle there's Works, Ohlins, and Elka. Least expensive is Works, and while they cost less I think Works has the best shocks for the money. The biggest difference between them is the number of springs (dual rate, triple rate, quad rate), with or without rezzys, compression/rebound adjustment, construction (high-end units will have beefy 5/8" shafts opposed to 1/2" shafts, among other things), and options such as zero preload or SSD. There are also long-travel shocks available but will require long-travel a-arms. I would recommend Works triple rates, with rezzys if you can afford them. You will notice a big difference and it won't cost you an arm and a leg, get them custom built by Works for YOUR weight & riding style (not generic off-the-shelf units). Of course if you got the bucks don't hold out, get the best ones you can because in my opinion upgrades on the front suspension are well worth it. Good luck.

These guys are dead on; if you can, get the TORS removal kit and a thumb throttle cable for it. The throttles will be a simple unbolt one and bolt on the other affair. The TORS elimination isn't hard, just take your time (got some stuff on it in the Jetting FAQ below). The easy way to replace the cable without pulling off the front fenders & fuel tank is to tape the carb end of the new cable to the handlebar end of the old one, and pull it through so it routes exactly the same. Don't forget to check the carb sync afterwards, make sure there's slack in the cable, and turn the bars to full lock both ways to make sure the cable isn't in a bind anywhere. Good luck.

What does the plug look like on the right side? And have you noticed any loss of tranny fluid? If I read your post right you said the right side missfires at upper RPM's, since you've ruled out the coil, my next guess would be the right side crank seal leaking. You'll need to do a leak-down test to find out for sure but the plug condition (compared to the other side) or oil loss could be a good indication. Good luck.

Without a doubt PRM, excellent products and some great guys to deal with. A-arm guards are nice but not really a necessity IMO, but the swingarm skidplate (with a TM roller if you can get it) and the belly skidplate are essential for hittin' rocks, I run the PRM's and they are bulletproof. Check 'em out: http://www.prm-atv.com/

I dig all of it too, doesn't matter if it's changing a tire or rejetting, checking the compression or doing a topend. Gives me a chance to retreat to my little fortress of solitude, the garage where it's just me and my Banshee, nobody gives me any shit and I can do whatever the hell I want (I swear if it had a bathroom and a fridge I'd only emerge to go to work and go ridin'). I hafta agree about the chain adjustment tho, by far that is the thing I dread most. It's not that it's difficult, just so damn time consuming, and it's never right the first time. When I get a round-housing swingarm I'm gonna dance a little jig

I gotta throw in my 2 cents, I agree that it sounds like the topend is toast, but boonman is dead on; why take it to a shop? I mean, you've obviously got the tools and abilities judging by your sig, and yeah time is against all of us but hey, you could do the topend with your son/daughter and both learn a few things...

Just an idea, but is your idle speed really really low? Some people like it to barely spin at an idle, where it almost dies when you let off the throttle, I think that at that low of an RPM the stator can't produce enough voltage to fire both plugs. You might try increasing the idle speed (not like 5000 RPM but just a little higher than it is now, and don't forget to resync the carbs afterwards) and see what it does. Good luck.

That sucks Brooke, sorry to hear it. For the record, I won't throw a leg over mine without a helmet; loading, unloading, whatever. Not as bad as bigwill but I got a concussion with a helmet on, without it, it would have been game over.

Right ON sredish! That is awesome, and yes I'm jealous: you suck. Brooke, don't sweat it, we still love ya. Abyss, just remember, it could always be worse man...and your wife could hafta deal with much more destructive habits than quads...take it easy you two.

crbanshee I know just what you mean, and I think you are dead on about organizing a cleanup, excellent idea. If it wasn't a 12 hour drive for me I'd be there in a heartbeat, but don't let that stop you man, keep after it, it's definitely a good cause. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hang in there Dustin, I just sent an email to Dan @ Patriot to see if we can get that L&A one-way at cost. Dunno if we can or not but they're both in OR so it's a maybe, I'll let you know what he says. If not, you want me to send L&A a sponsorship request? Couldn't hurt...

Suck it up and drive on man. Take the time to explore alternative resources for what you need (ebay, buddies, HQers), draw from other people's experience here to find out what went wrong and prevent it from happening again, and get back out there and keep kicking ass... That is if you still want to be out front, otherwise join the ranks of the rest of the pusses and succomb to the lure of the dark side, the easy way out, the mindless sheep that have more money than sense and wouldn't know a wrist pin from a cat turd...your typical shiny 4-choke rider that takes his ride to the dealership to change the oil (yeah I know not every thumper rider is like that, there are hard-core guys in every circle but the vast majority are wanna-be's).

White/red to white/green is the pickup coil, should be 94-140 Ohms, so if you got 110 it's ok. Red to green is the ignition coil of the stator, should be 13.7-20.5 Ohms. If you're sure you have the range selected right on your multimeter (even then if it shows infinite ohms there is a broken circuit, and if it shows zero ohms there is a short circuit), the stator is prolly toast. You might pull it and take a look, could be just a broken solder joint, but if the windings are burnt/cut then you'll probably hafta replace it. Good luck.

Damn straight, I agree with everyone's post but two really stood out: Take care of her and shee won't let you down, take the time to learn all you can and no problem, no matter how miniscule or devastating, will keep you from ridin'... As a side note I've had my '96 since 2000, bought used, ride damn hard but I do the best I can to maintain everything. Not to brag but give you an idea of what it's been through, one year racing local TT Novice class, 1st overall in '02; one year racing local TT Amateur class, 1st overall in '03; this year racing local desert series, 2nd in points after 5 races. I've taken her to Dumont dunes once, Kermit dunes a few times a year, and countless trips to the local Mescalero dunes. I estimate I've put nearly 400 hours on this motor, did a topend after 200 hours and this winter will rebuild, like others have said, because I WANT to, to upgrade and bulletproof it even more. Bottom line, I think they are just as reliable as any thumper, and the small amount of extra effort in maintenence is well worth the adrenaline rush you get when you roost 'em.

Holyman-it's STAN, aka Cotton Eyed Joe, aka "the billet meister". Haha warwgn, that is pretty cool! Guess I was the slowest one comin' down that hill so that was the best pic huh? Gary at Quicksand does some nice work, used to post here as azsandrat but haven't seen him in a while, but CombatTalon2 is the webmaster over there, think he just got shipped overseas tho. Anyway, I'll write 'em and see what they say, I've been jonesing for that swingarm and those rotors for a while now, sucks to be broke...

Not yet, seems like I remember they were offering a discount for HQ members but I can't remember, I haven't sent them a sponsorship letter yet, do you need something? If so I can send 'em a team letter and see what happens...

Chris, here's a link to the Quicksand, I'll let you know what else I can find: http://www.quicksandmotorsports.com/swingarm.htm Loco that looks awesome, I'd be doing that now if my swingarm wasn't already stressed to hell (have cracks on the welds where the rear shock linkage mounts), I'll need whole a new one when I can afford it...

Thanks everyone for posting, and a big thanks to Josh for posting the pics!! Ryan, those tires & rims were a lifesaver man!! No way I coulda finished in the top ten without 'em, there were some serious ruts and some nasty rocks, that extra ground clearance made a huge difference, thanks again! Quick race report: Jason is insane. He went through those whoops like they weren't even there, and we're talking serious whoops, 3-4' deep and big enough to swallow a quad, spaced unevenly so I couldn't double them very often, just plain brutal. Big props to Jason, he was damn fast, and had he not thrown a chain he would have had 1st by a mile, good thing he got it back on and kept haulin'. I don't know how the hell you made it with that twist throttle Josh but good job, rode a clean race and did damn well on that harsh track. I know Chris had a tough time ridin' that tank through the whoops too, if he didn't have a flat I'll bet he would have done better, and if he was on the Banshee I'm sure he would have placed better than I did, still I think anyone that finished was doing REAL well. From looking at the times, I think I was running 3rd at the end of the first lap, on the second lap I cut a sidewall on my left front tire. I stopped and put a plug in it, aired it up with fix-a-flat, and kept going. Damn thing went flat again so I had to stop, put two plugs in that hole and one plug in another right next to it, aired it up again and took off. The side of my tire looks like a frickin' tarantula is glued to the sidewall, heh. I'm glad I had those 20" rear tires and brand new PRM belly & swingarm skidplates, they damn sure got broken in on those rocks. I probably would have finished 3rd or 4th if I didn't hafta stop, but that's the way it goes, at least I finished, four out of 20 in our class didn't. Still had a great time with the Wide Open Racing team, couldn't have asked for better weather (cloudy and around 80F, some rain the night before so very little dust on race day), the track was a bitch but lotsa fun anyway, very technical. Wish Dustin coulda raced, and Chris had his Banshee (cracked swingarm right before race weekend), better luck for everyone on the next one tho. Anyone know how far Alamogordo is from Las Vegas, NM?! I can make it there and back between the preride and the race, right?

Muahahaha!!! Thanks Dustin, I watched the video and it came out great, heh, I'll hafta make everyone some copies before the next race, you gotta race the next one! ROFL we'll see about the toothbrush HAHAHA!!!

Fixitrod covered everything real well, just wanted to add a little mate. My buddy Ryan just got some Wicked a-arms and they look great, but anyway it would probably be a good idea to just do one side at a time, just in case you're unsure of how something mounts. When I mounted my RS a-arms the only trouble I had along the way was removing one of the upper a-arm bolts, it was kinda siezed in the spacer so I had to remove that side pipe expansion chamber to get enough room to hammer it out. Anyway, like rod said a ball joint separator tool looks like a two-pronged fork, the two tines angle up from the pointed tip so when you hammer the end it "wedges" in between the ball joint and the spindle to pop them apart. It's not entirely necessary, like rod said you can just hammer on the ball joint, or smack the side of the spindle with a hammer a few times and chances are it will pop loose. You can always sell your stock a-arms so try not to destroy the balljoint threads if you can help it. You WILL need to re-use the stock tie rod ends (look just like the ball joints on the ends of the a-arms) so be careful not to ruin their threads or tear the rubber boots with a separator tool. One more thing, you won't need to disconnect the brake lines from the front calipers, you can just hang the whole front wheel assembly in place while you swap out the a-arms and tie rods, thought I'd mention that so you don't hafta worry about bleeding the brakes. Good luck.