BitchenBanshee

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=2442732920 Deals like this always pop up after I buy something big and have no money.... It's even in Seattle, right next door. Usually it's across the continent if I'm lookin!

I don't run a o-ring chain in the sand. Since you can't lube a chain enough while sandriding the rubber to metal contact will rob power. I usually buy a decent set of non-oring each year for sand riding.. I use the O-ring (which lasts about every two years) for woods riding!

Anyone want to trade? Coolhead or Noss style domes!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2443636272 First time I've seen it. Anyone know how it works?

It's easy!! 1. Buy a new seal 2. Drain Oil 3. Take footpeg, shifter, and side cover off 4. Take a drywall screw and screw it into the the seal. (Directly between the case and the shift shaft) The screw will penetrate the plastic/rubber seal and then hit the case on the other side. As you screw in the screw it will cause the seal to slide away from the case! 5. Clean the shifter shaft 6. Put a light coat of grease on the shifter shaft and slide the new seal into place 7. I used a socket extension (I know it's not the right tool, but hey it works) to lightly tap the seal into place!

Where do you buy ultra light's at. I have never seen them!

I forgot to change my sig. I do have a noss head that I bought a year ago.... I'll take a straight edge to it and check the grooves to see if I have a problem. I would love to use a stock head, but the shee seems to overheat more with my stock shaved head... Ideally I want a stock head, shaved, and larger waterjackets. But like you said, probably too hard to engineer!

I know I would buy one!!! Remember you can still shave the head! So if you buy one that is cc'd for 19cc's and end up not likeing it.. You can still shave it down! Of course you cant go the other way though (or possibly they can make a head gasket that is thicker if you wish to go up in cc's) I would think that engineering a head this way would allow larger water jackets with the stock head studs. Since some of the water volume is taken up by misc machining needed for the Noss style head. If someone makes one you can count me in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

has anyone bought a set of these lights off of ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=43976 just wondering how they worked or how you installed them on the bike. They look decent, I really dont see how they can bolt right up to the stock location.....

I always follow torque patterns and use grease so I know there shouldn't be a problem with that. I was at one time switching from 21cc domes to 18cc domes when I rode in the sand. The problem is that about 1/3 of the time it would leak. I would have to take everything apart, re-grease the rings, and torque everything down again. Now most of the time once it seated, it didn't leak. When I'd take it apart to change the domes the bastard would leak again! I know that Noss is not to blame, as all of the head companies have the same design... It just seems that a better design could be made that utilizes less o-rings. Lets face it.. It would probably take 1/3rd of the time to install a stock style head as it would an aftermarket style head!! Again dlnoss I am not flaming you!! Just trying to think out of the box!!!!!!!!!

My sig has the mods that are currently done to the shee. I'm trying to find the best paddles for 200 ft drags. I weigh 200lbs so I should have plenty of weight on the rear tires. I know I need haulers, just wondering what size to go with.. I was thinking of 22x11x10's on an 8 inch wide rim with 8 paddles.. Usually the sand that we drag in is quite loose and rarely do I drag in hard packed sand.. Any suggestions!

ok.. I have a question for you! Why the heck can't one of the head companies make a head with non-changable domes, larger water jackets, and takes the normal head gasket.... It would be soooo much easier to just buy a head that was cut for 18cc domes or whatever and just use the stock style gasket. I HATE THOSE FREAKING O-RINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sick of fighting leaks with that freakin noss head! Now I'm not saying that the noss head is worse than pro-design or some of the others. I think that all of them POS's that use O-Rings have the problem.....

I finally got a set of aftermarket lights for the shee. The problem is that my harness was cut before I got the bike. The switch is gone and replaced with a teather switch. The lights I have are a two wire filament. There are three wires on the shee and I assume that there is one ground, one for dims, and one for brights. I want to just use the brights. Anyone know which wire if for brights. Can anyone offer any expertise on how to wire a switch up for these! Thanks!!

Anyone use the Vito's billet clutch basket? I'm shopping for a new billet basket and the Vito's one is about $50 cheaper than a Hinson. Just wondering if the quality is the same or not?

I was expecting more compression. Does the Port work lower compression?

Question for you port guys. Just bought a new shee with 18cc domes on it. Apparently it was ported by Dan with the Hot Dune Port. I'm getting 143 LBS of compression in both cyls and just wondering if the porting lowers the compression ratio at all. Does 143 sound about right. I'm about 500' above sea level!!! and the numbers reflect a warm engine.. Thank you!

It's not that hard. What I did was take photographs of the parts that I knew that I would have trouble putting back on the way they came off. Just make sure that you have the right tools and follow the directions on the Clymers manual to a T. Make sure you use a torque wrench on EVERYTHING. Dont shortcut this, Not Torquing aluminum leads to all kinds of trouble. you'll need two specific tools. A yamaha flywheel puller and a clutch holder ( I Made mine by taking three old clutch disks, drilling two holes, make a handle out of a road sign, and screw the handle to the three disks using a self tapping screw). The rest of the tools are prettly common with any decent tool set!

Yes the seal can be replaced from the outside. Just take a drywall screw and screw it into the side of the seal. The seal will pop out as you turn the screw into the case. Then just replace the seal, make sure you use some yamabond to keep the seal in there!

I'll tell you what. You go spend the 7500 on the YFZ and I'll sit back and see what Honda comes out with. If Honda comes out with a machine that holds together better, more power (we already know the Honda 450 makes more horses), and better handling as they are known for, I can't WAIT to say I told you so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If they say F#$@ it and don't build one, then I will pay for the YFZ. I am no longer putting my faith into Yamaha with my money. I bought the YZF426 when it first came out and it spun a main bearing during my second race of the season. It only had about 8 hours on it. It Chewed up the block and I found out that it was common with about 40% of the bikes. How the hell they let this go by I have no idea! I also bought the 2001 Raptor when it first came out because I figured that they had worked the bugs out of the motor with the 426. I was wrong and I was stuck in the dunes not able to shift gears with about 20 hours on it. The banshee I have owned for some time and besides the stupid manufacturing flaws I like it. Rest assured if the 250R was still made I would buy one over a Banshee. The biggest reason would be an aluminum swingarm and one cylinder to rebuild instead of two. Yes the Shee is faster in some ways but a 310 250R is pretty hard to beat! I bought the 400ex and haven't done one damn thing to it. Bought a 1998 CR250 and haven't done one damn thing to it (besides normal wear and tear). I have owned XR80 / XR100 / XR250 / XR400 and a XR600 briefly. I never had a problem with any of the bikes. I want a four stroke that I can just plop my ass on and ride, not work on while everyone else is riding. I give the shee the benefit of the doubt because Yamaha is the only one with balls enough to continue the 2 strokes. However in the four stroke arena they are suckin hind tit when it comes to reliability!

actually here is a clip from a recent baja race....... As of the official SCORE Baja 500 Pre Entry date May 23, 21 quads are expected to leave the line this weekend for the Baja 500. In fact, by the time you read this, there is probably hot news in our ORC desert racing section to follow the race as it progresses, so check in to see how your favorite rider or driver fared. While Honda remains the most-preferred Baja quad, looks like a lot of teams are mounted on the new Polaris Predator. Seems a factory-prepped race bike may be catching on. Maybe a Pro Production class is called for? We'll have our man-in-the-field take a peek to find out what mods these teams are doing to prep the bikes, and which survive the 500 miles of abuse. Isn't it funny how the Honda 400 is still more saught after for a desert quad than the Raptor. Thats because of RELIABILITY. I guess we will have to wait and see what the new 450 does in this contest!

Either your stupid, or your not getting the point.. Take a banshee, warrior, raptor and the new 450 and put it up to a 400ex and ride the living hell out of all of them. I will GUARANTEE that the 400ex will outlast them all. The warrior motor may last with the 400 but the chassis flaws of the warrior will bite it in the azz. This means no fixing parts, no washing, no chain tightening, not even turning a bolt! Sure a well maintained bike will outlast a poorly maintained bike, I think we all know that. We are talking about the manufacturing quality not the owners mechanical ability!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Incase you wish to argue there are races called baja's where bikes are put through this torture. The 400 has consistently been a leading runner with reliability! If you wish to argue read up on the past 4 years baja's and you will see! A bike that holds together from the factory means that it will take less maintenance from me, leading to more ride time and less money spent!!

Uhh..... I do have a banshee, and yes I like riding it Much better than the 400ex. The point is, Take one bike, and not do ANYTHING to it but ride it. I will guarantee that the 400ex will outlast any other sport quad! Simple design breeds reliability and that is what the Honda 450 is. Simple, no friggen 5 valves..... and more power than the Yamaha. Will I still own the banshee, Hell Yea.. But when by shee is busted in the corner of my shop I will be hoppin on the Honda!

That was my point entirely from the beginning. Honda spends more time on the "little" stuff than yamaha. Nothing that Honda puts out needs changing (I'm talking about non-power related items, not exhaust and engine work). They seem to spend more time with R&D than Yamaha. Again like you posted I am not talking about power. I am talking about handleing and durability. These two items should be consistent between 2 strokes and 4 strokes. I know you cant compare a 2 stroke to a 4 in trail riding. But when the coversation goes to handleing and durability that is what we are talking about. Why the hell Yamaha sticks with the same crappy setup on the warrior and banshee instead of a decent setup like the 400 is beyond me. The 400ex will take the woops, out jump, out corner, and last longer than my banshee. This is stuff that Yamaha could change if they wanted to. Honda does it because they don't make crap! Everything they make is tuned and R&D'd until every flaw is worked out! Yamaha, in the past who knows about the new 450, doesn't seem to take the time on this stuff, I guess we will just have to wait and see! All I am saying is just wait for the Honda. The last thing any of us wants is to spend 7500 on a bike and then find out that another company makes one that holds together better, faster, lighter, and better handleing than ours.

Ok... Now you totally forgot what the hell we were talking about. We were talking about how finished a product was and how some of us felt that Honda was better at finishing than Yamaha... I am in no means bashing the banshee. Hell I own one. I am bashing Yamaha for not fixing flaws and spending more time with the "Little" stuff. As we all know the banshee is flooded with "little" stuff that is just plain bad engineering. Put the 400ex up against the banshee, not in a race but in a complete bike comparison, and you notice that Honda is much more bulletproof than the banshee or warrior out of the box. I agree that I would not want to touch the 400ex in the sand or on the MX track. But put me in tight trails with mud and hills / rocks and I'll waste a banshee any day. Remember we are talking a stock 400 and a stock banshee/warrior/or raptor. The 400's handleing is better, frame is stronger, can't compare the motor much because of the difference in 4stroke vs 2 stroke, better brakes, better shocks, better engineering with fenders/plastics, chain tightner.... I can go on and on.. All I am saying is if you put the Honda 450 in the 400ex frame you would have one hell of a bike. Now just imagine more time to engineer! All I am saying is if you are low on cash, and want the best 4 stroke bike possible, at least wait for the Honda to come out!

Ok Banchetta lets break your statement down.... Ok then why did it beat out the banshee, Raptor and every other sport quad in handleing and durability in the 1999-2000 ATV Action. It only lost recently to the Susucki and Kawasucki which we all know copied the 400's frame and suspension exactly. Now I agree that it is under powered but so is the Warrior... After all we are talking the most complete ATV and exactly which other ATV are you saying is closer to perfect. Until we get some ride time on a 450 I wouldn't be bashing the competition just yet. Plus you must figure that the 400EX costs 2300 less than the 450. Well, The 400EX was actually based on the 88-89 250R which is still the most saught after MX'R. Saying that it was based on the 86-87 is just plain ignorant. Ohh and have you ever heard a 400EX frame that broke under normal conditions. I haven't. Maybe if someone is jumping it all of the time but all frames break then! Again read the 99-2001 ATV Action and it will clearly say the the 400 is the most bullet proof engine made in a sport ATV. I would bet thousands that a 400 will out live a banshee or any other two stroke in the same riding conditions. I have never heard of a XR400, XL400 or 400EX with motor problems from normal riding conditions... Maybe if it is abused for long period of time or the rider is hard on it. But it will still outlive any 2 stroke. That is the nature of all 4 strokes. Yes you are correct. But some bikes will break quicker than others. That is exactly why we are having this conversation. Saying a 400 will break quicker or not last as long as a two stroke is stupidity. Personally I still ride the banshee. I like the power and the aftermarket. My wife rides the 400EX in the sand and I ride it in the woods. Why do I ride the 400 in the woods? I think any of us banshee riders would know why!