What to do for 90% trails ?

[rigger]

I just brought home a 00' Banshee that is going to be a rideable project to bring back to life. Me and my wife ride mostly trails and just play and have a good time. I am not out to beat anybody. Just play. I wanted the Banshee cause it was about the only 2-stroke I could get my hands on at a decent price.

 

This is my first Banshee and I don't know tons about them. I have only ridden this one for about 30 minutes before I started taking things off of it it to repair. It needs the normal swing arm bearings, bushings, fluid changes and such.

 

As far as it's current mods; Stock motor, Procircuit pipes and silencers, a boost bottle (don't know what brand), air box is opened up a little, seems to be jetted well, little beat up Duglas rims with stock 400EX fron tires on it and it has 10" rear rims with Pure Sport Bandit XC on the rear, ( I already hate this tire combo). It is already geared down a bit, 1 down on the front and 1 up on the rear sproket.

 

Will this work as a decent trail/play set up? Is there anything I need to do to it for reliability. There is a bunch I would like to do but right now the budget is really tight so if it is not really needed, it can't get it.

 

Anything I really need to look at on this machine besides the normal wear and tear stuff?

 

Thanks guys, I am new to this site and it looks like one of the best that I have seen. Really cool to see a Banshee only site.

[peterlocal22]

I just brought home a 00' Banshee that is going to be a rideable project to bring back to life. Me and my wife ride mostly trails and just play and have a good time. I am not out to beat anybody. Just play. I wanted the Banshee cause it was about the only 2-stroke I could get my hands on at a decent price.

 

This is my first Banshee and I don't know tons about them. I have only ridden this one for about 30 minutes before I started taking things off of it it to repair. It needs the normal swing arm bearings, bushings, fluid changes and such.

 

As far as it's current mods; Stock motor, Procircuit pipes and silencers, a boost bottle (don't know what brand), air box is opened up a little, seems to be jetted well, little beat up Duglas rims with stock 400EX fron tires on it and it has 10" rear rims with Pure Sport Bandit XC on the rear, ( I already hate this tire combo). It is already geared down a bit, 1 down on the front and 1 up on the rear sproket.

 

Will this work as a decent trail/play set up? Is there anything I need to do to it for reliability. There is a bunch I would like to do but right now the budget is really tight so if it is not really needed, it can't get it.

 

Anything I really need to look at on this machine besides the normal wear and tear stuff?

 

Thanks guys, I am new to this site and it looks like one of the best that I have seen. Really cool to see a Banshee only site.

 

congats on the banshee and welcome to the hq.

i mostly ride trails with my banshee. your bike sounds like its setup for trails pretty good. I have never ran the pro circuit pipes but i have heard that they will give you good low end which is what you want for trails. for the airbox its good to be cut open alittle but make sure the whole cover isnt off. as you know when you ride trails you will encounter water ways and puddles and its very important to keep as much water out of the air box as possible. For my box I took off the snorkel and cut a 3 inch square box in the back of the top of the box. This way more air will come in but for the most part the filter is still covered and protected. Ive never ran a boost bottle because if you run a search you will hear nothing but bad reveiws about them. Some people evan say they can be bad for the banshee motor. Again i have never ran one so I cant say for sure. Thats one of the problems with this site. Although people mean well, some just repeat what they hear and read as if they really know first hand.

Anyways back to the banshee, you said the jetting is good, are you running dual carbs or single? If you ever decide to put some money into it I would recomend a 2 into 1 carb. It will give you better low end and it much easier to work on. Another good part for woods riding. Sounds like your alittle unhappy with the tires, I would start by getting rid of the fronts and getting some Kenda Klaws 23 inch. These are really nice light front tires. I have them and love them. I would recomend alittle bigger tire than the normal 21 inch because as you know when riding in the woods you will always encounter big rocks, stumps, etc. that you need to go over. A higher tire in front will help you go over objects easier with out geting caught up or denting your a arm. The pure sport bandits are not bad. My bro rides them on his banshee. I would keep them until you need another set which because of all the wheel spinning on a banshee should be soon enough, lol. The only thing i would recomend right now and it doesnt cost alot of money is a good belly and rear end skid plate. I personally like PRM's skids. They are very tuff. I would also recomend a pro flow plate. This will give your airfilter a much better fit than the stock one, keeping dust and dirt out off you motor. I would start with this and revisit us when your ready to get some more parts. Good luck and welcome to the addiction, lol.

Peter

Edited March 21, 2008 by peterlocal22

[dajogejr]

Congrats on the purchase...

Start off with a budget...what do you want to spend?

I'd probably recommend keeping those pipes, they are great trail pipes. Possibly a two into one carb for bottom end punch and tuning ease, and probably bump the timing 4 degrees with a 35 dollar plate. Leave the compression as is (don't shave the head) to keep it nice and reliable on pump gas.

 

Keep the air filter clean, fresh gas and oil, and change the tranny fluid every couple of rides. The stock motors for trail riding, general playing and everything else will last YEARS if they're taken care of. Welcome to the addiction....

[SkunkWerX]

My son and I ride trails a lot. The gearing sounds good.

 

The Pure Sport tires are harder rubber, they wear like steel, but, you are correct in thinking they might not be as good for hard trails. We run Maxxis Razrs on our Banshee and Raptor and love them.

 

You have to watch going to really tall rear tires. We run the 22" Maxxis on the back, but, that changes your gear ratio at the ground. It's nice to get the extra clearance for trails, that's why we did it, but you go from 20" to 22" it's almost like going back from the 13 tooth front sprocket to the 14 toother.

 

An after market swingarm guard is a MUST. I can show you old swingarm guards that we used in the past that have gashes and dents, surely enough to destroy a rotor or sprocket. Thicker is better in my book, but most of the name brands are decent. DG, AC, and the like.

 

Shocks, what can I say? They are expensive, but they make a big difference on the trails.

Big rocks and tree roots can jerk the bars out of your hands if you hit them right.

 

We run triple rate springs with resrviors, they soak up so much shock you can ride a lot longer, and be less sore after a day riding through the mountains. if you can afford them, they are nice. If not right now, at least put a set of aftermarket front shocks on your wish list. Until then, Read the manual and adjust the spring tension on your stock shocks to get what can out of them.

 

Good luck, sounds like you are already set-up for a good trail run, then, just dial in the features that you notice after a few rides.

 

For now, run the Pure Sports at a little lower pressure to give them some squish.

[RagunCajun]

My god, you quoted his entire post right under him. awesome.

 

anyways, back to what the guy asked. You do not need anything else. Your bike will be fine. Just check out everything over real good. Look for loose screws, bad bearings etc. Lube her all up, change the tranny oil and you are ready for some fun.

 

I dont think different gearing is needed. First gear is pretty low for a stock bike and since your's is already regeared, you are fine. You dont need that fancy of a tire to ride trails. Once the powerband hits, the tires will spin spin anyways. If the dirt it a little damp, that's about the only way you might hook up. That's how it was for me anyways.

 

Also imo, the hell with all these power upgrades. I think suspension would help you out. What's the fun of riding the shee all day long if it takes a toll on your body. You can get some aftermkart suspension for a decent price. As i said, IMO nothing is needed.

 

Just dont drag race anybody at all. never. Because if you lose, you will want to get it ported and the money put will start and never stop ::

[rigger]

Thanks for the response guys. She needs a really good going through. That is what she is getting right now. Glad to hear the Procircuits are good low end pipes. When I did give it a short ride before I started tearing it apart, I really thought the motor felt like it had decent low end. Better than what I thought it would have from what I have always heard people say about them. I rode across some rail road tracks and it pulled across them at low speed almost as good as my 400EX. I was surprised.

 

Nerf bars and skid plates are first on the list. Then tires and cosmetics. Right now it is getting what is needed to be sound on the trail. I have not decided yet if I will just keep it as is as far as looks go or if one day I get board and do a frame up restoration on it. Make her look as good as she runs.

 

So far I have replaced all the bushings in the front end, tie rod ends, swing arm bearings (was a reall *%$!$ getting what was left of the bearing cages out) , brake fluid, all the other fluids too. Still going through her. She is almost back together. I have a new choke comming for it cause I just can not start it cold with the wore out one that is on it now. Over all it is really in good shape for its age. It just needs the normal wear and tear stuff relplaced on it.

 

I bought it for $2200. I don't think I did to bad with the price and what I got for it. And now that I have two machines again, my wife can ride with me again. Hope she does not like the Banshee to much. :biggrin:

[inthemail]

gota buddy with a stick welder and cutting torch? its really easy to cut and reweld the stock swinger -2 and for hookup in trails it should preform great. get a tire groover or a pair of animal nail snips and try chunkin out those bandits for the trails. :happy:

[rigger]

Yea, I was thinking about cutting these tires up a lttle. I thought of a pattern that I think would let the tire get down and grab some ground instead of just spinning on the top of it.

 

Are you talking about a big pair of like dog toe nail cutters? Never thought of that.

[Snopczynski]

Ditch the boost bottle, get a stocker. Slap some carbon tech reeds in it, and get yourself some more compression. Those pipes are pretty much the torquiest pipe on the market. Your well setup with those.

[rigger]

Well I got it almost all back together and adjusted and lubed. Only part still waiting on is a new choke. It will not cold start with the wore one that is on it now unless I get really lucky. Dropped a touch of gas right on the filter and she fired just enough to get going today. Ran great. Rode much better with all the suspension stuff lubed and rebuilt. Traction was much improved with the tires aired down some and the rear end working properly. Set the rear shock up good enough for a starting point. Still got to get the front end towed a little better but other than that, big improvement over last weekends short 30 minute ride.

 

I think she is going to make a great "fun" machine to ride.

 

Thanks for the tips guys.

[RagunCajun]

i cheap way to get some more traction is to get set of kenda knarlys and cut every other row of knobs off. Works great but it wont slide to good unless you spin the hell out of the tires. Does great for playing around like i do. Either way with a banshee, you will get tire spin once the powerband hits. If you can ride it's no big deal. I personally like to just take it a little slow.

 

and ya boost bottle is fine. It wont hurt anything. What people bitch about is the potential of that little extra weight cracking those rubber intakes that it goes in. Personally mine never gave me any problems but i took it off to free up some space on top the carbs.

[inthemail]

step away from the boost bottle.....

and yeap im talking about these suckers.

 

there hoof trimmers. real bad bastards. lol

[rigger]

I grew up with horses. Seen those plenty of times. Never thought about using something like that to cut a tire. May have to try it.

[rigger]

What is the boost bottle supose to do anyway? I see it connects the two side of the intakes, I guess to equalize the sides. The larger bottle is going to increase the volume in that one spot but what is the performance gain? Or what is it suppose to do?