I went and looked at an 87' banshee today that a guy is selling

my friend told me that he is asking for $1000 for the whole thing or $800 without the rear tires (with are new)

there were only a couple of things wrong with it from what i can see, one of the headlights was cracked and there was a crack in the plastic by the rear grab bar. also the left front tire was not straight and my friend said that an a-arm was bent but it still goes straight

if you looked at it from the front it kinda looks like this l------\
but not bent that much

when he went to start it up it started on the 1st kick and ran pretty good but the left cylinder was smoking. he ran it about 30 secs and then it stalled and couldn't get it started again

he said the owner put new rings balanced the crank and put a new clutch in it also a new throttle cable last year.

does this sound like a good deal? what would any of you guys do?

 

I'll add some insight to the problems you mentioned.....

The 1987 banshee has j arms...no big deal really...but you may have to replace that for sure. And possibly the mount on the frame if that is what is really bent. If your lucky you can adust the wheel to be strait again with the steering rod.

Replacing the rings does not mean a thing if the cylinders are already warm past ring spec. You will most likely have to do a bore and piston job which runs around $200 depending on how much the bore costs in your area.

New clutch: that's a good start as long as they adjusted it properly.

The machine is 17 years old at this point...the cracked light and plastic are probably to be expected.

I would say that $1000 is a pretty fair deal....For piece of mind (If it were me) I would like to know what shape the tranny is in? That's where the repairs could be expensive. Roll the machine around or lift it up and check the bearings in the swingarm and front wheels. Take a look at the chain and sprockets...look for any visible leaks in the coolant and engine area. How much rust does it have? Is the bottom of the engine/frame all dinged and bashed?

It's all up to you. Fro what I have seen...you may be able to get a newer model for about a thousand more.

 

thanks for the input

i got the guy who is selling it down to 800 dollars for everything (maybe even more tomorrow...hehehe)

and is there any way to tell what shape the tranny is in without tearing it down?
maybe by telling how much slop is in the gear when it shifts?

im going to look at it some more and ride it if it starts also he has a compression tester so i will be able to see what its putting out

 

well dude does it start? cause it sounds already that it has a problem and you should get one of those meters to check the gas (oil to gas) ratios

 

if its 800 then it may not be a total loss. i think its going to need a little more than rings though. this thing needs to have some cylinder work and prob needs reeds and stuff. its 17 years old. it's seen plenty of abuse, trust me.

as far as the plastic, if you need some, i could hook you up with some: it's blue OEM, genuine yamaha WITH the stickers (OEM and professionally done). It has the 2001 graphic scheme. I sold my 2001 banshee and dont need it anymore. I had an extra set. fenders f/r , tank, radiator shroud, etc. still in the box. PM me if you are interested.