So Cal Suspension

Alright, here's the deal with those shocks. They are indeed VERY old Ohlins shocks. In all honesty, they probably aren't worth putting any time or money into. Not because they are bad shocks, just because parts are next to impossible to find. I JUST finished a set of those Ohlins that I had in my shop for nearly 8 months. Seal heads are not available for them, therefore I had to have custom seal heads manufactured (See the pictures below) Internally, they are relatively sophisticated for their time. They use static valving, which is the same as Elka, and Axis. The piston they use, is abnormally small, though. It is a 26mm piston, VS a works 32mm piston. If they aren't leaking, I wouldn't mess with them, but once they start leaking, get rid of them. They won't be worth fixing.

Im on my phone right now, but I'll reply to this in great detail this evening.

Yeah, you're going to need to get much better pictures. Take off the shock covers, and try to get a picture of where the shaft goes into the shock body. That's where I'll be able to identify the shock.

Well, maybe SOMEONE should learn how to use the search function...

It's your tranny. Sounds like a bent shift fork to me.

The ones that look like they have a plastic in there, are most likely the nylon lined ones. Still good heims, but like you said, it all depends on the brand. The ONLY heims I will use are FK Rod Ends. There are chinese manufacturers for everything. The Teflon heims are actually lined inside with a teflon fabric. It's not a coating on the metal itself, but a fabric liner. These are FK's heim boots.

NO.... LOL The heim vs balljoint argument has been going on for years. Heims are hands down, MUCH stronger than balljoints. The problem is, builders use the pile of shit metal on metal heims. I forgot where the thread went, but I spelled out all the differences in heims. Personally, I would never run balljoints. Especially automotive tie rod ends... I also, would never run metal on metal heims. I don't understand why builders continue to put those piles of shit on a-arms, other than the fact that they are cheap. In every race vehicle that I have ever built, we ONLY use teflon FK heims. Racers would vomit at the idea of using balljoints... Anything metal on metal is going to squeak. The only thing we use those metal on metal heims for, is for spare tire racks, or lightbars... NEVER anything structural. Invest in the teflon, chromoly heims, then you will never have to worry about them for the rest of your life. FK also sells boots for the heims, similar to balljoint boots. In my opinion, with those boots on the market, there is no reason whatsoever to ever run balljoints. One day the ATV industry will come up to par with the rest of the off-road world.

Hey chad. I was just thinking about something. I know VHT paint requires heat cycles to "cure" the paint. I wonder if that BBQ paint has the same thing? I would go to home depot or lowes, they sell an aerosol can of stuff called "Kleen strip". I believe it's in a red/gold can. That stuff works awesome. You spray it on, and the paint will bubble and peel right off. I've used it on powdercoat, and paint. The can is like 5 bucks, and will be more than enough to strip both pipes. Maybe even twice if you mess up on the new paintjob...

I kinda thought that was a pretty simple answer. I tried to use real-world scenarios rather than throwing ratios, and algebraic equations at you to explain my theory. Actually, no. I don't have a degree in engineering. I have a dual Bachelors in Corporate Management, Human Developmental Psychology. I've been in the industry for MANY years. My name has been on the side of some of the biggest names in the off road racing community. Household names. Currently, I sponsor professional and amateur ATV riders, and countless professional and amateur off road racers. MORE, CORR, SNORE, MDR, and SCORE. I am not in this business to make money. That is blatantly evident. If I was, I would have told you, "Yeah, I'll sell you a set of long travel arms, and some elka's, you'll whoop on your buddy." I'm sorry my answers weren't exactly what you wanted to hear, but there is a reason LSR models their Outlaw suspension geometry after the TRX250R. You don't have to get hostile. We're all friends here. I just feel like since my answers weren't exactly what you wanted to hear, you got offended for some reason.

I'm not a fan of anything American Star produces. I'm sure others will disagree with me, but that is my opinion.

LOL, Yeah, David, he wants to ask you about your suspension... Wheelbase is all relative to weight balance. Banshees are inherently front heavy. Think about it this way. You have a square table with 300lbs sitting on it, do you want the legs to be as far out on every corner, or positioned right in the middle? It's all about stability. The basic concepts of suspension design are rudimentary, honestly. A shorter swingarm moves the weight balance closer to the center of the bike, providing more traction.

HES BACK!!!!!

Just strip them, have them coated in high-temp clear. Then there is no maintenance.

That's been tried probably thousands of times with limited success. Your time would be much better spent putting your banshee motor into a YFZr roller. There are several threads here by people doing that exact thing. If you're going to hack the front end off of a Banshee frame, I wouldn't copy the 450r front end. I would model it after a TRX250R, or utilize an i-beam type setup. Dean Sundahl built a few chassis that used an I-Beam style suspension, but his were ghastly looking.

NOS350X I believe had a hookup to get them ceramic coated. Also, send a PM to John at JL Engineering (jlengineering). He re-chromes used pipes for VERY reasonable prices. Some of the best chrome I've ever seen.

Short/Cheapest answer: Buy a 450r. Here's why. It's not the Banshee TECHNOLOGY that is old, it's the GEOMETRY that is terrible. A-arm suspension is the best and most efficient when your a-arm pivots are as close to the center point of the frame as possible. Compare your front end, to the 450R's front end. The 450 has roughly 2" between the lower a-arm pivots, whereas the Banshee has about 6-7". Also notice that the upper a-arm on a 450r is significantly longer than the lower a-arm. On a Banshee, this leads to shorter a-arms, less travel, and choppier handling. To outhandle a stock YFZ450R, you better get out the checkbook. It CAN be done relatively inexpensively, but all he's going to have to do is ditch his stock shocks, put on good aftermarket ones, and you're back at square one. Banshee's are incredible straight line machines. It takes MUCH more than just A-arms and shocks to get a banshee to handle well. You need IMMENSE skill.

This... Or your jetting is so far off that you've been running it lean, and smoked the top end.

Just FYI, c02 and nitrogen use different fittings. The regulators aren't compatible.

My portable tank is a 60cuft. Stands about two feet tall, 10in in diameter. With a Goss 0-1500psi regulator. I wouldn't get any smaller than a 60. You will find other uses for it. Car tires in a pinch, especially. Any reputable welding supply place does exchanges, on bottles. Take in your empty, get a full one on the spot. It costs me $13 to swap out my 60, and they deliver my 255cuft for the shop for 65.

What's Fagermeilter?

Looks like chumlee

Anyone surprised that his English is so great, and he's from Long Island? Sometimes, I fear that the human species with stupefy itself enough, that this guy will become one of the "intelligent" ones.

Really? Can I send you all the springs I powdercoat? Lol. It's only about 40 or so a week. Hope you can keep up. I think it's kinda cheesy, yeah, but everyone's got their own idea of what they like. It'll be unique, definitely. I think if you want elks, you should buy elkas. Just my opinion, buy since those shocks aren't really anything of value, give it a shot and see what it looks like.

Just FYI... I no longer will powdercoat YFZ450 springs, because I have never found anything to remove the old powder. It is nearly indestructible, and I think whatever shop you take it to, will end up charging you an arm and a leg to remove the old powder. You might be better off getting rid of those terrible springs, and upgrading to the dual rate kit anyways for what it will cost you to powder the stock ones. Just my opinion... Also, regarding the shock bodies, I've never painted any, so I don't know how it would hold up, but I HAVE powdercoated a set of 450 bodies. It was very labor intensive, but came out awesome.

I'm not sure... I've been loaded up on percocets for the last few days. I'm sure we're both fine.