What are the advantages to having a long rod over a regular rod. Are there any disadvantages. What other engine modifications need to be done to install a long rod. I am looking into a longrod for my banshee.

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Jayson Blough '99 Banshee, '97 Warrior, '96 Blaster Yes I like Yamaha

 

A longer rod does several things. Longer rods do not increase displacement like longer strokes do. It's a common misconception I run into. Anyways, a longer rod creates more "dwell" time at the bottom and top of the stroke. More dwell creates, at least the at the bottom, creates a tad bit longer cylinder re-fill time. The longer rod also, like a longer level in relation to a fulcrum, creates better leverage against the object being moved(the crank). There really isn't too much bad coming from longer rods. Like the 370 kits, some of the 420 long rods and the like, are proven packages that provide nice power. Some people mention that piston acceleration at the top and bottom is increased, which it is, but typically not to the point of creating problems. Some also argue that they may rev slower, mathmatically it does, but the difference is hard to decipher in the real world riding application.

 

Good post Backcountry. I have the long rods in my drag motor. I like them allot, and contrary to what most people "suspect" they do not rev slower nor do they limit the rev. My motor pulls all the way to 12 grand in a blink of an eye. Reliability is also increased dramaticaly. You have less rod angle and the pistons last longer because they are not binding in the bore at certain positions(as bad anyway). The main performance enhancement is that they apply the power to a little wider spread, making it easier to stay on the powerband. Most all race cars(drag and stock) use long rods.

 

Good post Backcountry. I have the long rods in my drag motor. I like them allot, and contrary to what most people "suspect" they do not rev slower nor do they limit the rev. My motor pulls all the way to 12 grand in a blink of an eye. Reliability is also increased dramaticaly. You have less rod angle and the pistons last longer because they are not binding in the bore at certain positions(as bad anyway). The main performance enhancement is that they apply the power to a little wider spread, making it easier to stay on the powerband. Most all race cars(drag and stock) use long rods.

 

My 240 Blaster has a long rod. Blasters and Banshees use the same rod. Alan Knowles at CT told me that a long rod motor is a lot more reliable because there is less stress on the parts and that the bearings that come with the longrod kit are better. He said it doesn't help too much with power but it does give a broader powerband, however it does not hurt power anywhere like some mods.

Another plus is that you get lots of people staring at your motor trying to figure out what that base spacer plate is for. The only downfall that I can think of is that it requires 2 base gaskets instead of one.

I don't know if it is worth splitting the cases and getting your crank rebuilt though, however if the rods need replaced I would deffinatly go for the long rods, they aren't that much more expensive.

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Garrett Lowman; CT240 Blaster, YZ490