lowidenfast

I've had a number of issues related to shifting since purchasing my bike in March. When I first got the bike, the clutch cable was too long and the end of the threads on the perch were stripped so it wouldn't allow for me to tighten the cable anymore. I bought a stock cable and new perch/lever which helped with the clutch itself but then I kept hitting a lot of "false neutrals" where the roller on the end of the shift drum would get stuck on one of the points of the shift star instead of settling down in between the points as it should, I bought a new shift shaft assembly from F.A.S.T. and they did the mod to it that is supposed to help make the bike shift easier. Upon inspection, the shift shaft that was in it seemed to be perfect (compared to the new one) but I installed the new shift shaft anyway, installed new lock washers, adjusted the eccentric bolt, etc. etc. It shifted fine on the stand. Now it still snags up between gears, although not as much as before, and it has developed a new problem. The bike will shift UP through the gears fine for the most part but, it doesn't want to shift back DOWN very well. Especially not back into 1st gear. I can''t even get it into 1st sometimes unless i don't use the clutch and kick it down while the bike is rolling. There is just no resistance on the shifter when it does this. It will bottom right out and nothing happens. My shift star looks to be aftermarket (or at least it doesn't look to be 15 years old) and the shift drum is aftermarket as well (says Shift-Pro on it). Could all three of these external shift mechanisms being aftermarket/modded in some way be a bad combination? I plan to tear it back down one more time to be sure the eccentric bolt is still showing proper adjustment. If it is, then I think I am about ready to throw in the towel and haul it off to someone who knows what they are doing with these things. If it is an internal shift mechanism, shift forks or the transmission that would require pulling the motor and splitting the cases, I am not going to attempt that on my own Before I go emptying out my bank account, does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Anyone had similar issues? Thanks in advance

I borrowed a neighbor's compression gauge and my cylinders checked in at a whopping 65 and 67 PSI according to this tool BUT i have bone stock internals, bolt-ons only, and it will easily wheelie in 3rd with no clutch and cranks easily, sometimes even 1st kick when cold. I read on here that stock compression is ~ 125 PSI and when you get below 110, it is time to rebuild the top end. My motor seems like it is far from needing to be rebuilt. The gauge has to be busted, right? ...or could there be another explanation? Tried to do a leak down test with the homemade tester the previous owner gave me with the bike but the tester itself broke (hard to explain this contraption LOL). I'm just trying to re-assure myself that i shouldn't worry about it....

I guess to each his own. I'm loving my new TRX 90 thumb throttle. Haven't smacked a tree since!

I see. I recorded the jetting that worked with my air box so, as big of a PITA as it may be, I can always go back to it when I know it is going to be wet and muddy.

I have the same exact jetting as you currently but contemplating whether I should go up to 290 mains with the addition of the pod filters. I currently have a thread going about my jetting just trying to get others opinions before I make any more changes. Good luck and let us know what you find out. I'd like to know since our mods, elevation and jetting are so close

OK, this side looks good, right? and then you turn it around and the other side looks strange. Both plugs are this way. What's up with the black lines?

Have you synced the carbs since installing the intake and reeds? I'd start there and be sure that there are no leaks around the intake or reeds. Next step would be jetting. You can atleast idle it in the garage and play with the air screws to see if you can clean up the idle. I just installed VF4's and I actually had to move the clip up a notch on the needle jet to lean it out which was kind of opposite of what I was initially thinking when I installed them. BTW, what size pilot jet and main jet are you running and what position is your needle set jet on? ...I'm sure you've been told this before but I just recently experienced this for my self - if you ditch that air box, you will make much more power. Atleast remove the lid. I've only had my banshee for a few months and have gone through three different filter set-ups, finally settling on K&N pods w/ outwerwears straight off of the carbs and wow what a difference it made. I have similar bolt on mods as you and elevation and temp are close as well.

Not sure if i've done this imgur pix upload correctly. I created an account and uploaded pics of the plug - the link is below. One side looks good to me but what's up with the other side? Both plugs are this way http://lowidenfast.imgur.com/all/

Also, I didn't think to keep track of which plug came out of the right and left cylinders but, if my carbs sync easily and stay synced, wouldn't that indicate that there are no air leaks that i have to worry about leaning out one cylinder or the other?

Got my pods in today and installed them. The 27.5 pilot feels good now (it was rich before with the air box), needle is still on the 3rd clip and feels good as well as well. I was a little worried that I may be lean on the Main jet but the plug chop looks good, with one exception. Both plugs have an odd black coloring on about 1/3 of the base of the ceramic. They are irregular black lines that rise up slightly higher than the chocolate ring which circles the other 2/3 of the base of the ceramic. Hard to explain really. I am trying to upload pics but it tells me "You have exceeded your allotted disk space for attachments".... Mods - Can i delete past pics I've posted to gain more "disk space' or what?

Yeah, I remember you bragging on them in some of my earlier posts. Sounds like just what I want. Deep down I knew I didn't need know stinkin 4 stroke At the risk of sounding I like an idiot, I have to ask - what do you mean by "over rev". I've seen this terminology before but never quite understood what it meant Oh, BTW, I cleaned and polished that skid plate you sent me, then my buddy took it to work at Delta and they welded the crack in it. Can't believe you were going to trash that thing man! It still has years of abuse left in it - LOL Thanks again

PM sent - damn I love this site!

VoOk - I swapped from stock reed cages to VF4's and not sure I can tell any difference but I also went from a Toomey air filter set up (no box) to an aluminum airbox with K&N at the same time. I got a lot of bad feedback on the air box saying it would restrict airflow and rob me of HP so I'm ditching it for K&N pods (which actually just came in today). Hopefully I will feel ~$300 worth of power under my ass tonight when I get home!. I love the look of the PT pipes but they are expensive as shit new! Maybe I can find someone who would be willing to trade for my T5's (hint, hint everyone!) or sell mine and put the money towards PT's over the winter. Decisions, decisions...

Well, my CURRENT budget is almost non-existent since I have just recently spent so much on it - LOL! I will be making some good money in the upcoming months. Should have enough saved by the time it gets too cold to ride to either buy a 4 stroke trail machine over the winter or ship my bike and all my money off to a pro. I don't need 80+ hp now, that can come with time. Just want to move in the direction of a more trail friendly machine without losing my top end. Not even sure what the difference is between a cub, cheetah, DM, serval etc.

Hi guys How can you make more bottom and mid-range power for a more trail / mx friendly bike without losing too much top end in the process? From what I've read, it sounds like my first step would be to swap the T5's out for Paul Turner or Pro Circuit pipes. I have ready that the PT mids rev out around 8500 so that sounds like it would KILL top end power but some people swear by them. I've seen some people claim the PT highs provide great bottom and mid-range plus, as the name implies, great top end power. Almost sounds too good to be true. How much different would these pipes be from my T5's? Also, I am interested in getting a port job when it comes time to rebuild the top end anyway. From what I have read on porting, it sounds WAY too complicated for me to tackle and that I should simply find a reputable builder and tell them what I want. Fine by me but who would everyone recommend? I have a spare set of ported cylinders that came with my bike, the ones on it are bone stock. Thinking about shipping these off to a builder to analyze and tell me what I have. The proper porting job can also assist in what I am trying to accomplish, right? All in all, I ride some tight trails, power lines etc. I used to race MX on a bone stock banshee. Not sure I will ever get back into racing but would like to take it to a track on practice days. Also, I have began to ride with my 4 year old daughter who has a TRX 90 (spare me the speech - throttle limited, 1st gear for now). It is nearly impossible to follow her though a trail right now - although I know that she will get more and more confident and probably start riding faster than I want her to in no time if she is anything like I was at that age (she is ). I know, it's not a 4 stroke. I'm actually asking all of this because I am considering purchasing a 4 stroke as my "daily driver / practical rider" so I can keep the shee as nice as it is and slowly build the engine more and more. This is obviously a more expensive option so, if my goal is attainable with the banshee, I'll pursue it over the next year or so. Just kicking around a few ideas in ym head and I'd love to hear some people's perspectives, especially those that ride tight trails and/or MX. I can only dream of getting to rip around in the sand dunes, there is just nowhere to open a banshee up like that around here

Thanks UF. I'm going to print these out for future reference

Elevation is ~800 feet and summer time temps here are between 75 - 90 degrees. 27.5 pilots, needle is in the 3rd (middle) position and mains are 280's. The carbs are stock mikunis and the engine internals are bone stock with no port job etc, Toomey T5 pipes, Vforce 4 reeds, gigantic aluminum airbox w/oversized K&N (soon to be pods), Toomey racing radiator, Chariot water pump, Hinson clutch basket, Toomey clutch, pancake bearing, I am unsure about timing. I just know the previous owner used race fuel so i do too. It's 110 but I do mix it with some ethanol free 90 that I buy for my daughter's quad and the mowers I should stick to the factory plugs - BR8ES, right? I ended up with some B7ES at some point that I still have

UF, my understanding is the needle is 1/4 to 3/4, with some overlap on each end of course. I've read a ton on jetting lately - just never actually jetted anything so i'm certainly no expert. I feel like the needle is perfect after moving it from the 4th position up to the middle to lean it out a bit. My power in the mid range is awesome. The top end (main) is about the same as it was before the VF4's but i am still a bit insure about my pilot jet. Seems like it is rich and i only went from 25's to 27.5's. I currently have them just shy of 2 turns out but, just being inexperienced and new to this bike altogether, i am having a hard time diagnosing if I am lean or rich etc. I almost feel like I need to go back to 25's with the new airbox. The plugs are black as night after riding for a while. One thing to consider is that I do some trail riding that is not ideal for a banshee at all. Like going deep into the woods on old overgrown trails and, at some times, having to make our own trail whereas I am in and out on the clutch constantly and running between idle and 1/8th throttle so maybe it makes sense that my plugs turn black I may not mess with it any more until I get my K&N pods from F.A.S.T. next week anyways. I did what I could with the jetting last night/today so i could ride this weekend to test everything out since i replaced the clutch cable and perch/lever, swapped the throttle back to thumb, new grips, replaced the bent wheel and hub from my recent encounter with a tree and tightened up my suspension etc. I'm happy with most everything but still having shifting issues (false neutrals, hard to find neutral when i want it but too easy to hit it when shifting 1-2 under power, even hard to get back down into first when down shifting). I replaced the entire external shift mechanism, mostly with upgraded parts and it is perfect so, as much as i hate to say this, i am starting to think it may be something internal... That may be a new thread to come soon!

Hey guys, does this plug look OK? That's a carboard box in the background to compare. I did the proper plug chop method. Just want to make sure it isn't lean before I head out. It's a little lighter than I was imagining but, when I compared to the cardboard box, it was very close in color. Whatcha think?

Welcome. That's a nice looking bike but your profile pic takes the cake. $2,500 sounds like a steal for all the mods it has.

I swapped the pilots out last night. I was expecting 27.5's but it actually still had 25's. That is stock size, right? geez... Also, I was wrong about one thing - the needle was in the 2nd position from the BOTTOM (rich). I got mixed up and said it was in the 2nd position from the top in my original post.

I know this is a year old post but I was just doing a search on here because I noticed my carbs do not have the splash guards surrounding the main jet. From what I am reading, I guess it's nothing to worry about, right?

OK, I just ordered pods with outwerwears and larger mains from FAST. I guess I'll just put the #30 pilots in and move the clip to the middle position on the needle, then wait for the order to come in before I do anything else. Might as well have the filters I plan to use installed before I do any jetting. Jeff agreed with #30 pilots and moving he clip down on the needle as well. Thanks for all of the advice guys

Damn Zilla, I guess I was being way too cautious. I kept locking down on the binders and coming to a complete stop at mud and either putting through it slowly or finding a way around it though the woods. I guess I will put my Toomey set up back on for now and order some pods.

Well shit, I guess I need to order yet another intake set up. I'm beginning to accumulate quite a collection of failed parts LOL