LS3 Machine

We had a pilot run a dry helicopter transmission at idle for 30 seconds. It was not damaged (luckily). They cost about 1/4 mil.

Keep us posted on how it runs. I think it will rip..... but I would love to hear how it goes. It would be nice to see a dyno sheet. I guess you use race gas?

Yeah quote what the tree said to the lumberjack for me as well. I dont know what to say. Did your buddy do a top end rebuild, or crank and topend? Im reaching a bit here, but maybe something is 180 degrees out? Or less than 180 out? Like the timing plate retarded a bunch.... Im not a Banshee expert like some guys here.... but man this is a tough one. Maybe if someone like Kevin at Herr Jugs saw the video? Someone that has seen it all, banshee-wise. Bump for you.... Good Luck.. and NEVER GIVE UP!

I checked out the video. This is a tough one. The OKO Carbs are crap from what Ive heard BTW. You said you tried some other carbs from a running bike? What carbs were they, and did it change much, if any? Who built this bike? I wonder about the backwards piston issue as well? Good plugs and plug wires? I still wonder about the needle adjustment. I would max out the needle on the top clip, and ride it, and then try bottom clip and ride it. If it improves in either direction, you found the problem. Good luck and keep us posted.

1st post in the thread.

With 28s it kinda depends on which needles u have, but I'd try 48/150 for starters. Edit: I should have paid closer attention to your setup. Since you are Porrted/4mil, I would say more like 50/155. But the 28s behave a little defferent depending on needle. The stock PWK 28 needles seem to need a more lean main and pilot, while the 68Js seem to like more fuel.

PJ motorsports is a forum vendor, they specialize in Carbs. They took good care of me. Cascade also carries a lot of carb stuff as well

What he said! Based on your pics, your cylinder head is stock. Looks like the bike could use some TLC and cleaning up, and all the things that gotta go fast listed. Other than some luv, it needs you to ride and enjoy it!

Europe Octane ratings are different than US. 98 in Europe is like 91 in US. Trust me Ive lived in both.

Post some decent quality, up close pics of the exhaust here, there are lots of people here that will properly ID the manufacturer. Also take pics of the cylinder head up closer, and the carbs, I suspect that this banshee may have more than just pipes and filters? You may want to think about checking the compression on the bike before running too much pump gas thru it as well, at least stick with premium pump gas. You need to figure out what this bike actually has.

Sounds like you found ur problem, needle. I just went through the same issue, once I dropped the needle all the way, it started running better.

It's hard to tell from the pic, but that looks like it might be aftermarket exhaust.

Congrats on the new arrival, and welcome to BHQ! You mentioned you cleaned the K & N Filters, so Im assuming it has K & Ns, and some type of aftermarket exhaust? Does it have any other mods? This will effect what you do with the bike as far as fuel type (Premium pump gas VS Race gas). Jetting is the most important to keep a Banshee running well, and for a long time. There is lots of info regarding this subject here. Anywhere between 32:1 and 40:1 seems to be best with a these bikes. 16 ounces of oil in a 5 gal jug of gas will put you at about 40:1. Just give the bike a thorough cleaning with some type of soap and water, dry it well, and spray the moving parts with WD-40. Check everything to see that it's all tight and in good working order, mix up some fresh gas, and ride that sucker and enjoy it. Post up some pics so we can see what shee looks like. Good luck!

Sometimes brand new brake lines and hard to get the pressure started. I just installed A Arms and SS lines, and even with my friend's mity vac, it took a while to get the brake lever to build pressure. Ive had this problem on other bikes when going from a dry system as well. Take your 8mm wrench and tap on the calipers, then tap on the lines, then on the master cylinder. Keep pumping the hand brake, open one of the bleed screws for a second, and close right away, keep pumping, and open again for a second. repeat this on both sides. It takes some patience for the stubborn ones. But somehow it just seems to majically build pressure. Mity Vac definately helps. Also taking a break from it for an hour seems to help (even mentions this in the manual). Good luck and keep us posted.

It just takes time and patience. Walk away from it for an hour or 2, then try again. I did that and it worked for me. I agree with the gravity technique as well.... just loosen the bleed screws a bit, fill the reservoir, and walk away for an hour. Then try pump and bleed. Once you get some pressure (U will), you may have to ride the bike a few times, and bleed again in between. tap the calipers and lines and reservoir lightly with the 8mm wrench too. Good Luck, Tim

Just take your bike to a more remote or deserted area when doing your jettiing. Nobody likes a loud bike screamin down the block. They are your neighbors.... try to be courteous to them?

Unplug it at the harness? or at the key? Thanks, Tim

You are the man! I think I might just do that.

Well I finally got around to installing my new FAST Flex Bars, and Im very happy with them. Between the Elkas and A Arms up front, and the new Faast Flex bars, my Banshee now rides like a frigggin Cadillac! Anyways.... Im done playing with my bike today, but as you see in the pic, I will need to do a key relocation. Since Im here in Saudi, I will more than likely just fab up a piece of sheetmetal to mount in under the seat somewhere where the airbox used to be. If anyone has any pointers about the key relocation I would appreciate it!

Welcome to BHQ! I like your special Ed! Pipes, filter and jeting really make the Banshee Sing. Toomey T5s are a good all around pipe, but the PCs are nice from what I hear as well. I never jetted a carbed bike before, and I learned on my banshee. Its easy, just takes some reading and practice. Its an easy bike to work on, and the guys here are very helpful and knowledgeable. Enjoy, and keep us posted!

So you know how to tune a banshee? If so, have you systematically verified it's not the carb tuning? That is absolutely not true about the needle clip position. Mine had bad clip position and didn't run right either. Im just trying to help here, but I guess you have your mind made up.

Just because you said it's not jetting doesn't mean it isn't. The friggin owner of the website even posted thinking its jetting. Your symptoms sound like the needle is in the wrong clip position... but hey....you said it's not jetting... so it must not be jetting. There are a lot of mechanics out there... and there are some actually good mechanics out there. Scrap the Chinese copy PWK and get some real ones (from a forum sponsor), and someone that knows how to tune a bashee and Im pretty sure the problem will be fixed....

You can not "play with the main a little" and eliminate jetting issues. If you really want to get this bike running properly I reccomend that you: A. Learn how to properly adjust carb and jetting; or: B. Get someone who knows WTF they are doing to do it for you. Basically there are 7 different adjustments on a carb, and if one or more are off, the bike will not run right. These pointers assume the carbs and jets are clean and in good working order, and you are using fresh, properly gapped spark plugs, and fresh premium gas, mixed at 32:1 to 40:1. 1. Floats. The floats must be set at the correct height. 2. Aircrrew. Turn all the way in, then back out 1.5 turns on both carbs. 3. Sync. The carbs must be properly synced. Basically both slides have to pull up at exactly the same time when the throttle is moved. Then use the Idle screws to set vaccum equal on both carbs. 4. Carb Tuning (Jets and Needles). Set needle clip to mid position before starting. There are 3 ranges of throttle/RPM that need to be tuned. If the bike starts and idles OK, I reccomend starting with high RPM/Full throttle. 4a. High RPM (Main Jet) Start with a main jet size that someone else with a similar setup to yours. Check the jetting forum for this. They should have similar pipes/porting/intake/altitude to yours. Don't think its going to work perfect just because his bike has the same setup and even altitude as yours. Some people don't have their bikes perfectly tuned, and every bike may be a little different (I reccomend buying main and pilot jets 3 sizes bigger and smaller than this size). Adjust the main Jets up in size or down in size one at a time until the engine pulls smoothly from the high RPM to redline. 4b. Mid Range (needle position) You can only really test this range in 4th or 5th gear. Go from low RPM to full throttle, if there is a midrange stumble at all, you will need to move your needle clip up or down. Pick a direction, and move it one clip at a time. If it gets worse, your moving in the wrong direction, and vise versa. With mine, it didn't make a big change until I moved the needle 2 clips. If you have good reason to believe the stumble is a rich stumble (mine was) move the needle down (by moving the clips up). If you run out of clips, and it still has a stumble in the midrange (and your sure you went in the right direction), you may need a different size needle (not very likely). 4c. Idle to 1/4 throttle. (Pilot Jet) If your bike starts and idles good, you are close to where you need to be. Check the pilot jet by just taking off in first gear from idle, low speed take off. The first 1/4 throttle is the Pilot Jet. It should pull away clean with no stumble. If it stumbles, go down one size at a time until the stumble is gone. If it just gets worse, go up in size. Air screw. If you are maxed out on your needle in one direction or another (Leaned all the way out equals top clip, rich all the way equals bottom clip), and you still need to lean or richen a bit, you can adjust the air screw a bit, 1/4 to 1/2 turn at a time. In makes it more rich, out leans it out. My technique is to not tune with the air screw at all, just turn it all the way in, then back out 1.5 turns, and leave it there through all my carb tuning. This is not rocket science, it is actually easy and gives you a feeling of pride once you've learned it and done it yourself. It is amazing how much better your bike will run when tuned properly. Good Luck and keep us posted.

Your at 2500 ft, 145 might be just right. I would give that a try. Just dont wail on it all day if it gets worse. I think some people try to blame their bike no7 running perfect on pipes, when in reality their bike isn't tuned right.

that is exactly 40:1. You might need your carb cleaned, and possibly re-jetted. There are lots of threads about those 2 subjects here with new people needing carb setup advise. Check out the threads by new people in the jetting forum, there are some good pointers there. Or just start a thread asking questions. Good Luck and keep us posted.