I own a 91' Banshee and everything in the motor is original so i figured after 10 years a top end rebuild might refresh the motor a bit since it seemed lacking some power at the dunes, and had trouble starting. I have started taking it apart and i have the head off, and the pistons look fine except a little carbon buildup, and the head looks brand new, and the cylinder walls still feel smooth. Would it be worth the time and money to go ahead and hone the cylinders and put new pistons in. or just put it back together and see if cleaning the carbs would fix the problem. i already have htem off but not apart, and they dont look very dirty because they were cleaned a couple years ago. Also if i do the cylinders and pistons what kinda money am i looking at spending?

 

What you need to ask yourself is this, How many HOURS are on the motor, My dad owns a 1971 car that has less kilometers on it than my moms 1995 car does. A rule of thumb that I was told was this (It is actually very accurate for me) When your tires need to be changed, So do you pistons. My first rebuild on my banshee did not show much from just removing the heads. Remove the exhaust and the intake, Take a flashlight and look at the side of the pistons, I had slight seizure marks on mine,So I replaced them. If your rings are ok and the clearance is good, maximum clearance is 0.5mm end gap, and 0.12mm ring to wall, piston clearance is .065mm. then go ahead and keep running them. Clean everything before you put it back together, Your looking at about $200us for a bore and rebuild if you do the work yourself.

 

I would just put new rings in it and see if that help there not to high

 

Did you perform a compression test before you tore down the motor? The results of that might give you direction. If you didn't, take the cylinders and pistions to a REPUTABLE shop and get an opinion as to how to proceed. My personal opinion is that if you have taken the trouble to dismantle your motor you might as well do the whole job. It isn't really that expensive and you would know that you wouldn't have to redo it any time soon.