Wheatchex

Here's my take on what I've seen and heard after being a new shooter involved in handguns for a year. 1. Go to a range and shoot several different types and sizes of guns. Hopefully you can find a range that offers rental guns to try. Also get some basic instruction if available. Wear ear and eye protection. Your ears and eyes will thank you. 2. When you do this, start small ie .22 and work your way up in size to get a feel for how the caliber's differ. Don't take a new shooter in and hand them a large caliber gun. They won't enjoy it and will most likely form a bad opinion of the sport. 3. While shooting the larger calibers is fun, you will find that shooting the larger calibers will be harder on your wrists. Shooting .22's is fun, there is less recoil and you can learn to shoot better faster without developing bad habits and shoot a lot with minimal expense. Shoot a .22 for the majority of your practice and shoot your main gun some as well to stay familiar with it. 4. Cost of ammo is directly related to the size. What's nice about .22's is that you can get 1000 rnds for about 10 bucks at wallyworld. Larger sizes are much more expensive. Example: 9 bucks for 50 rnds of Wolf .45 ACP at cabellas. Bigger is more expensive to shoot. 5. You need to decide what you really want to do with your gun. Home protection, concealed carry, target, competition, plinking, pest control, etc. Each application has it's own specific requirements and no one gun will do all of them well. Each gun will have it's benefits and drawbacks. Personally I started with a Beretta U-22 Neos. It fit my hand reasonably well and fit my wife and daughter's hand very well. The recoil was minimal which is also a good thing in helping develop good shooting habits. Also cost of ammo to learn on was a consideration as well having never fired/owned a pistol before. This spring I bought a Ruger KMKIII512, also a .22, as it fit my hand better than the Neos. Also we've become interested in competitive shooting and have been participating in this area as well as target shooting. We've fired numerous sizes along the way as well just to get a feel for how they handle and what to expect. Eventually my wife and I want to get a concealed carry permit. Once that happens we most likely will be looking into a larger caliber carry gun. Always remember to shoot safe and treat every gun as if it were loaded. Wheatchex

Yep it's true that 06 is the last year for the banshee and the blaster. According to the story from the AMA: http://www.ama-cycle.org/news/2005/Yamaha/2006.asp We all knew this day was coming because of the EPA regs regarding two stroke emissions and what not. Wheatchex

This just goes to show that rich white people get preferential treatment by the courts. Wheatchex

Trouble starting when cold and starting fine when hot is usually a compression issue. You need a top end rebuild at the minimum or a bore/hone & new pistons/rings at the high end of the $ spectrum. A compression test will verify this imediately. Anything less than 100 psi needs to be looked at or if your cyclinders vary by more than a 5-10% pressure difference. Wheatchex

Recently I received a warning about the use of this politically incorrect term, so please try to pay attention. We have been informed that the Islamic terrorists who hate our guts do not like to be called "Towel Heads," since the item they wear on their heads is actually a small, folded sheet. Therefore, from this point forward, please refer to them as: "Little Sheet Heads." Thank you for your support and compliance on this delicate matter Wheatchex

In Connecticutt there is proposed legislation that will ban the sale and operation of ATV's and potentialy dirtbikes anywhere within the state. Read this from the AMA: http://www.ama-cycle.org/news/2005/CTban.asp You guys in CT better start writing your state representitives and let them know that you don't want them to support this bill. Wheatchex

Denny, While I can understand your reasons for leaving, don't leave altogether. Hang back and watch and interject your knowlege on an as needed basis. You have been a great resouce in the past not only here but also on your website with the information there. I for one would hate to see it go to waste. So stay with the site even if it is in a limited fashion. Anyway you've been here a long time. Most likely as long as me if not longer. Personally I've gotten tired of answering the same questions over and over and there have been newer people on here that jump in and give decent answers anymore. I don't post much anymore because of this but I lurk and add input every now and again. Wheatchex

"Two Stroke and the Power Band" Wheatchex

The slide cutaway portion is to the rear.(Airbox side) End of story. The slides are matched to the carbs so if they get put in the wrong one they A. will have the cutaway to the front(cylinder side) or B. they will not go down all the way. Wheatchex For more Carb info see http://www.motocross.com/motoprof/moto/mcy...01/carb101.html

Personally I've not flown an RC Helicopter. However I did see one destroy itself in a blink of an eye to the tune of $300 (1986 dollars) for parts to fix it. This happened all because of a glitch or battery failure(we couldn't determine exactly what happened). Friend was learning to hover and had made several successfull flights just prior. He was getting ready to take off again and had run up the engine and was just about to take off and then the helicopter just flipped over to one side. Tore it up pretty good. Any way my suggestion is to learn on a plane first then go to the helicopter. Also use the training software wall rat suggested if you have no one to show you how to fly. Get an instructor from the local club. Here is the web site for the Academy of Model Aeronautics: AMA Website. Look there for local clubs. I have no reccomendations for specific models of helo's. I do suggest that you get the best helicopter radio (8 channels if possible) you can afford to go with your helicopter. Make sure that it is a helicopter radio (if it comes with a gyro great, otherwise look into getting one as well) as it will have functions on it that are helicopter specific and will make flying easier. I have been told that flying RC helo's is like balancing a marble on a bowling ball using the radio. It's hard. Wheatchex

I fly, but only RC sailpanes(gliders). Always wanted to get a full size pilots license but never had the time or money. Someday I will however. Also build and fly other types of model airplanes as well. Wheatchex

First this question may seem a bit obvious but I'll ask it any way, are your springs on the shocks? I see this as one of three things, First if no springs then you will never get the shocks to return. Second the springs have broke or are worn out. Third and probably the most likely thing is that the shocks are shot and will need to be replaced. How does the shaft of the shock look? Is it nice and smooth with no pits and no discoloration? I would take the shocks off and shake them to see if you hear anything rattling around. Also the shafts could be bent slightly which would cause them to stick. So my suggesstion is to get a set of aftermarket shocks. Most people have their opinions as to what you should get. Search and you should find lots of opinions on this. Wheatchex

I believe what he was saying was that he uses 10w-30 in the transmission and uses the 2 stroke oil at 40:1 in the premix. Personally I use Silkolene light gear oil in the transmission and Silkolene Pro2 premix oil at 40:1. (40:1 is 16 ounces of oil to 5 gallons of gas) Wheatchex

While using a ratiorite is easiest, at least he will know how to get the ratio he wants while waiting for his ratiorite to come in. Also not everyone has a ratiorite. Being informed is better than being ignorant. Wheatchex

Ray, Congrats and here's wishing you two the best of luck and happiness. My wife thinks roughing it is going with out room service. Wheatchex NYUK: that jewelry explanation has to be the funniest thing I've heard in a long time.

here is all you need to determine your ratios 1. There are 128 oz in 1 gallon (US) 2. The ratio is gas to oil which means that you divide the total number of oz of gas by the total ounces of oil you are using to get the ratio of ounces of gas/ to ounces of oil. So if you have 5 gallons of gas and you add 20 ounces of oil you get the following: (5 gallons X 128 oz/gal)/20 oz oil = 640 oz gas/20 oz oil = 32 oz gas/oz oil or 32:1 You can back this out the other way if you know your ratio and either the gas or oil amounts. The simplest way is to use the ratio rite cup and mix according to the marks on the side. The ratio table on the banshee zone is basically the same thing as I described above except the mat has already been done for you. Personally I run 5 gallons of gas and a 16oz bottle of synthetic oil for a 40:1 ratio but you need to determine what is right for your application. Wheatchex

I've been running Silkolene pro2 and have had no problems with it at all. I mix it at 40:1(16 oz oil to 5 gallons of gas). I have not used any other premix oil so I can't say one way or the other as to which is best. However I can't complain about the way the Pro2 has worked for me. I also use Silkolene Light gear oil in the transmission and have had no problems there either. Here is the link to the Silkolene website: SILKOLENE Plus it smells pretty good when mixed with race gas. Brian "Wheatchex"

Just add it a little at a time(3-4 gallons) and not dump the whole thing in. Mixing it this way will dilute the oil in the tank enough that you shouldn't have any problems. If it's leaded gas don't put it in. Use it in the banshee instead. Wheatchex

Personally I am running Silkolene Pro2 mixed one bottle (16 oz) to 5 gallons of premium unleaded(40:1). I've run this since the banshee was basically new. No problems so far but I am in need of a top end rebuild as I have not opened it up yet and it seems to be down slightly on power. Still have good compression and it starts pretty easily though. I wouldn't go much less than 40:1 in fact more oil would be of some benefit. We had a big discussion a while back on the merits of running more oil in the pre mix. The engine will run down at 20:1 or lower, but you have to richen the jets accordingly due to less gas being in the mix. One of the side benefits along with keeping the parts lubricated with more oil in the mix was that some had said it helps seal the rings to the cylinder and thus helps keep the compression up. I have no experience with this but it does sound reasonable. So it's ultimately up to you to decide how much oil to run. Keep an eye on your compression periodically to determine how fast or how slow it is dropping as you use your bike. Wheatchex

I have but one thing to say: Real men like Bush! Wheatchex Also I'm for the guy who won't close down riding areas and won't ban ATV's regardless of their party.

Hole should be open. If not you run the risk of a stuck throttle slide. It vents the upper chamber of the carb body to the venturi so you don't get a vacuum lock on the slide. Temp: 180-200 Wheatchex

In the simplest terms, the engine and exhaust pipe are tuned for maximum performance over a specific range of engine RPM's. The exhaust pulses (sound and pressure) travel through the pipe and are reflected back towards the engine. When going out they help suck the fuel air mix into the cylinder. When reflecting back they help stuff the extra fuel air mix that had started to go out the exhaust back into the cylinder. This only happens when the pulses are in synch with the engine though. The way the pipe is designed determines the range of RPM's it works best at. This is also the reason you see the pipes with the big bulge on two stroke bikes and not on four strokes. As for the lack of low end power, two stroke engines tend to make more power at higher RPM's but they can be changed by the type of pipes and the porting of the cylinders. The banshee is set up for higher RPM's thus the precieved lag in lowend power and the power hit in the midrange. Weedeaters on the otherhand really are designed to work at one RPM and not over a wide range. So their exhaust is optimized for the specific operating RPM. If you want to learn more, look up 2 stroke exhaust theory on the web. Wheatchex

Happy B-Day! Wheatchex

Once again two more people die riding an atv because they weren't wearing helmets, were riding on a road at night, and were riding double. Unfortunately this type of behavior gives the majority of ATVers a black eye and gives the anti-atv crowd more amunition for banning ATV's. Here's the story: Fatal ATV accident investigated Tuesday, September 7, 2004 SUGAR CREEK TWP.

Tis a great saddness that he has passed. I really liked his style of bikes, much better than the newer bikes that are being made. He will be missed. Wheatchex