Wallrat Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 I've got an 87 banshee that I was thinking about changing the frame on. Yes I know about the $160 J-arm to A-arm conversion kit, but I noticed that frames on ebay aren't much more expensive. So my question is, aside from having to get the upper A-arm assembly, are there any other subtle differences between an '87 frame and a 'newer than 1991' one? Bolt patterns (especially engine mounts), pipe clearances, bearing sizes, geometry, etc? Reason why I want to do it this way is so that I can have a project bike that I can slowly build up as money allows while still being able to ride all the time. Then when I've got it all built up the way I want I can just take the last few pieces from my '87 and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tats4life Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 None that i can think of. I'd just go to the dealership and buy a replacement frame. My frame was less the 550 for brand new. Comes with no vin or title, just get it powder coated and use your old title or get it retitled as a 2003. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonman Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 The swingarm carrier mounting is different. And the A-arms, but you knoew about the arms... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holyman Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 J arms and swingarm/carrier. That's the only diff of concern. The thing about getting a used frame set up for A arms versus the J frame you have now is quality. If your J frame is junk now, then buy another one. If your frame isn't bad now, then just weld on the couple extra braces for the A arms. The disadvantage of buying someone else's frame is you don't know how bad it is AND it's gonna cost a min of $50 to get it shipped. So add the shipping into the calculation. You may spend $250 to get someone elses frame and it's gonna require as much work to get it to where your frame is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallrat Posted November 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 Thats a good point holyman. Does anyone have any experience with the J arm conversion? I'm just wondering how it compares to the A arm frame. Does it look like an extra chunk was welded on there or is it more or less the same frame design as the A arm version? I've seen the pictures but I don't have an A arm frame on hand to compare it to. I'd forgotten about the axle carrier until you guys mentioned that. But it seems like it wouldn't affect me if I'm just buying the frame and reusing the swingarm. Agree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holyman Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 The banshee frame is exactly the same as it has always been. The J frame and A frame are identical. All they did to adapt to A arms is add an extra tube and move the rear facing J arm tab back a couple inches. The early swingarm will fait all years but the carrier is different between the early and late. SO you can put your old swingarm on any frame and put a new swingarm on your old frame but the carrier is a little different. So as long as your carrier is OK, jus plan to re-use the entire swingarm all the way back to the rims. Just unbolt at the pivot and rebolt it to your new frame. AND don't forget to drill it for a grease fitting at the pivot. It's worth the $1 it'll cost you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee370 Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 I run an 88 banshee w/ the conversion kit. It was one of the best things I did to my shee. I purchased my kit from ATV racing in Az, but sometime early next year I think Meat will be selling his kits again. Here is the link to the page on my site w/ a few pics of the conversion kit installed. http://www.roostfest.com/jarm_conversion.htm The only other thing I know of thats different on the new frames is the rear mounts for the factory "nerf bars". The older bikes didnt have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 I was selling conversion kits for only $120 & $130 depending if you needed 2 upper a-arm bolts, thats nearly half the price of ATVRacing. I plan on making more kits in the future, im having welder problems right now and I was pretty busy with my job the last few months, things are slowing down at my job so I hope to back making quality kits sometime soon after X-mas. You asked if anyone was riding with a conversion kit. I rode mine for 2 seasons(April-Dec) and everything held up fine, no cracks, no problems to report. I rode mine for 6 months before I sold my first conversion kit just to make sure they would hold up. Iv sold about...... a dozen kits so far and I havent had anyone contact me with a problem, either installing the kit or riding with the kit. If you look at the banshee zone\conversion kit section, you should be able to fab up a kit yourself. There's quite a few angles to cut, so buy some extra tubing and experiment till its right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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