In the spring I am selling my dirtbike and my 250 recon. With this money I am hoping either to purchase one of these 3 quads: LT500R, Honda TRX250R, Yamaha Banshee.

I have been reading posts about the LT500R and people have said that some kind of bearing wears out really fast. Are the LTs high revving engines? Do they handle good? I have heard that people buy them cause they have low end to lug it around. Whereas a banshee or 250R you have to keep it in the powerband a lot. What are the pros and cons of the LT500R? What year were they best made?

Thanx in advance

 

You didn't say how & where you expected to ride...trail, dunes, desert, woods, racing?

As far as the Zilla goes, it's a little heavy around 400lbs, stock power is below 5500 RPM and torque is awesome, bearings will last for decades if tranny oil is changed regularly and quad is not abused nor hopped up to much. High compression mods tend to make it less reliable but not necessarily moreso than most other bikes. I dune ride and trail ride mine in Vegas and I love my bike.

 

Well I'm a fellow proud owner of the Lt500,I was told by my enginebuilder Vito the the main bearing's and seal's like to wear out quick do to small oil journal's in the engine case's above the crank,too small,so he opened them up and I have'nt had any problem's...By taking the jug off you can see the oil journal's on bothside's of the crank....other then that the Lt500 I thought handled better then the honda,the banshee is a good machine,I like the way You can speed shift them and the powerband.Alot of ppl have told me that I should have bought a banshee that they are faster the the slow 500,well I've been proving them wrong in my town at the drag's,but anyway it's just my opinion on the other bike's to me they are all good.....Zilla

 

VegasQuadracer
I ride mainly trails because dunes are virtually non-existent up here in Alberta, Canada[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]
2fast4u If I were to buy a zilla would I just take it to a machine shop and tell them to open up the oil journals. Could a dealership do this or would it be too expensive? If the bearing did wear out what would be the symptoms?

 

Agressiverider, the bearing problem you have heard about is this:

The crank main bearing housing is made of a weak metal from the factory (Alum, I think). When ridden day after day, the bearing itself heats up and cools down faster than the housing, eventually causing a gap there, and ultimatly the housing gets egg shaped.
At this point, the air seal is blown, you start to suck in air and run lean.... well, you get the idea.

The fix. EVERY LT500 will require this fix if it doesnt have it already. (mine DID last 14 years before it went bad)
A machinist/mechanic will need to dissasemble the motor completely. He will bore out around the bearing and make room for
a copper insert that the bearing will sit inside. It is a permanent fix, and most reputable builders know about the problem and know exactly what to do.

Hope I helped.

-Matt

 

I agree with 350X,I didn't need to do this to mine,lucky I guess,Vito is reputable,I just did not need this done to my motor,instead he just opened up the oil journals to help prevent excessive heat build up in the bearing's to prevent what 350X explained from happening just, rtrying to help out that's all....

 

When you guys talk about opening up the oil journals, are these the holes on each side of the crank case that go down to the bearing? If so how much do they open them up?

 

Not to change the subject but I don't know much about a quadzilla. I know a lot about a Banshee as being a past owner. My dad use to own a 250R and it was bad. It would take a corner like floating on air. He swears there was nothing better ever made. I have heard the quadzilla's were mean. I would have to say go with a 250R. You can bore it later and it will scream. I think you would probally be happy with a Banshee or a 250R. They are both good bikes. For the Quadzilla I don't know much about them.

llknowlesll

 

Yes the hole's above the crank bearing's,I forget how much he opened them but it is noticeable difference.

 

It all depends on what kind of riding you will be doing. If its going to be MX, then the only answer is the 250 due to its size and overall geometry. Fot the trails I would pick the 250 also, and the 500 would be considered too wide by many. For the dunes, I wouldnt even consider the 250 as it will be vastly underpowered. There are many mods out there for the 250, but you can only do so much to a engine that small. In the dunes, the 500 or the Banshee would be the only answer. I myself would never have a Banshee over a 500. The Banshee is really front heavy and is not a good jumper, the 500, while some consider to be to heavy is a excellent handler with great manners in the air. As for reliability issues, the 500 is no more of a liability than any other 2-stroke. The case mod is a must, and other than that it will last forever if you keep good oil in it. The Banshees are extremely tough, from front to back, and the engines are damn near indestructable, for drag racing they are really hard to beat due to thier length and weight distribution. 250 is considered to be the best atv ever made, I myself have never liked them as they are small and underpowered for my style of riding. There are a million products out there for it, but it will only make big power with the addition of a Power-valve cylinder, which is very costly. If you want big-nuts,*****-out power then the 500 is for u. I may own other quads, but I will never be without a 500 somewhere in my lineup. It is not a quad for everyone, as they can be a handful to a novice rider, and really become wild with the addition of a big pipe,head and cylinder work. Also, for a 2-stroke, the 500 is relatively a low RPM engine, and can be lugged around at slower speeds if called upon to do so. The Banshee, depending on the pipe, usually take a few revs and slips of the clutch to navigate tight, slow riding. I would either get the Banshee or the 500 unless all your time will be spent on a MX track.