bansh_88

I am looking to buy reeds for my '88 Banshee and notice that Boyesen sells two different reeds. One type is called Power Reed and the other is called Pro Series. I have been trying to discover the difference between the two, but have been unable to find out the real differences between them. Does anyone know the differences between these two types of reeds? Also, is there any real advantage to running either type of these Boyesen reeds over just running a brand new pair of stock Yamaha reeds? Thanks!!!

I am currently restoring my 1988 Banshee and was wondering what the signs are of a worn-out or failing ball joint. I do not hear any unusual noises are feel any play from them, but was wondering if there are other signs that I can look for that would suggest that they may need replacement soon. As with everything that I have changed out so far (bearings, bushings, etc) all parts of the quad are from the factory unchanged since '88 (quad has had very little use for its age). So even though the ball joints arent giving me any obvious signs of needing replacement, is there anything I can examine very closely to determine what stage of service-life that they are currently in? Thanks a lot for any suggestions or advise, I really appreciate it.

So there were 85 & 86 banshee models that yamaha bought back and destroyed? Never knew that!!! That is very interesting!! So, from what I am gathering here, either 1) the mags are full of bunk, or 2) they measure hp different now, or 3) the models after 88 are detuned. This one is really sparking my curiosity like crazy!!

I was just reading through some late 80's DirtWheels magazines and came across some interesting horsepower specs on the 87 and 88 banshee. Per both late 80's original articles that I read, DirtWheels stated that the banshees were putting out 48 horsepower bone stock. Reading through recent articles, I see that the banshees are rated at around 36/37 horsepower. So did Yamaha detune the banshee motors since the late 80's? Or are the numbers different due to a different manner of measuring horsepower? Thanks!

Are there any advantages of the Stellar j-arms over the stock banshee j-arms? Although the stock j-arms on my '88 are in great shape still, I was wondering if there would be any advantage to going with the Stellar units over the stock j-arms. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies guys. I just want to clarify my question a bit. I have attached factory OEM Yamaha decals to brand new fenders and I just was wondering if there was anything out there to apply over them as a means of protecting them from being scratched up and/or worn off in some manner. I am certainly one of those guys who prefers not sticking unsightly stickers all over fenders (which I think looks ridiculous in most cases), but please do realize that I am simply just sticking factory Yamaha Banshee stickers to the fenders as Yamaha originally has done as I am trying to restoring my quad as best as I can. So, I just wanted to clear that up a bit that I agree that stickers are usually an eye-sore, but again, I am just trying to restore the quad back to Yamaha factory look while adding a layer of protection over the factory decals. Thanks again guys. Any further ideas as to where one can find such a decal or a sheet of large clear vinyl decals that I can cut as needed would be greatly appreciated.

I have just bought new fenders and placed brand new factory decals on them. I am looking to preserve these decals the best that I can and am hoping to find clear decals somewhere to which I can stick over top of the factory Yamaha decals protecting them from scrapes, scratches, and peeling. I have tried contacting custom decal makers for such an item, but they all require orders that are 50-100 stickers minimum to be placed. But the problem is that I only need a few and not a large order like they require. So does anyone know where I can find some clear decals to stick over my brand new factory stickers that I just placed onto brand new fenders? If I can find huge sheets of it which I can cut to custom sizes myself, that would be absolutely fine. I just need some way to cover these factory decals to preserve them as best I can from wear and tear and peeling off. Thanks!!!!!

Super great idea, but where were you able to find all that for under 5 bucks? I have browsed through a few websites already who have m30 hex bolts for sale, and the prices advertised for them was about $20 to $30 a bolt! Thats not even including the nuts yet! Where did you find those m30 bolts and nuts for that cheap? Thanks!

All are EXCELLENT ideas!! Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate it.

I am looking to replace my steering shaft bearing and according to my manual, I will need a 30mm hex driver to remove the bearing retainer. I have been searching for such a hex driver, but have thus far been unsuccessful. If I cannot find one, I guess I will have to fabricate one up, but I would first like to see if anyone has a link or knows some website online that sells such a tool. I just cannot find one anywhere so far! Thanks a lot.

Thanks for the reply. Was the change to 2 longer bolts (from 4 shorter bolts) perhaps meant to help make the chain adjustment easier? (I havent had to tighten my chain yet, so I'm unsure if the longer bolts would make it easier). And yea, spanner nuts on the axle of the earlier models instead of regular hex nuts seems to be quite the odd design decision! I wonder what possessed Yamaha to use them on the earlier models. Very odd.

Thanks again guys. Does anyone know if the coils and front wheel hubs are the same per all years? If they are not exactly the same, are the newer ones still interchangeable on older models? Also, I imagine that the newer model rear axle carriers are a much better design than the old design, but can anyone briefly describe how they are actually better or different? I am thinking of switching to the newer rear carrier and have just purchased a nice swing-arm and rear suspension arm from a newer model Banshee. Just curious to know what makes the newer design better. I am under the impression that the swing-arm and rear suspension arm is completely interchangeable. Am I correct? THANKS!!!!

Great to hear I should be ok with it. Thanks 04zSpittinKlotz!!

Thanks again everyone. I finally got it off and upon looking at the spindle I can see that the bearing must had been seized somewhat to the spindle. I did a quick polishing up on the spindle with scotch-brite and all looks good other than a small dip in the spindle where the bearing possibly seized onto the shaft. It isnt noticeable by eye, but I can feel a dip in the shaft of the spindle in one area when I run my fingernail on the surface of it. Could this slight imperfection cause me issues in the future? Its not big at all nor is it noticeable by eye, but it is defintely felt when I run my fingernail along the surface of the spindle shaft. Should I be concerned about this? Or should it be fine? Thanks!!

I am looking into buying a new coil for my 88 Banshee and noticed that the new ones I come across are not sold with the spark plug wires attached. So I was wondering how the spark plug wires attach to the coil wires. Are they soldered in? Perhaps they just click into place maybe? Also, I hear many good things about the Dynatek Ignition Coil and was just looking for opinions as to if the $60 extra price between them and the stock coils was worth it. I just had my engine bored .020 over along with a port job feed by two 33mm carbs and FMF Fatty exhaust, so I am thinking that it may very well be worth it. But am looking to gather a few opinions on this one. Thanks!

Thanks! Went and did that right after reading your reply and will see how it works. I may very well need a bigger hammer if this doesnt work. Hehehehehe!! I dont want to get my purse dirty though! If the WD40 on it doesnt work, I may have to try PB Blaster. Thanks. Great idea. That will be plan "B" if WD40/PB Blaster and a bigger hammer doesnt work. Thanks. Another great idea. That will be Plan "C" if the above doesnt work. Thanks. Uh-oh, that possibility had crossed my mind while I was whacking on it with the hammer... When a bearing seizes on a spindle, usually that doesnt mean that I am going to need a new spindle, right? Thanks. Thanks again everyone for the replies. Any other ideas or suggestions are welcome.

I have an 88 Banshee which I am trying to replace the wheel bearings on. I removed the front wheel, took off the hub nut and removed the bolts holding the brake caliper and hung the caliper up out of my way. I took a soft face hammer to tap the backside of the hub but got nowhere with it. I went gently and evenly at first with the soft face hammer and then when nothing happened, I started whacking it quite forcefully. But still nothing!! No movement!! Does anyone have a solution to help ,me getting this hub off? Anyone have any idea as to what the problem may be? When lifted off the ground, I spin the wheel and it spins freely but not smoothly at all. As it spins, I hear clunking sounds in the hub area like it has rocks for bearings. But again, it does spin freely just not all that smoothly. If anyone has ANY suggestions or advise that may help me get this hub off, I would greatly appreciate it.

Great replies here guys, thanks! Does anyone know if the rear axle nuts are interchangeable between earlier and later models? The axle nuts on my '88 have a spanner type nut which I would like to replace if possible, with the newer regular type of axle nuts which use a regular wrench as opposed to a spanner wrench. Thanks.

WOW, thanks guys!! Thats a lot of great info here. I am guessing that what is mentioned pretty much covers all of the changes and revisions from 87-06, but if anyone has any more, I would be glad to hear of it.

I have an '88 Banshee that I am looking to swap out as many parts as possible on it with never model year banshee parts. Being that I have an '88 model, some newer and redesigned parts are not a direct fit which is aggravating to say the least. So I am trying to perhaps make up a list of which newer model parts are not a direct fit on older models and perhaps which parts are different, but can be easily made to work. If anyone can help me gather up a list of what parts are not a direct fit on '88 banshees, I would greatly appreciate it. An example for this list is something that I just recently discovered. This discovery was that newer model axle bearing carriers are not a direct swap into older models. Thats too bad as I could have replaced mine with a newer model take-off piece for cheap including the bearings and all. Oh well I guess. So if anyone can help me develope a list of which parts are definitely not interchangeable from newer to older parts, I would really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Thanks ZillaFreak for looking. This 10x5.5 and 10x6 dimension really has me baffled!! Before buying the 450 wheels just now, I had purchased a front set of '06 Banshee take-off wheels and had just installed them this weekend and noticed something didnt look right. The nut for the wheel hub on the fronts stuck out past the face of the wheel, whereas with the stock wheels on, the hub nut sits safely inside the face of the wheel. So I then looked closely at the wheels and noticed that there was a 10x5.5 stamping in the '06 wheel, and a 10x6 stamping on my stock wheels. So right now I am VERY curious (completely baffled actually) to understand WHY Yamaha put either 10x5.5 wheels on some banshees and 450s, and 10x6 on other banshees and 450s within the same years apparently??!! The 10x5.5 wheels definitely look silly on my banshee with the hub nut sticking out past the face of the wheel. When I read online, some folks mention having 10x5.5 wheels, and some mention 10x6 wheels on both quads, and same years. Its all so gosh darn confusing. So now I have a set of '06 pair of front wheels and tires that are useless to me and am hoping that this set of 10x6 450 wheels will be right. I REALLY hope this second set of front wheels and tires will not be money down the drain. I really hope not... Does anyone know what the deal is with the 10x5.5 and 10x6 variances with these wheels? I dont get it.

Thanks ZillaFreak, I really hope that you are right.

Thanks Fastassbanshee96. So if the 450s had a bigger offset, does that equal more or less width with them installed on the banshee? I went and ordered a pair of used tires and wheels off of a YFZ450 online right before making this thread as I started having doubts about the wheels. I originally assumed that by getting the same size wheel as my banshee, (10x6), that all would be the same. I never thought about different offsets, *sigh!* So right now I am hoping that the 450 wheels do not lessen the front width of the banshee any. If anyone knows the answer to this one, I'd greatly appreciate it, thanks.

Do the YFZ-450 front wheels installed on a banshee change the overall banshee front width any? I always assumed that they are the same and do not add or subtract overall width to the banshee front end but now I am trying to confirm it for sure. The 450 wheels that I am looking to buy have 10x6.0 marked on the wheels, and my stock banshee wheels also say 10x6.0 on them. So this should be a direct swap without any change in front end width, right? Thanks.

While cleaning my banshee shocks, I just noticed that both shocks have a cap on the top of each that are loose and move up and down freely on the shock shaft. Underneath these caps appear to be a washer. I have never noticed these loose caps on my shocks before and am curious to know if this means that my shocks are blown or in need to be repaired. For all I know, this could be normal but something that I never noticed before. Can anyone explain the purpose of these caps and if they are supposed to be tightly fitted on the shock absorber? With these caps loose (if its not normal), does it mean that the shocks are blown? If so, is it an inexpensive fit like press-fitting them back on, or do the entire shocks both need to be replaced? When I grab the front bumper and press downward, it seems to me that the shocks are working just fine. So I am confused. Could anyone shed any light on this question? Thanks a lot.