things to look for on used banshees

[gixxer_sixxer]

I'm strongly thinking about picking up a used 03 banshee; is there anything I need to look for on these bikes? Wear spots, probibly places for damage/abuse that kinda stuff.

[Holyman]

I'm sure this went bye-bye with the old forum so I thought I'd redo it.

 

Start from the front and work your way back.

Get it on flat ground and look at it. Does it look lop-sided, the plastic fit tight, bars bent, rims look straght up and down and not tipped in at the top. {some aftermarket arms will look tipped in at the top}.

Grab the top of the tire from the side and push it and pull it. There should be no looseness. There is it could be wheel bearings, A arm ball joints, loose pivot bolts or worn out pivot bushings. While you're there look closely at the frame for bends or cracks where the brackets are that hold the A arms to the frames.

Grab the tire from the side one hand front and one hand back and move it like you're turning the bars. Looseness could be tie rod ends or wheel hubs.

Move to the front of the quad and grab the upper A arm and pull it forward and push it back. Looseness here is worn pivot bushings or loose pivot bolts.

Push down on the front bumper and notice any clunking especially at the shocks or front hubs. Notice how easy it is to push down for strength of the shocks.

Look at the radiator for dents or repairs. Look at the fit of the rad plastic to the front fender. A crooked fit shows the bike was rolled and the steering hoop has been bent back. Look for discolored plastic or cracks. Take the plugs out and look at the color. They should be nice and clean and not burnt, melted, or black. Screw in your compression tester. Go around and check the oil. It should be clean and not smell burnt and should not look like chocolate mousse. Silver flecked oil is NOT good.

Get on the quad and sit on the seat. See if the bars and pegs feel like they're in the right place. Move bars and listen for noises or looseness. Could be top stem bushing, lower stem bearing, tie rod ends, A arm ball joints or bad hub bearings. Stand up on the pegs and bounce all of your weight on one of the foot pegs and then the other. Listen for clunking or movement other than the squishiness of the tires. Looseness or noises are usually swingarm pivot bearings or axle bearings. Sometimes loose rear wheel hubs will thump a little. Look at the pegs too for bends or looseness. Bounce up and down on both pegs at the same time and listen for noises usually in the rear at the shock. Move the throttle a couple times and try to notice any snags or rough spots. Hold the throttle open and kick the kicker until the compression gauge won't go any higher. Write down the compression. Do the second one and record the number. Less than 100PSI compression or more than 10% difference between the 2 numbers means top end time.

Get off the quad and take off the seat and filter top. Take out the filter and see if it's clean and run your finger inside the carb. Any grit or dirt means bad filter maintenance and NOT GOOD for the motor. Check carb tops to make sure they're tight. Check crossover tube or boost bottle for grooves from the cables rubbing.

Put the filter and seat back on.

Get off the quad and look at the grab bar where it meets the frame. This spot usually gets bent from back flips. Grad the rear bar and lift hard and lsiten for noises especially at the shock and linkage as well as the swingarm pivot and axle bearings. Grab the bar and push it side to side. This is another way of seeing if the swingarm pivot or the axle bearings are bad. Check the chain and sprockets for looseness and bent/ worn teeth on the sprockets.

Check the tires for uneven wear and check the plastic for discoloration or cracks.

Start it up and let it get warm. Alot of smoke for the first few minutes is not unusual. Clanging noise on the right while it's idling is probably the kicker. Reach down and hold it to see if that's it.

Rev it up. It should rev freely. Go for a ride. Power should be even with no significant hesitations and no bogging. Check brakes front and back. They should stop well with no clunking and no grinding. Come to a complete stop and hold the front brake rock forward and back and listen for clunking. Could be loose A arm bushings, hubs, ball joints, front discs, and calipers.

Hold rear brake and rock front and back. Noises could be swingarm pivot bearings, axle bearings, loose caliper or caliper bracket, or loose brake hub or caliper. Get moving again and go back and let it coast to a stop. Listen for anything unusual. A slight rubbing/ whirring sound is probably the chain slider.

Well that's about all I can think of right now.

Hope this helps

[kw04]

now that i swhat you call an inspection.

[rockgc9]

now that i swhat you call an inspection.

327249[/snapback]

 

Word!!!

[banshees and beers]

Hmmmm, ya what holyman said

[banshee76179]

Hmmmm, ya what holyman said

327286[/snapback]

Word

[USMCRider]

I'm sure this went bye-bye with the old forum so I thought I'd redo it.

 

Start from the front and work your way back.

Get it on flat ground and look at it. Does it look lop-sided, the plastic fit tight, bars bent, rims look straght up and down and not tipped in at the top. {some aftermarket arms will look tipped in at the top}.

Grab the top of the tire from the side and push it and pull it. There should be no looseness. There is it could be wheel bearings, A arm ball joints, loose pivot bolts or worn out pivot bushings. While you're there look closely at the frame for bends or cracks where the brackets are that hold the A arms to the frames.

Grab the tire from the side one hand front and one hand back and move it like you're turning the bars. Looseness could be tie rod ends or wheel hubs.

Move to the front of the quad and grab the upper A arm and pull it forward and push it back. Looseness here is worn pivot bushings or loose pivot bolts.

Push down on the front bumper and notice any clunking especially at the shocks or front hubs. Notice how easy it is to push down for strength of the shocks.

Look at the radiator for dents or repairs. Look at the fit of the rad plastic to the front fender. A crooked fit shows the bike was rolled and the steering hoop has been bent back. Look for discolored plastic or cracks. Take the plugs out and look at the color. They should be nice and clean and not burnt, melted, or black. Screw in your compression tester. Go around and check the oil. It should be clean and not smell burnt and should not look like chocolate mousse. Silver flecked oil is NOT good.

Get on the quad and sit on the seat. See if the bars and pegs feel like they're in the right place. Move bars and listen for noises or looseness. Could be top stem bushing, lower stem bearing, tie rod ends, A arm ball joints or bad hub bearings. Stand up on the pegs and bounce all of your weight on one of the foot pegs and then the other. Listen for clunking or movement other than the squishiness of the tires. Looseness or noises are usually swingarm pivot bearings or axle bearings. Sometimes loose rear wheel hubs will thump a little. Look at the pegs too for bends or looseness. Bounce up and down on both pegs at the same time and listen for noises usually in the rear at the shock. Move the throttle a couple times and try to notice any snags or rough spots. Hold the throttle open and kick the kicker until the compression gauge won't go any higher. Write down the compression. Do the second one and record the number. Less than 100PSI compression or more than 10% difference between the 2 numbers means top end time.

Get off the quad and take off the seat and filter top. Take out the filter and see if it's clean and run your finger inside the carb. Any grit or dirt means bad filter maintenance and NOT GOOD for the motor. Check carb tops to make sure they're tight. Check crossover tube or boost bottle for grooves from the cables rubbing.

Put the filter and seat back on.

Get off the quad and look at the grab bar where it meets the frame. This spot usually gets bent from back flips. Grad the rear bar and lift hard and lsiten for noises especially at the shock and linkage as well as the swingarm pivot and axle bearings. Grab the bar and push it side to side. This is another way of seeing if the swingarm pivot or the axle bearings are bad. Check the chain and sprockets for looseness and bent/ worn teeth on the sprockets.

Check the tires for uneven wear and check the plastic for discoloration or cracks.

Start it up and let it get warm. Alot of smoke for the first few minutes is not unusual. Clanging noise on the right while it's idling is probably the kicker. Reach down and hold it to see if that's it.

Rev it up. It should rev freely. Go for a ride. Power should be even with no significant hesitations and no bogging. Check brakes front and back. They should stop well with no clunking and no grinding. Come to a complete stop and hold the front brake rock forward and back and listen for clunking. Could be loose A arm bushings, hubs, ball joints, front discs, and calipers.

Hold rear brake and rock front and back. Noises could be swingarm pivot bearings, axle bearings, loose caliper or caliper bracket, or loose brake hub or caliper. Get moving again and go back and let it coast to a stop. Listen for anything unusual. A slight rubbing/ whirring sound is probably the chain slider.

Well that's about all I can think of right now.

Hope this helps

327181[/snapback]

I was just about to say the exact same thing but holy beat me to it....

one added thing if the guy starts to give you a problem about you checking stuff out throughly just leave he is trying to hide something

[sp1tekiller]

This should be a sticky!!

[gixxer_sixxer]

DAMN and I thought I was anal over checkin stuff lol.

I thank ya for the heads up on what could be bad ju-ju on these. Fore warned IS fore armed.

[KGL]

Not only is that an excellent inspection but it will help you on the

price if you find stuff wrong... cant argue with a compression

tester Seller will be nervous when he see's how thorough

you are... especially if there is a problem with it

[badass_r6]

WOW!! thats a good one. im saving that!!

[ellison445]

Same here!

 

WOW!! thats a good one. im saving that!!

329087[/snapback]

[SANDSTAR]

Great list!

 

I would check the compression after the bike was warmed up. You need to give the electrical system the hairy eyeball. Check for broken harness connectors. sometimes they can be hard to take apart and end up broken, and once broken, they don't tend to stay together very well. Follow the entire wiring harness. Make sure that there are no wires with scorch marks (touched hot pipe) or electrical tape(wire was cut for some reason) Make sure that the lights /taillights work.

[dezmitchell]

ya but what kind of compreshion should i be lookin at ?? whats a good range 135-115??? and i want to buy a banshee i am 16 and have always wanted one so i need to know how often you need to rebuild a top end ??? if ran hard every weekend or so (3 or 4 seasons?)

[yamahanut98]

hye man the compression usually varies widely depending on the mods on the bike, but generally if anything below 100 dont think you are gonna get it running right for very long without a top end