I have a 98 Banshee that is ported, polished, etc. I run dual 35mm Air Strykers with dual Uni Foam Filters with Outerwears.

I run race gas with Power Plus Castor/Synthetic Oil mixed at 40 to 1.

I have noticed that the air filters seem to accumulate some of the Power Plus oil in them. Is the Pre-Mix Oil feeding back into the air filters? It's not an excessive amount of oil and is more annoying than anything.

It runs fine and appears to be jetted correctly.

Does anyone else experience this?

 

Rob,
There's a small amount of air inversion from the reed block. The reeds either don't close fast enough and some air/fuel reverts from the cylinder back towards the carb and air filter element. Or as the reeds shut, there is some reversion again, the inlet charge has been blocked by the reeds shutting(the pressure is great enough on the cyl side to hold the reeds shut now), and the inlet charge "bounces" back off the reeds and into the carb and air filter element.

It CAN(don't read a whole lot into this) that your reeds are don't have enough tension for high RPM's . But... to get enough tension at high RPM's you've just killed any low to mid range throttle response.

Maybe it's time to check you reeds for wear and gaps, but then again if it's running fine, don't fix what isn't broken.

 

Backcountry:

There is usually more oil accumulated in the right air filter versus the left.

I never thought about the Reeds being a problem. I have the stock reeds in it along with the port/polishing, coolhead with 18cc domes, Wiseco pistons, slight bore job, drag pipes and the dual 35mm Air Strykers jetted at 270.

With this in mind, should I need to upgrade the Reed Valves? How difficult is this and what $$$ is involved?

What reasonably priced Reed would you recommend?

I will also inspect my current Reeds. What should I look for? Are gaps normal? etc.?

As usual, thanks so much!

 

I've heard nothing good about the V-force reed cages. I will be installing them on a 370 Long Rod here shortly and expect to get good results. Prices range in the $200 to $250.

If you have stock reeds there can be improvements made there. While reeds may not boost the peak power and in many cases the changing the reeds only won't. It improves throttle response.

There should be no gaps between the reed block and reed petal.

 

Backcountry:

If my reeds were worn or open a bit, would that affect performance?

I am going to pull my reeds apart this weekend and look for a "gap." Can you tell me specifically what to look for?

Should I just go ahead and change the reeds at that point since I have already gone through the hassle of taking them apart?

What brand should I get and about how much $$$ are they? Do I just replace the actual reed material or the whole assembly?

Thanks!

 

When you remove the reed blocks you'll want to look from the side of the block and look to see if there is any gap between the reed petal and reed block itself.

Gaps can hurt performance, but again, chiefly throttle response.

For $220 approx, you can get all new reed cages w/ reeds. The Delta V-Force cages are the hot ticket right now...for most motors...My recc would be to use the V-force set-up.

You can re-use your stock reeds if you wish by simply removing them and flipping them over and re-install. Aftermarket reeds run around $70 for your app.

There's alot of different opinions as to which reeds and or cages are the best. Each individual motor is going to like one set-up over the other, this really applies for everything. Timing, pipes, carbs, all of it. The current word is that the V-force cages do work well. Again, I reccomend using the V-force cages.

 

Each Reed Valve will have two reeds attached, right (one lower and one upper)?

If they are bent up and have a gap, I can simply turn them upside down and reinstall?

Sounds too good to be true!

I went to several other websites and noticed that most were not happy with the FMF and Boyenson Reeds. In fact, Vito's Dyno showed that the Boyenson Reeds lost 2 h.p. versus the stock. For this reason, I would prefer to turn my stockers upside down as you suggested.

 

Backcountry:

I went out last nite and checked the compression on each cylinder using the method you taught me several months ago. They read 176 and 177 psi.

Since my compression was high and tight, does this mean the reeds must not have a gap in them? If they did, wouldn't pressure escape that way and my compression readings come in low?

Also, please see my Thread Entry above.

Thanks again for all your help and accurate advice!

 

Rob,
The reeds have little to do with the compression reading. The compression reading is what is happening basically above the piston only. It shows how the well the piston is doing at sealing the combustion chamber.

Gaps in reeds can cause hard starting and also affect throttle response some as well.

The reeds can be flipped over. Use blue loctite on the screws. VERY important, you don't want a screw to vibrate loose and be ingested by your engine.

Always a pleasure to help where I can....

 

Excellent recommendation on the Loc-tite.

Many thanks!