LS3 Machine

Quote of the Day! You are not alone my friend.

You make some very good points. Its weird that one area we don't tax like we should is import duties. Thanks Bill Clinton/NAFTA. We drive jobs out of the us that way. The unions have also caused more problems as well by forcing wages and benefits up to unreasonable levels. There is no way that an auto worker pushing a broom should be paid like 30 bucks an hour, and have a huge retirement program. It's just not sustainable for the manufacturer to pay super high benefits and still make a profit. The unions are a big part of the downfall of manufacturing in the USA.

Welcome to the BHQ! The banshee is pretty easy to work on. No battery, no valves, etc. A properly jetted banshee with proper fuel and oil mix is in no danger of blowing up on a trail. Do you ride tight trails or open trails? Probably not the perfect ATV for tight trails. It's a fun, well designed, awesome machine. It's not too expensive to buy one, and not too expensive to maintain. Modifying can get expensive, but that's the same on all ATVs. Read a lot here and you will learn a lot. There are some helpful, knowledgeable folks here. GL and keep us posted.

I think probably because of the infrastructure not being there... and corrupt government. Maintaining quality it seems like it would be a big problem as well.... it seems you get what you pay for.

Yeas I agree a lot of the products we buy come from overseas. Im just am trying to support the US based manufacturers whenever possible.

Well.... its not the slave labor that the Chinese workers make was my point, of course it's a lower wage than US, but nothing like the Chinese.

Thats your decision. Im not judging anyone here. The parts made in China are stolen technology made by slave wage labor; its a personal choice, and I was just bringing it up for discussion. I believe the Banshee is made in Japan where workers at least get a decent wage for their work. I didn't buy a US made ATV because I don't care for the Polaris design.

Let me preface this to say that I AM NOT JUDGING anyone here. You have to do what meets your budget and goals for YOUR Banshee, and make your decisions based on what you can afford and what is a priority to you. I personally choose not to buy knock off Chinese Parts. The companies in China will many times buy one American made performance part, and the copy it very close to the original. Ive seen this with headers, turbos, radiators, you name it. They can afford to sell a $300 radiator for 100 bucks and still turn a profit because of many reasons: 1. Little to no development costs (they just copy a proven design) 2. Super cheap, slave-like labor (watch the documentary The Last Train Home to see what it's like... great movie) 3. Usually lower quality product (but many times very close in quality to American equivalent). Examples are: Poor appearing welds, lower quality aluminum or metal, Not heat treated, thinner or thicker metal, not bench tested, and occasional poor fitting (but not usually) 4. Free trade/low/no import taxes. 5. Copyright laws are ignored, and very hard to enforce, not to mention it costs a TON of money for performance parts manufacturers to get a Patent, and why bother in Chinese companies don't care? If I had my Banshee 15-20 year ago when I was a young soldier (AKA broke ass), I may have purchased these parts as well (wait... did they have ebay back then... never mind)... damn Im getting old! Now days I am benefiting from the years of hard work, studying, and scraping my way up the ladder, so I have a choice. I choose to buy the American aftermarket parts to help keep the money I spend in the US, and help Joe the welder that builds radiators all day in the USA, where a tradesman makes a quality product, and gets a decent wage for it. I also don't like to patronize the Chinese companies that are basically using gorilla warfare to try to take over the entire worlds manufacturing. The US was at one time the worlds leader in manufacturing.. no more. Anyways..... I just wanted to provide my comments on this subject. In no way do I mean to make anyone feel bad about buying from overseas, just want to bring the issue up here as I think its worthy of discussion. http://www.importtuner.com/tech/0612_impp_knock_off_tuner_car_parts/index.html

Well you have 6 posts here.... so welcome! When I was new (I still am... only had my Banshee a couple months). I posted up here about converting to a single carb, and everyone seemed to be against it. Think about it, the fuel from the one carb has to split evenly down a Y manifold and into the 2 intake ports, there is know way that thats going to work as well (performance wise), as a carb spraying fuel directly into each individual intake manifold. I recommend ditching the single carb setup, and of course re-gearing. I guess top speed is important to you. I dont really care about op speed on my banshee,... I just want a broad, useable power curve that really pulls all the way thru to the top. Just my .02 cents, do what makes you happy! Good Luck and keep us posted on your results.

Eventually that is the plan. But I want to finish this round of upgrades, including the suspension, and ride it for a while and see how it is. Thanks for the feedback!

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. It's good to know that I can count on people like you for useful advise when working on my bike. My version of a recap is this: 1. The threads on the tap job are holding ok, Yes some of them didn't come out perfect like the other carb did, and I'm basically bailing on this setup for my own piece of mind. Stating I'm unqualified is kinda silly since you know nothing of my background. I guess qualified mechanics never make mistakes? 2. Saying it's only money is not bragging about how much money I have, it's a true statement. I work hard, and make sacrifices to make my living, and since I do so I can afford to just order the new pwks since I am not happy with the tors delete factory carb setup. I have very limited access to good tools and shops that can offer any kind of assistance (I'm in Saudi Arabia) so it's much easier to just bolt on the new parts. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, so this is the route I'm going. 3. I'm very happy for the people that have done tors deletes with great success, but I also followed a few threads of people that had the same issues I've had. I also like the fact that the PWKs will also be a nice compliment to my next round of upgrades, which will be bigger ported jugs (I'm aware that the factory carbs would also suffice in this case) Thanks again and I really appreciate the personal attacks as well.

Thanks for the input, but its only money. I don't feel like F-ing with them. Tim

Thanks Larry... actually I had read and printed that up. I also have been following other Tors delete threads here. Based on my research, I probably didn't cut away enough of the material that you need to grind away. Since I have both screws turned in all the way, and I had to resort to adjusting the throttle cables upward quite a bit to get it to idle OK. Like I said in my post, some of the threads that I tapped on the right side carb are F-ed up a bit, and to be honest, I would just like to start out with some fresh Keihins that I don't have to play with (other than installing and jetting).

I got the T5s installed and re jetted the Stock Carbs per the Toomey Kit. When I did the TORS delete Kit, the tap in one of the carbs didn't cooperate, so some of the threads are kinda iff-ey. I was slow and careful and took my time as well. I got the bike idling OK, but the idle screws are turned all the way in (I think they are not working right ; maybe I needed to take off more material on the hole maybe). I ended up getting the idle to come up using the plunger adjustments on top of the carbs. I think Im going to just say to hell with it, and order a set of Keihin 28 mm PWKs. I think I will be more happy with the Keihin carbs, as they seem to be a better setup than the modified stock Mikunis? At least I dont have to worry about drilling and tapping them, and they will give me a little room to grow when I do my next round of mods. Can anyone tell me if they bolt up to the factory Rubber manifolds?

Um... it takes me a few more than 2 strokes?!??

21cc domes. The premium gas here in Saudi Arabia is like 91 Octane. The first pic shows the dynatech digital ignition (no timing plate currently planned). Yes (what Im calling) Stage 2 is Elkas with +1/+2 LSR A Arms, G force +2 Axle, the brake lines and the Flexx bars.

Don't hate the playa... hate the game! I completely understand Jereme... Im hoping the Pipes and Cool head will get me 10-15 additional HP? I better get out to the garage... these parts aren't going to install themselves. Tim

Well after researching here on BHQ, I finally got my parts together for my first round of mods on my 2009 Banshee. Thanks to everyone here that gave advise, and I will post my results with pics here, along with lessons learned so that other BHQ newbs like myself can learn as well. My strategy for the upgrades are like this: 1. Bolt on the T5s 2. Pull the carbs, one at a time, and do the TORS mod to them and re-jet per the Toomey jet kit 3. Re-assemble and test it out for a good ride 4. Add the cool head and test it out. 5. Add the dyna FS timing box and test it out. Stage 1 complete. If anyone has any last minute pointers, I would appreciate it, as Im heading out to the garage today. Stage 1 parts: Bonus! Here is a preview of Stage 2 parts:

Dude lighten up??? I spent 23 years in the service and I never saw anything about how to customize your Banshee in the Army Regulations??? Who cares if it's Marine Camo and army patches? Looks sweet man, keep us posted on your progress! Tim 2009 Banshee

Parking Brake switch maybe? Bad ground?

I am pretty new here as well, but welcome to BHQ! I would say to make sure its running in top condition first, then look at what you can do to improve from there. Start out with a compression test. If all is well there, make sure its running a good A/F ratio. Most people do a plug chop to check this. I believe in there is a sticky pinned for this. Most seem to agree that the boost bottle is purely snake oil, and would probably recommend getting rid of it. As far as bottom end power, it really just depends on your budget, and your goals. Changing sprockets is probably the very cheapest way to shift the powerband down a bit, and if your timing isn't already advanced, that would be another cheap way to pick up some response and kick. Beyond that you start to look at porting and stroker cranks, etc. They do not fall into the very cheap category, but it all depends on you budget. Good luck and keep us posted on what you do. There are a great bunch of helpful banshee-addicts here.

Thats a good idea. Harbor Freight it is.

I need to take some cotter pins back to Saudi with me for my banshee. I was just going to get them from home depot or lowes. What sizes do I need for the Banshee? Thanks,

Im about to order my Fasst Flexx Bars, and ROX Risers. They sell a standard Bloc type riser, and an anti-vibration riser. I would assume since Im getting the Fast Flexx bars, I should just get the standard block risers? Also Im getting the standard 15 degree Quad bars, sound good? Thanks,

Im hoping it comes apart easier than you are describing. The Banshee is a brand new 2009, Ive been riding it for a little over a month. I guess I will get some new bearings and seals as well. Thanks for your input. Tim