hey ppl
im buyin my first banshee here pritty soon and i was wondering what the most problem area on these bikes are, and input would be greatly appriciated
1993 300ex supertrapp, renthals, uni air filter

 

rattling kick starter that is the BANSHEE TRADE MARK. aLSO THE TORS system went and casue the throttle to bog.

 

He He you asked the wrong guy here.I bought a brand new 91 banshee,first year for dual a-arms.It held up pretty good for about 10 months.I rode it about 4-5 days a month.First thing to go was the swingarm,cracks all over.Got them welded and another crack started somewhere else.Replaced it with an aftermarket 250r style carrier and its fine now.Frame cracks everywhere, behind gas tank where seat mounts,rear shock crossmember,subframe where electral stuff mounts,steering stem bracket...etc. 3rd gear fell apart and when I split cases to inspect almost half of the gears had cracks and the mainshaft was twisted.I dont know anyone who had so much trouble with a banshee.I guess mine was a lemon.It runs pretty good now as a backup bike to my 310r.

 

The little ballbearing in the kickstarter causes it to come loose when it wears out.I replaced the bearing a few times when the banshee was new and it worked.Now theres so much play I doubt a new ballbearing will help.Pretty funny how it wears out after about 5 ride days.I have a huge gouge on the top of my crankcase from the kickstarter riding/bouncing on it.Banshee's are great though,still the 2nd best quad you can buy. I am riding mine tomorrow....yeee ha

 

Well, after about 1 year on my Y2K Banshee the only thing is the kickstarter rattle is getting annoying. The chain roller on the swing arm is about to fall off but that's probably because of the 13 tooth sprocket which makes the chain ride harder/more on the roller. When it was brand new there was a poor weld on one of the foot peg mounts but a $10 weld job fixed that. I ride it mostly at the dunes and it amazes me that people ride the bejeepers (yea, that's a real word) out of these things and I never seen them broke down.

 

so then over all there accually not as bad as the rap they have then huh?
x-cept for the couple lemons cant avoid those
and the one im gettin is a '98 w/fmf pipes and boost bottle new rear tires and new front wheels and its bored out some, and im only payin 3grand for it!

 

Right on Manson. you wont be sorry for buying a Banshee! The first things I would do is to install a Pro Design Proflow intake and K&N Filter. The stock air box/filter design is a joke. Yu have to use the lid to actually seal the filter to the airbox. Unfortunately, you either cant always tell if the filter is sealed properly or you rip the little piece of foam when installing it and got sand/dirt/gunk in the motor. I bought my 99 in mint codition with only about 3 hours on it. The first time I checked the filter, my foam was ripped and I did indeed have a little bit of sand in the carbs. Luckily i caught it in time before it did any damage. I promptly got the Pro flow. Oh yea, I have seen a dyno chart showing that just the pro flow and the K&N gave a 4 horsepower gain over stock. Thats pretty good bang for the buck!!! Now back to the reliability factor. I basically run the crap outta my quad. Flipped it on some pretty steep hill climbs in the sand and did only cosmetic damage so far. Its not the show piece it once was, but then again, if your gonna run it hard, its gonna take a beating and keep coming back for more!!

You have made a great choice in the Banshee, have fun and be careful, they are RIPPIN fast!!!

RoostKing...

 

I just bought a '96 for $2700, all stock except +2" axle and nerfs, I just mounted Holeshots on Douglas .190's on the rear. Had it a month and I love it, absolutely screams. No problems yet, even with the factory air filter. Everyone complains about it, and it probably is a little cheesy, but not so bad that an average person can't figure out how it seals correctly. I had heard that the chain adjustment was a hassle too, but in fact it's no big deal, I guess alot of people just don't want to mess with it. My only plans right now are for a Pro-Design air filter adapter and K&N (better safe than sorry), but otherwise it's great just the way it is. BTW I had an '86 250R before this, and they are both very competent machines, each has it's advantages, but the big difference is that Yamaha kept building them when Honda LEFT US HIGH AND DRY FOR TEN YEARS!

 

i was alittle disapointed that after only a few mods that my clutch started to slip, butall in all i love my shee. a must is toss the stock air box if you want to ride it very long. what was yamaha thinking??? bring on the raptor we need a new bike to pass!!!!!!!!

 

To fix the kickstarter rattle. Put 2 rubber washers, one on either side of the kick lever itself, on the bolt. Tighten very tight. My cousin wore a hole through the top of his cover before trying this. It hasn't rattled since.