I Have a 1996 Banshee and I have a MAJOR flat spot at about 1/8 to 1/4 throttle. I've owned it for about a year and the previous owner said it was that way from the start. He said the dealer told him it was "common" in banshees, that it was just the nature of the beast. Is this truly the case? Does every ones Banshee have a flat spot in the throttle?

My banshee is stock except for boyesen reeds, boost bottle, twist throttle which removed the TORRS system, and pro-design/K&N filter, air box is NOT vented and lid is ON. I run 93 octane with Honda HP2 oil (32:1). It always starts right up, idles fine, doesn't foul plugs.

When I go to start off in 1st it just bogs out till the point where it almost stalls, I have to goose the throttle to keep if from stalling, then it comes back to life with more and more throttle. Once I get over that "flat spot" the rest of the throttle range is fine, and when I hit the power band... well you Banshee owners know... HANG ON!

I would suspect this is a jetting problem, most likly the pilot jets. What do ya think? If so, what size pilot jet should I try, bigger or smaller? Has anyone else fixed this problem?

Thanks,

Rob Weissenberger

 

I too own a '96 banshee....As far as the engine goes...My machine has pretty much the same mods done to it as yours....

But to answer you question...Yes...the Banshee are all well known for not having the low end grunt of lets say...a four stroke. Mine acts the same way.... I guess before you start taking a look at how to fix the problem...You should decide what kind of riding you prefer....If you like fire roads and wide open screaming, I would not worry about it..The banshee clutch is quite strong and can take alot of abuse.....In other words...slip the clutch and start with more throttle.... In order to make the machine take off quicker (lowend) you are going to sacrifice a bit of top end.... Changing the sprockets might be all the help you need in order to take off quicker. Or you can get more exotic..by going with a two into one header settup(like those by motofast)....maybe mess with the compression with a cool head or the like...

But as far as the mods go...thats just a matter of preference I guess.

Personally, I have a boost bottle, wiseco prolite pistons, new reeds, FMF fatty woods pipes, and different sprockets. I don't even remember the specs on the sprockets.(but I can get you that if you want) I have lost a bit of top end speed...But I don't have a desert in my back yard. The most noticable mods that have worked for me ( don't help your problem much..but) have been Extending the A-arms up front, New swingarm in the rear,durablue axel, and works shocks around. The bike handles like a new machine..And now for me...I have alot more confidence while riding in the bumps..It just seems to soak it right up.

I have been struggling with whether or not I want to try a motofast settup for the low end..But I hear that they are quite loud...I don't know...I rather like the way a twin piped engine sounds. And can deal with it. Very rarely do I use first gear for tooling around.

As far as the jetting goes.... I have been paying attention lately to what averyone on the posts "says" they running...and everyone talks about changing the pilot jet..etc. I have not changed mine from stock size...( the mains..yes) Lately, the way this forum has been....I never know who is to be believed...or who is just trying to stir things up...anyway..Good choice with the banshee and good luck.

~Jim '96 banshee
jimk@borg.com

 

Rob,

First off, take that air box lid off and rejet as detailed below. I suspect that is the main problem. If you put the twist throttle on, check your carb sync. I do not have this bogging problem on mine (that I can tell), and neither does my friend. We both are set up the same aside from FMF vs. T-5 pipes. Both of us run 320 mains (probably a LOT bigger than you're running considering the air box lid is on), stock needle and pilots, but needle in 4th groove, and 1 1/2 - 2 turns out on the air screws. That air box lid is really restrictive and is probably responsible for the off idle bogging. For fun, you might try to swap the boost bottle with the stock tube to see if there is a difference. The boost bottle modifies the intake pulse resonance frequency and might have affected the jetting. I would also guess that since the intake pulses have been changed by the boost bottle, that whether or not you have the air box lid on or off may work with or against the boost bottle design. Whether that's noticeable or not, I don't know.

The only time I can think of that I have even a similar problem is when the motors real cold and not warmed up yet. Then, it takes more revs to get going, but after that it's fine. As I posted in another thread, your best friend is a compression gauge. Run a check, and if your lower than about 110 psi (rebuild time), that could be the problem as well.

Chuck Kreuzer

 

sAyit_fmf

I've always heard that Bnashee's lacked the low end grunt, but mine seemed real prominent. I wanted to hear from other Bnashee owners and see if they felt the same way, if they too had the low end "flat spot". So basically I described the low end grunt problem common in all banshee's.

I do a lot of trail and woods riding, and even some flat out open dirt road riding. I live and ride in northern Virginia. I would prefer to fix the low end "flat spot" though, and what your saying is to just modify the quad to get more low end power. Not necessarily a jetting problem.

Actually I was in the market for a set of pipes, and what I'm seeing from the posts here is that the MotoFast 2 into 1 pipe is the best low end performer. I spoke with Jimmy from MotoFast, very informative guy, he said he played a role in designing/developing that pipe and that most if not all of the GNCC racers use it. I asked what the best mods for improved performance on the bottom end is and he said they start off by recommending first the 2 into 1 pipe and then a shaved head for increased compression. Once I save up the remaining funds, I'm going to try the motofast 2 into 1. Noise level is an issue with me and Jimmy said the 2 into 1 with silencer is 95 decibels. It would be nice to stick close to the stock decibel level which is about 78 I think.

I like the A-arm and shocks all around mods but the cost is an issue, I like to save up for big purchases and that seems like a big one. How much did the A-arms and shocks run you? And what sprockets did you go with? What color Banshee did you go with? Thanks for the info.

Rob Weissenberger
rweissen@tcs-sec.com

 

You mentioned that the previous owner said that the Banshee was always like this. Well as a matter of fact it is not supposed to be that way.

I have a 2000 Banshee that I purchased new. Mine ran the same way. I was not impressed. It was as if the engine was never warming up. The problem was with the air screw setting. In my case they were 3 and 5 turns out on each carb. They are supposed to be 2 turns out in stock form. I also have a friend who had the same problem with his new Banshee. So much for the correct jetting at the factory or dealer theory.

------------------
Skene '00 Banshee

 

if your quad has a bad low end bog when you let the clutch out the pilot jet is to lean you need to install a bigger one, most banshee's with after market pipes run best with a 30pilot stock is 25. Banshee's that are jetted well should not bog at all they do not have the low end power of some other quads but they should not fall on its face when you let the clutch go also you should raise the needle {lower the clip} to the 4th position I have alot of experience with banshees and this seems to be the best set up. I think you were installing a moto-fast pipe if so I know them quite well if need jetting info just give a shout, double pipes require totally different jetting from the 2into1

 

Great thread! I just bought a new blue Banshee a few weeks ago. I'm used to riding a 400EX and I really miss having some bottom end power. I too talked with Jimmy from MotoFast. You're right about him being very informative! He recommended several mods to me and also saved me tons of money by telling me what doesn't work. I have a 2 into 1 pipe on order with him, and the first time I rebuild I'm sending him my head to be shaved. I still own the 400EX and don't want this post to start some kind of childish battle. I love my new Banshee and I'm determined to get it tuned for my riding style. I'll let you all know how the pipe helps. Other mods I'm considering are Boyesen dual stage reeds on the stock cage. I've heard these help the low end, but also may take a little off the top. A pro flow air filter should be considered a necessity. I prefer foam filters to K&N, but that's a personal preference thing. Motofast used to make 1 into 2 carb manifold that I've heard helps. Trinity also makes this mod, but I don't trust that company. Since I'm also new to the Banshee scene, I'd also like to hear from others who have modified their Banshee's for bottom end.

Bruce
2000 Banshee (favorite)
99 400EX
99 Wolverine

 

I currently run Boyesen carbon pedals on stock cages because I have modified 30mm carbs but if you keep with the stock carbs I reccomend Boyesen Rad Vavle. I'm in favor of a foam filter pro-flo kit I have found the foam filters pass less dirt than the K&N. As far as the 2into1 carb the moto-fast one is very good with the Lectron carb as far as the Trinity, well it's a Trinity I wasnt very inpressed with its performance. Milling the head will help you out alot Jimmy is pretty good.

 

This ia a great post. It is hard to find a post without people fighting like children! Anyway, I just recently purchased a 98 Banshee and do alot of trail riding with it. At first I didn't like it much, I was use to my Sportsman 500, but now I love it. It take awhile to get use to how to ride it in the woods. My question is what are the best mods that I could do for trail riding. I am thing about, FMF woods pipes, Boost Bottle, Pro Design air cleaner, and a ABBA Air box lid and smaller front sprocket. My biggest problem is hitting the rear sprocket on everything. Has anyone tried running taller rear tires on a Banshee? I know I will have to gear it even lower if I do this but I need to get some height in the rear for trail ridding. Well thanks for any help and there is nothing like a banshee, that's for sure but I am sure all banshee owner already know that.

Kevin

 

I have had my banshee for 10 years now..... At first i believed everyone saying that the banshees had no low end.... I have done almost everything to my banshee so far and I am still not done<eg>.
I started out with a set of FMF Torque plus pipes and a few minor mods to T5's and a 370 long rod kit. Besides the 370 kit the best bang for the buck was the dyno jet kit. The needles and pilots made the most difference. If you have that much of a dead spot its because of jetting. I would suggest getting rid of the TORS system (Makes jetting MUCH easier) and a dyno-jet kit, If you can afford it, get the head shaved to boost compression a little to help low end.

good luck

walter
88 Banshee370
95 Dodge ram
99Quadbuddy

<a href="http://www.kandkatv.com">K&K atv<a/>

<a href="http://members.xoom.com/banshee370/">Banshee370 home of quads<a/>



[This message has been edited by b370 (edited 01-15-2000).]