How To Install YFZ450 Shocks On Your Banshee...

[#1banshee]

well i got the burgard +2+1 arms and the stock 450 shocks, work great. the only thing is that it sits high but it works for me that way. I have the preload backed all the way down but I love the way it rides as is. so if you have the shocks just try them and go from there. You can always get the dual rate set up from works for the yfz shocks, but they are a little $$$. so your best bet would to be to just get the full aftermarket shocks. i would go with elka but everyone has their taste. I have riden both and i will take the elka anyday over works.

 

yea i would go with elka also... But if i could spend and save $ on the yfz shocks for now so I can get my build done then I will prob do that... Im sure there wayyy better then stock witch is what I want so....

[GrMeyer]

yea i would go with elka also... But if i could spend and save $ on the yfz shocks for now so I can get my build done then I will prob do that... Im sure there wayyy better then stock witch is what I want so....

 

yes i was very happy with the add on of the yfz shocks over the stockers because i stopped bottoming out. Then I added the +2+1 arms on them and it made it even better. They should have came this why from the factory!!!

[regalrocket]

I was reading a few things in this install thread, and some things really made me cringe. First off DO NOT elongate the holes in the A-arm to get the bottome shock end to fit. The big end of the shock eye hits the a-arm reinforcement plate, and elongating the hole, will just make sure that the eye grinds on that plate every second of the quads life, not good. Also, I don't recomend cutting the metal from under the eye mount, it really adds alot of strength, so removing it is bad. What I did is heat the area red hot, and with a bolt ground to a radius, I massaged the area down. I heated, beated, heated, beated, then heated for a min or 2 and let cool slow (getto temper). This give LOTS of clearance, keeps it strong, and is pretty easy to do. It can be done with a regular cheap propane torch.

 

My beating tool (happens to be a shock mount bolt, as it was rusted and gettting replaced).

 

 

Painted Lower with the pocket made by beating.

 

 

 

[#1banshee]

I dont think I need to mod my after market lone stars... Im trying to remember what they look like lol they have been at the p/c guy for lil over a week... Did any 1 have to mod there after market a-arms?

[mark101180]

will the 450 shocks work on j-arm banshees? same instructions to fit them? thanks!

 

yea they will fit on a j arm banshee with the same process they are really tight but they do fit i just got done putting them on my 88 shee and they look and work sweet

[bc474]

Now that some of you have had these shocks on for 3+ years, has anyone had any ball joint issues?

[SAVAGE420]

Now that some of you have had these shocks on for 3+ years, has anyone had any ball joint issues?

 

No issues here. :thumbsup:

But my front end is for sale though as im moving on to something different. :biggrin:

Edited January 21, 2009 by savage420

[dusty_v141]

At the request of some fellow members, I'm putting together this how to:

 

Here is what we will be working with:

 

 

As you can see, the YFZ shock is larger in every dimension. The most critical dimension for this swap is the length. The YFZ shock is 1 3/4" longer than the stock Banshee unit. This will make your Banshee sit ~1" higher when this swap is complete.

 

For reference, here is a pic of what the stock Banshee shocks look like when installed:

 

 

Before you start messing with the Banshee, I'd suggest that you loosen up the preload on the shocks as well as turn the adjusters for compression and rebound to the softest setting. This makes it easier to compress the shock.

 

1. Start by jacking up the Banshee so the front wheels are no longer touching.

2. Remove the upper and lower shock bolts.

3. Pull the stock shock off and grab the YFZ shock.

4. You can try to install the lower bolt in the new shock if you want to see what needs to be modified before it will work.

5. You will discover that the bolt hole in the shock is higher than the banshee hole. This means you will have to either elongate the bole in the A-arm bracket or grind down some of the material on the shock. I chose the latter.

 

Here is a pic of the material I removed from the shock mount (marked in red):

 

 

6. Now that the shock and/or mount is modified so the bolt holes line up, you will need to create clearance between the shock mount and the inside edge of the bracket. You can either grind on the shock, grind on the mount, or bend back the material on the mount. I chose to grind the mount like this:

 

 

7. Now, check the clearance on the upper shock mount. You will see that everything appears fine. This may be true but I found it much easier to grind away some of the material on the sides of the mount to make the next step easier. Here is a pic of the grinding I did (marked in red) :

 

 

8. Now you can bolt on the lower portion of the YFZ shock.

9. Next, try to line up the upper shock/mount. You will find that you need to compress the spring nearly 2" in order to get it to slide into the mount. I found the easiest way to do this is to loosen the preload up until the adjustment nut is on the last thread. Then, once the lower bolt is installed, I stood on the upper portion of the shock until it was compressed enough to slide into the mount.

10. Once it's in the top mount, line up the bolt holes and slide the bolt through and tighten it up.

 

You've now completed one side, it should look something like this:

 

 

11. Now, repeat steps 2 thru 10 for the other side.

12. Next, you need to turn the preload nuts back down until both the adjustment and locking nut are into the threaded portion of the shock body. Tighten the lock nut down against the adjustment nut.

 

Your finished product should look something like this:

 

 

13. The only thing left is to go for a ride and adjust the compression (on reservoir) and rebound (on bottom of shock) to your weight, riding style, etc.

 

Note: You may find that there is a bit of interference between the stock lower A-arm and the YFZ coil spring when the suspension is fully suspended. I chose to ignore this as it was very minor in my case. If yours has enough interference that it affects suspension travel, you will need to clearance the A-arm slightly to alleviate this problem.

 

If you have any questions/comments/corrections, please feel free to speak up.

 

Stinger

 

 

Hey i have a 88 shee so i have the j-arms; will the 450 shocks still work on my bike. if not do you know of any other piggyback shocks that will work. Thanks

[lokisbuddy]

Awesome How-To man but as for destroying ball joints, is it possible to get some slightly smaller springs? Would that not alleviate the problem? If so then how much shorter should the springs be? thanks

[upstate1000]

nicely done, i have a question relating to suspension... my stock rear shock on my 03 is shot... feels like riding on a water balloon, havent even opened her up yet since it bottoms out over the slightest bump! have the works up front but not the cash yet for the rear, what shock could i toss in its place for a nice jump and ride suspension? think a yfz450 shock would fit? any ideas?

[SteelerBob]

nicely done, i have a question relating to suspension... my stock rear shock on my 03 is shot... feels like riding on a water balloon, havent even opened her up yet since it bottoms out over the slightest bump! have the works up front but not the cash yet for the rear, what shock could i toss in its place for a nice jump and ride suspension? think a yfz450 shock would fit? any ideas?

 

 

I have read on here that the 01 raptor 660 rear shock will bolt up. 01 only though.

[liveordie72089]

Great Tutorial. This is the best.

[UnrealBanshee]

Is there a huge difference? I mean I like the wider stance but the craptor shocks i got are fine but those look so nice on your shees with i had the extra 200 bucks

 

[robert.b.west]

Has anyone just moved the lower shock mount out a little to lower the front end so that the ball joints don't max out? I was thinking about doing this but my shocks have not come yet so I don't know if there is a problem with this or if it is just more work than necessary.

[rixxs00]

At the request of some fellow members, I'm putting together this how to:

 

Here is what we will be working with:

 

 

As you can see, the YFZ shock is larger in every dimension. The most critical dimension for this swap is the length. The YFZ shock is 1 3/4" longer than the stock Banshee unit. This will make your Banshee sit ~1" higher when this swap is complete.

 

For reference, here is a pic of what the stock Banshee shocks look like when installed:

 

 

Before you start messing with the Banshee, I'd suggest that you loosen up the preload on the shocks as well as turn the adjusters for compression and rebound to the softest setting. This makes it easier to compress the shock.

 

1. Start by jacking up the Banshee so the front wheels are no longer touching.

2. Remove the upper and lower shock bolts.

3. Pull the stock shock off and grab the YFZ shock.

4. You can try to install the lower bolt in the new shock if you want to see what needs to be modified before it will work.

5. You will discover that the bolt hole in the shock is higher than the banshee hole. This means you will have to either elongate the bole in the A-arm bracket or grind down some of the material on the shock. I chose the latter.

 

Here is a pic of the material I removed from the shock mount (marked in red):

 

 

6. Now that the shock and/or mount is modified so the bolt holes line up, you will need to create clearance between the shock mount and the inside edge of the bracket. You can either grind on the shock, grind on the mount, or bend back the material on the mount. I chose to grind the mount like this:

 

 

7. Now, check the clearance on the upper shock mount. You will see that everything appears fine. This may be true but I found it much easier to grind away some of the material on the sides of the mount to make the next step easier. Here is a pic of the grinding I did (marked in red) :

 

 

8. Now you can bolt on the lower portion of the YFZ shock.

9. Next, try to line up the upper shock/mount. You will find that you need to compress the spring nearly 2" in order to get it to slide into the mount. I found the easiest way to do this is to loosen the preload up until the adjustment nut is on the last thread. Then, once the lower bolt is installed, I stood on the upper portion of the shock until it was compressed enough to slide into the mount.

10. Once it's in the top mount, line up the bolt holes and slide the bolt through and tighten it up.

 

You've now completed one side, it should look something like this:

 

 

11. Now, repeat steps 2 thru 10 for the other side.

12. Next, you need to turn the preload nuts back down until both the adjustment and locking nut are into the threaded portion of the shock body. Tighten the lock nut down against the adjustment nut.

 

Your finished product should look something like this:

 

 

13. The only thing left is to go for a ride and adjust the compression (on reservoir) and rebound (on bottom of shock) to your weight, riding style, etc.

 

Note: You may find that there is a bit of interference between the stock lower A-arm and the YFZ coil spring when the suspension is fully suspended. I chose to ignore this as it was very minor in my case. If yours has enough interference that it affects suspension travel, you will need to clearance the A-arm slightly to alleviate this problem.

 

If you have any questions/comments/corrections, please feel free to speak up.

 

Stinger