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Tips for owning/maintaining a banshee


Flash_Stang

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So, 
I recently bought an 00 banshee. It’s a fairly fixed up bike. Makes around 95 HP on the dyno and the previous owner told me, it was only a few modifications away from running alcohol. I’m fairly new to the 2 stroke atvs. I’ve had 4 stroke atvs in the past.
Anyways the first time I rode the banshee everything went well. Ran it on 100 octane race fuel and used a 32:1 gas to oil ratio in the tank and it ran for maybe a total of 3 hours.
The second time I went to go use it. It started and then it died after putting it into 1st gear. Eventually the Kickstarter was stuck in position and then my mechanic told me my engine had seized due to the bearings in the crankshaft disintegrating. Eventually I bought a new crankshaft and new pistons(even though I didn’t need them but just to have a new rebuilt engine). It’s in the process right now of being rebuilt and fixed. 
A family member who’s also a mechanic told me Banshees are meant to be riden in high rpm’s since it’s a 2 stroke. He advised against me against cruising at high gears and low rpms. He said it was better to drop some gears and ride it in a high rpm if I was going to do that. 
Now my question is: What are some things I need to do differently when riding a banshee in caring for it for it to last longer? And is their any truth to high rpm thing my family mechanic told me? 
Any help would be appreciated, thank you

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Any two stroke will generally be more responsive if you're running some rpm as opposed to grunting it out in a tall gear and low rpm like you might with a four stroke. Assuming the jetting and tune was correct I don't buy into the idea that you tore up your motor because you weren't riding at "high rpms".   

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  • 2 weeks later...

Change your oil every season. Always run premix. Tighten everything up after each trip so it doesn't fall apart. Check your plugs to make sure your jetting is right. Never go fast over a hill if you haven't been on the other side. Wear a helmet.

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But a quality helmet and boots.

Run quality pre-mix!

First thing... move the coolant bottle under the front plastics to keep it from self siphoning and overheating. Blew up my first Banshee after one ride because it ran itself out of coolant riding whoops by a train track and I didn't know. It's stock spot is terrible. The overflow tube still needs to be run in the same spot, just get the bottle lower. 

After you get it fixed spray starter fluid around the carb boots and reeds to make sure there's no air leaks. 

Learn jetting. This one single skill can make riding 2-strokes much better! Both for creating proper power and troubleshooting (if you work on your own stuff).

Without knowing the full build nobody here can suggest a fuel. At a minimum, do a compression test and see what carbs you have when taking it apart. Doing an inventory of parts and taking pics of your port work and internals while it's apart could be helpful later. 

Spend a little extra on the crank or have a needle bearing (TZ) pressed on to replace the ball bearing on the clutch side at a minimum while it's apart. Have this done by somebody that knows what they are doing. The crank going out destroys motors. Starting with a good crank is like putting a good foundation under a house. 

If you want lower end power or less noise get a 4-stroke. Tons of money in a Banshee gets you more top end and more noise lol. 

Don't be afraid of rpm, there is more power at rpm, but I'm not sure lugging the motor would cause it to blow up unless there was another issue that would have showed up sooner or later. Bad crank seal, coolant level, big air leak, etc makes more sense. I ride wheelies slow enough the motor wants to stall in 1st and it doesn't have an issue with low rpm.

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