2003LimitedBanshee Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Alright, so I know I'm probably one of, if not the only, idiots still up working on my Banshee at this time of night. But, I got some new parts in the mail and I just couldn't wait to get going. So, here you have it, the next step in the YFZ450 suspension craziness. Any guesses? If you haven't guessed already, you're looking at shocks off the brand new YFZ450R. They measure up at 18.25" eye to eye!! I haven't measured the height yet, as you can tell it's not all buttoned up, brakes etc. But, just based of eye to eye length, I should have reclaimed every bit if not more of the ground clearance originally lost by the conversion! I still need to calculate travel of this setup to figure out if it could be called long travel. Of course, there was a big discussion about what constituted long travel here recently. If you say long travel is anything with great travel than stock, then this would certainly qualify! I'll leave you with a few more. I can honestly say that this addition to the conversion may not be for everyone. For one, the YFZ450R shocks are still pretty dang expensive! For two, you absolutely have to run the 450 spindles; luckily I had a complete set of spindles, hubs and rotors ready to just swap across. For three, the 450R shocks are a touch bigger in diameter than the standard 450 shocks, thus I had to remove the rear dust cap on the upper a-arms to make sure I had enough clearance between the spring and the a-arm. Sorry the bike is a mess, but I'll wash it up and get some good daylight pictures ASAP. I'm sure Michael Jackson will have something to say about this additional step if he sees it, but whatever... :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmegill727 Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 looks a lot better! i like your two toned upper a-arms :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenBB Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Right on :beer: I don't blame ya I can't stay outta the garage when I got new parts either :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbcmudtruck Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 You will have to give us an update on the ride quality. Also could you take a picture of your bike from the side? I want to see how the overall bike sits. How does it sit when your sitting on it, does the front end sit high? One last thing, you said the top arm hits the shock. I switched my top arms from left to right and that cleared up the clearance problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredish Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 what's the ground clearance.... i will say that there is a benefit to lower ground clearance.... there's in ideal range that I like to stay within. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88-04banshee Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Very nice :thumbsup: i am liking those r shocks. i have the chance to pick up a set of 18.5 inch shocks but was a little concerned because there is only 17.5 inches between shock mounts when fully extended, so does that mean the ball joints are going to limit the travel instead of the shock ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003LimitedBanshee Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 what's the ground clearance.... i will say that there is a benefit to lower ground clearance.... there's in ideal range that I like to stay within. I'll get a quick measurement this morning on the ground clearance. Overall it is sitting level again, so I'm pretty certain it is not higher than with stock suspension. When I am sitting on the bike it is certainly not any higher than stock; it feels much higher than it did sit, but it had a pretty good rake on it before. I agree with you on ground clearance, I have certainly put my center of gravity farther off the ground again, so that could adversely affect some of the major steering benefit I had with the lower CG. Very nice :thumbsup: i am liking those r shocks. i have the chance to pick up a set of 18.5 inch shocks but was a little concerned because there is only 17.5 inches between shock mounts when fully extended, so does that mean the ball joints are going to limit the travel instead of the shock ? Personally, I would say 18.5" is a touch too much. I had to take most of the preload off the shocks to get them to fit in. When the bike is up in the air, the shocks will max out the balljoints it does appear; however with just the weight of the bike on the suspension, it compresses enough that it is not binding them. I can definitely tell the geometry of the spindles to balljoints is improved with the YFZ spindles; the bike turned much easier when pushing it out for the pictures. Didn't figure the neighbors would like me firing it up at 1:30 AM to ride it out of the shop! :biggrin: I'll see if I can get some better pics and some measurements. Measurements shouldn't be hard, but I woke up to Oregon rain today, plus I'm headed out of town, so side angle pics might be delayed for a bit. :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003LimitedBanshee Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Alright, quick measurements. Ground to bottom of frame tube in between lower bumper mounts: 13 7/16" Probably an easier comparison, ground to center of lower bumper bracket bolt hole: 14" The last measurement will probably help to get a comparison so you don't have to pull the bumper. Well, you could get creative with your measuring with the bumper installed and get both numbers either way I suppose. :geek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlocal22 Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 looks much better now. you got your ride height back let us know how it rides, peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04sand4 Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 nice lookin shee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003LimitedBanshee Posted April 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 nice lookin shee Thanks man! Looking at these pictures again during the daylight hours I'm actually a little embarassed. It looks like a filthy pig! I'm not a polishing freak, too many locked up fingers from hand polishing for hours on end. But, I at least try to keep stuff clean! I haven't even touched it since I got back from the coast last weekend; so, I'll wash it up and grab a few more pics next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlocal22 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 how do you like the set up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003LimitedBanshee Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 how do you like the set up? Haven't had a chance to ride it yet; caliper bolts just showed up at Yamaha shop. I'm going to pick them up tomorrow and also pick up a set of base gaskets so I can bolt up my cylinders I just finished porting and then ride the fricken' crap outta this thing!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastrthnu Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Haven't had a chance to ride it yet; caliper bolts just showed up at Yamaha shop. I'm going to pick them up tomorrow and also pick up a set of base gaskets so I can bolt up my cylinders I just finished porting and then ride the fricken' crap outta this thing!!! what do you do to get the lower yfz arms to fit the banshee? Id like to get that 09 setup for my yfz and put these existing ones on the banshee and make my money back seling the +3`s I have on the banshee, or just trade from one quad to the other, but they arent a direct interchange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachcruiser Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I'm sure there are quite afew of us wondering.......how does the setup ride with the new shocks???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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