Hello all,

Looking for some advice on setting up a Banshee for MX racing. Suspension is absolutely the #1 priority for me - I'm too old to take a beating anymore (33!). I just don't heal up as fast as I used to. Any advice on what seems to work (suspension mods, engine mods, wheels/tires, gearing, etc.) and what to avoid? My Banshee is a '99, and I have modified it slightly already (VForce reeds/cage, Dynoport 2-1 pipe, Pro Circuit Filter/Moose Outerwear, Holeshot rear tires, Renthal bars/grips). Thanks!

 

Honestly if you're planning on racing MX, i would look into just getting a new bike. The banshees home is in the dunes, and going fast in a straight line. You might end up investing a LOT of money and still not have a machine that will compete. But longer a-arms and a set of elka shock would do quite a bit in the handling department. You can also incest in long travel suspension, but you had better have some deep pockets. As tog earig i don't know what your banshee is set up for right now, so i think you'll need to give some more info. And it seems like you hit most of the engine mods, pipe, filter, reeds/cage. Hole shots are great tires so i would throw all the money you could and try and spring for a long travel suspension.

 

With a little work, a Banshee can do pretty good in MX, at our local county fair, we had 2 nights of MX racing, and a guy on a Banshee won the open class, the snap out of the corners was something, the power kicking in would shoot a big roost, and 2 wheel it a little in tight corners, but he had no problem pulling nice doubles and keeping ahead of the pack. Your Dynoport pipe is a good step in the right direction, it is set up for more bottom end, just what you'll need for the corners. With the proper suspension set up, you should be able to soak up the stutter bumps, eat up the rythm sections, and land some bigger jumps without it beating you up, ( I know what you're talking about, I raced my Wolverine last year and I was 43 then !! ) Plan on spending between 1000 to 1800 for some top notch shocks, or keep an eye on ebay or swap meets for some long travel components. There's just no other sound like a Banshee revving to the moon and digging twin trenches in the track when the power kicks in !!

 

Well, I appreciate your input, but I like the Banshee, so I don't know.....

Thanks for the advice, too. Gearing is stock. Not sure about the jetting, to be honest. I was planning on completely redoing the bike this winter. Keep in mind that I'm really not planning on racing MX as a serious competitor - I want to try it out and see how I like it. I have ridden on a local MX track for practice and it is a blast. Very tiring, but very fun. The biggest problem I have is that when I really nail some of the jumps, my landings can hurt. I can't afford to get seriously injured, and even minor injuries take much longer to heal. I may not even do it a full season, so if I'm not leading the pack, it's ok. It's more for fun than competition for me. Now, if I just so happen to be competative......... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

I've looked at some of the suspension components, and yes, they are expensive. But so is a new quad, and you know it can't stay stock, which means MORE money. I'd really have to ride one on a track to see how different they are, and determine how much better they are stock as compared to my 'Shee. Maybe someone here can give me a clue on this (like, someone who owned a 'Shee and now owns a newer machine)?

If I was gonna buy a new quad though, I'd be looking seriously at the new Polaris Outlaw - that thing is S-W-E-E-T!!!

 

Alba sells a somewhat affordable +2+1 A arm kit that comes with dual rate works shocks and for not much more you can get a +2 axle. I want to say the kit is less than a grand and they call it their wide body kit I think.

I have +2+1 arms on my shee (timmy boy) with triple rates as well as a +2 swingarm and +2 axle and the upgrade was well worth the money. I personally feel that my bike rides better than the newer 450s.

 

if you want a mx banshee i would recomend these: A new bashee mx frame which is pretty much a 250r frame built for the banshee motor. and for power you will want a 2 into 1 carb kit and a 2 into 1 pipe both of these will get you alot better low end power and that frame will make it handle good to.

 

hows the mx banshee comeing out?