I just got a thumper a little over a week ago and I like the fact that no more having to mix gas and buying plugs all the time so I've been thinking of possibly getting a YZ400 motor and retro-fitting it to my 89 Banshee. Just wandering if anyone has done this and whether it is even worth the time and money spent to do it or would it just be a better idea to just wait till the YZ400 or larger finally comes out.

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Jeremiah Lucas

1989 Yamaha Banshee & 99 Suzuki LT-F500F Quadrunner

 

If you were gonna go through all the trouble of doing all that work and spending all that money. You should just go ahead and buy a laeger or lonestar rolling chassis for about $4500.

You would be way ahead to sell your Banshee and make a full on racing YZ400 quad. I just think if you are gonna go that far you might as well go all out.

Also, I am sure you know this...but a YZ400 engine doesnt exactly fall right into a Banshee frame. If you got hooked up with Laeger or Lonestar they would probably make the frame fit your application, and save you hours of retro fitting. Conversions from what I have seen are not easy tasks.

I once saw a CB650 engine in a Warrior frame for ice racing and the guy who did it said he wished he had gone with an R based frame geometry. Cause he ended up having hundreds of hours in something he was not 100% happy with.

When you get into doing something like setting up a race or conversion quad you shouldnt cut corners. You are making a huge investment of time and money and you should be 100% satisfied with the end result.

Adam Smith
99 400EX

 

I just want power and speed for trail riding and blasting down dirt roads and the such. I'd never have the oppurtunity to race it so why bother with all the expensive non-necessities. My dad once put a 78 Yamaha 650 Special Edition motor on a go cart frame and that thing was fast but pretty useless for the speeds a go cart is designed to do. As you can see I only care about the shear power and as long as it's got that and it has good reliability then that's all that matters to me. Where I live there isn't any real place to ever get into racing unless you drive many hours away and to me it isn't worth the trip or the amount of money needed to become a pro or amateur racer. Thanks for the opinion anyway. I was just wondering if it was worth doing as in is the 400 motor as powerful as some claim it is. If need be I can always go bigger. One day I'll get a CBR1100 XX motor (or something more powerful by the time I get around to doing it) and go hog wild modifying it and stick her in a custom frame but until then I'll have stick with what I got or possibly sticking a YZ400 in her.

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Jeremiah Lucas

1989 Yamaha Banshee & 99 Suzuki LT-F500F Quadrunner

 

Check out the lates issue of ATV SPORT.. In the front of the magazine there is a company making aftermarket frames especially for the YZ400 motor. They are cool looking metal flake painted frames... They have had so many people requesting frames for a yz 400 since Tim Farr and Harold Goodman are riding them now. It may be an option...... I don't have the magazine right here with me to give you the name of the company. When I get home I will look it up and post it for you.

Brian 96 Banshee

[This message has been edited by fooshead (edited 01-31-2000).]

 

If you want the ultimate powerhouse why not just get the Hi Per Sports turbo for your Banshee! 130HP is a hole lot, and it only costs $5600, which is about the same as a new YZ400. From what I have seen on dynos a YZ400 stock makes about 43HP which is not quite as much as 130HP, but of course 4 strokes give a smoother, torquier ride...like that matters against 130HP. It would also be cheaper than your 1100XX conversion.

Adam Smith
99 400EX

 

Yeah it would be cheaper than the 1100XX or bigger conversion but that's part of the fun, doing the conversion and being able to say "I or WE made this and it hauls". My cousin used to race motocross amateurly and nailed a cow in the road going 140 on his CB1000F (I think) and really screwed up his knees and split the cow so he never really got too far in motocross racing and the accident happened 20 some years ago and he just had another knee operation back in November. Point is he used to fabricate his own turbo systems for YZ250's and others as well. I plan on talking to him shortly and seeing if he can or wants too make one for my Banshee until the fateful day of getting a real big motor and probably end up a statistic, but that's the price you pay for living life.

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Jeremiah Lucas

1989 Yamaha Banshee & 99 Suzuki LT-F500F Quadrunner