himmelfrhat Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 I am debating buying a banshee as my "extra" quad. I already have a honda 700xx and I want to have a banshee to knock around on in addation to the 700. Whenever I am buying anything off of craigslist I am cautious about it, and even more so on a 8 year old or more quad that you know has been driven balls to the wall. I really want one that has not been bored over, I am looking for stock cyl's. My main question is what should I be looking for when looking at buying a potential banshee? So far I figure I will need to be mindful of the following: Compression (either take a compression checker, or do the old hand over both tailpipes and see if there is a difference) Check cases for any JB weld to make sure there are no cracks Ask the owner about the ratio he ran in it (ive had some people tell me straight up they run 60:1) Anything else other than this? I bought a KX250 off of craigslist a few years ago and had the bottom end blow out 2 hours after I got it home, so I am trying to avoid that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickedcarbine Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Have a plan for what you want and a realistic price. Make sure the bike fits your criteria Check compression( hand on tailpipes is useless, thumb on spark port is useless as well) Grab the front end and yank it every direction from several points of the left and right suspension areas. Listen for squeaks and rattles, feel for play or crunchy irregular movement. Grab the rear and tweak on the axle, the carrier, the wheels/hubs, swing arm. Look for hillbilly modifications Hardware is in good condition Things are tightened down properly Cracks in frame Wear items haven't been neglected Is the bike clean What is the condition of the fluids Can the owner speak with common sense, describe the bike and it's history in detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowidenfast Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 ^^ and hopefully get some seat time on it. I only got to ride mine in a small parking lot and all seemed fine. First real ride when I got home revealed shifting issues that I spent a ton of time and money chasing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camp0429 Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 The biggest problems I've had with buying off Craiglists is it seems most guys don't want to get back with you if you call or text them. I bought my Banshee off Craiglists, but before I bought it I tried to contact 5 or 6 other people about the bike they had listed and never got a response. I know this isn't really the question you had but this has been my experience anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troyzstang Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) Where are you located? If possible post a link here for our review. Good luck. Edited September 23, 2014 by troyzstang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troyzstang Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Oh by the way. Welcome to BansheeHQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwriter Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) Find a bike with FAR more money in aftermarket parts than the selling price of the bike. Then even if the motor seizes on the 1st ride, you are still way ahead. Most of the bikes I have bought, I could have parted out and made money. If you spend more than $500, make sure you get a title. The farther away from the sand dunes you look, the better the deal you will find. People that have to drive 300+ miles to the sand dunes get discouraged when they don't get to go any more because life gets in the way. I have bought several bikes in Washington and brought them back to Oregon. If you buy a mostly stock bike, you're gonna end up spending double what it's worth, by the time you start buying aftermarket goodies. Edited September 23, 2014 by Starwriter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
himmelfrhat Posted September 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Here are some I am looking at. Luckily dunes are like 5 hours away from where I am. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/snw/4670359137.html http://greensboro.craigslist.org/snw/4661401142.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/snw/4670178799.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/snw/4644280185.html The first one seems the best. A big problem with the area is finding one that doesn't have hillbilly mods or a owner who even knows anything about the bike. I am almost planning on trying to buy cheap and just instantly doing a top end rebuild just for peace of mind. However that won't be much good if the bottom end is about to blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwriter Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 The first 3 are nothing special. The last one has CPI pipes. That's a plus. Other than that can't tell much about it. Nothing very great appearing in the 2 crappy pics. It just burns my ass when people write "too much to list". You want $3,000 for something and you can't spend 5 minutes listing a few of the strong points? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwriter Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Here's 1 that's pretty kick ass. It's a bit of a road trip for you though. What I can see from the pics, aftermarket A arms, Works front shocks, antivibe steering stem, extended swingarm(Not a roundhouse though), aftermarket bumper and grab bar, pipes(FMF?), Fullbore plastics. Although "Must be run on cam2 110 octane" doesn't tell you anything about the motor, if it has high enough compression to need race gas, the crank has to have been trued and welded. From the little bit of looking around I did, there doesn't seem to be anything real special in your immediate area. http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/snw/4650251998.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
himmelfrhat Posted September 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Here's 1 that's pretty kick ass. It's a bit of a road trip for you though. What I can see from the pics, aftermarket A arms, Works front shocks, antivibe steering stem, extended swingarm(Not a roundhouse though), aftermarket bumper and grab bar, pipes(FMF?), Fullbore plastics. Although "Must be run on cam2 110 octane" doesn't tell you anything about the motor, if it has high enough compression to need race gas, the crank has to have been trued and welded. From the little bit of looking around I did, there doesn't seem to be anything real special in your immediate area. http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/snw/4650251998.html I wouldent mind driving that far, although the 110 octane is kind of a kicker, there is only 1 place around here that I know of that sells it and it is kinda shotty on having it outside of car racing season. Also what is the deal with making sure it has the title? I live on a farm and 95% of my riding is done on private land, so as far as I know (which isnt much) a title isnt a big concern, obvisouly I wouldent buy something with scratched VIN's or anything but just not having the title seems like not a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwriter Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Best case, you swap in a set of $70 pump gas domes. Worst case, you buy a $200 cool head with pump gas domes. Without a title, you can't prove it's yours. If it gets stolen, lost, or impounded, say goodbye. Also, even though it may not be stolen now, someone else can still lay legal claim to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadbeat Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Here are some I am looking at. Luckily dunes are like 5 hours away from where I am. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/snw/4670359137.html http://greensboro.craigslist.org/snw/4661401142.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/snw/4670178799.html http://raleigh.craigslist.org/snw/4644280185.html The first one seems the best. A big problem with the area is finding one that doesn't have hillbilly mods or a owner who even knows anything about the bike. I am almost planning on trying to buy cheap and just instantly doing a top end rebuild just for peace of mind. However that won't be much good if the bottom end is about to blow. i like that 1st one, its super clean and still on the original tires...hasnt been fucked with....yet lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
himmelfrhat Posted September 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 Talked to this guy http://raleigh.craigslist.org/snw/4670359137.html he says he wants 3k for the banshee (although we all know you haggle like hell on craigslist) what do you think about that price? Id like to manage to get it for 2-2400 but that may be a little cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwriter Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 Waaaaaaay too much money!!! It's only worth $2,000 on a good day. Personally, I wouldn't give $1,000 for it. Not enough aftermarket goodies. See my posts above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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