MANDINGO Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) Sup guys/gals. I'm looking to buy my 1st banshee I'm located in Northern California so I have to get a 2002 or older(need to get a green sticker quad so I can ride everywhere year round) My questions are: What should I look for? As in mechanical problems What should I do to it when I get it? Are they hard to work on? Can a seized up motor be brought back to life? Or is it better(financially) to just get a new motor? Where should the compression be on the motor Any input will be greatly appreciated Edited February 19, 2019 by MANDINGO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayesully810 Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 16 hours ago, MANDINGO said: Sup guys/gals. I'm looking to buy my 1st banshee I'm located in Northern California so I have to get a 2002 or older(need to get a green sticker quad so I can ride everywhere year round) My questions are: What should I look for? As in mechanical problems- when buying used, its hard to say because you cant see inside or truly know whats inside. Id say test compression when you go look at one, if they dont let you, pass. How easily it starts and idles, compression, make sure all little things like BREAKS work, worn out axle bearings, front hub bearings. What should I do to it when I get it? this is subjective and all depends on your riding and $ limits. imo pipes are a must, something that suits your riding style Are they hard to work on? no Can a seized up motor be brought back to life? Or is it better(financially) to just get a new motor?- rebuild a worn down one Where should the compression be on the motor- stock motor should be around 120-130 Edited February 19, 2019 by Ayesully810 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercury65 Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 first thing I would do is leave that communist country of cali. I would not buy a bike I could not ride. so ride it. if it has pipes it should have no trouble ripping the front wheels off the ground in second gear on black top, 3 gear as well if your near seal level. check the plugs for silver specks if you see silver specs that is a sign of a lean motor. check the compression as Ayesully said but keep in mind that a good used stock motor would be lucky to see a 100 psi at 4000 feet above seal level. a new fresh bore wont see 100 psi at 5500 feet. And if in doubt take many pic's and post them here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandSlingerOR Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 Things I look for in a shee is bad ball joints/bushing in aarms, tie rods, bad swing arm bearings and a bent subframe(pet peeve of mine). Cause a stock banshee swing arm and carrier ,and that blasted chain adjustment is garbage. If it's good then it'll get you by for awhile, but if all that stuff is bad, then you'd be better off buying a after market swing arm. It's really not worth the hassle to be messing with stock swing arm and replacing bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANDINGO Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 On 2/19/2019 at 2:18 PM, Ayesully810 said: Thanks for the tips I appreciate it. I found an 02. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/snw/d/livermore-2002-yamaha-banshee/6824282086.html Is the seller asking too much or is he right on with price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANDINGO Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 On 2/19/2019 at 8:06 PM, SandSlingerOR said: Things I look for in a shee is bad ball joints/bushing in aarms, tie rods, bad swing arm bearings and a bent subframe(pet peeve of mine). Cause a stock banshee swing arm and carrier ,and that blasted chain adjustment is garbage. If it's good then it'll get you by for awhile, but if all that stuff is bad, then you'd be better off buying a after market swing arm. It's really not worth the hassle to be messing with stock swing arm and replacing bearings. Is this person asking too much? https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/snw/d/livermore-2002-yamaha-banshee/6824282086.html I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANDINGO Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 On 2/19/2019 at 8:06 PM, SandSlingerOR said: Things I look for in a shee is bad ball joints/bushing in aarms, tie rods, bad swing arm bearings and a bent subframe(pet peeve of mine). Cause a stock banshee swing arm and carrier ,and that blasted chain adjustment is garbage. If it's good then it'll get you by for awhile, but if all that stuff is bad, then you'd be better off buying a after market swing arm. It's really not worth the hassle to be messing with stock swing arm and replacing bearings. On 2/19/2019 at 8:05 PM, mercury65 said: first thing I would do is leave that communist country of cali. I would not buy a bike I could not ride. so ride it. if it has pipes it should have no trouble ripping the front wheels off the ground in second gear on black top, 3 gear as well if your near seal level. check the plugs for silver specks if you see silver specs that is a sign of a lean motor. check the compression as Ayesully said but keep in mind that a good used stock motor would be lucky to see a 100 psi at 4000 feet above seal level. a new fresh bore wont see 100 psi at 5500 feet. And if in doubt take many pic's and post them here. I never rode a quad before so it's going to be tough testing 1 out since I'm going to be clueless. I found an 02 so I'm good to go but I dont know what fair market value is. Here's the link https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/snw/d/livermore-2002-yamaha-banshee/6824282086.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camp0429 Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 5 hours ago, MANDINGO said: I never rode a quad before so it's going to be tough testing 1 out since I'm going to be clueless. I found an 02 so I'm good to go but I dont know what fair market value is. Here's the link https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/snw/d/livermore-2002-yamaha-banshee/6824282086.html Not sure what value's are in your area, but myself I would never pay that much for a Banshee unless it was set up better and I knew it's history better. Also the fact that the CL poster can't even type out any kind of description would make me move on right away. It looks fairly clean but mostly stock. Around me that's a $2,500 machine on a good day. Did anybody mention, it does not matter how much you put into one of these piles, they are never going to bring much money. I've bought 2 banshee's, first one was running but it was in rough shape, bought it for $1,300, added about $300 worth of parts, greased and cleaned everything, ran a leakdown and all was good, ran really well for about an hour then broke a piston. Come to find out it was on the original bore and pistons with a lot of hours. It got fully rebuilt, ported the whole deal. Second one I bought was for my wife, it was a basket case, paid $500 for it. Spent around $900 on bore, new pistons, new crank, gaskets, seals, cables etc. and its a very good running stock (except for pipes and pods) Banshee. If I had to do it over again, myself I would prefer the basket case route since I know everything was done right. A lot of bikes I see on Craigslist around me magically have a "fresh rebuild" and all are "scary fast". Even if they are freshly rebuilt you have no way of knowin if they were rebuilt right or half assed. Another problem is the market is flooded with cheap junk parts a lot of people will use especially when they plan the flip a bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawa110 Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Thers a 2001 in New Jersey that will cost you the same after shipping that is a MUCH better bike. It is for sale here on Sheehq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKEETER Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANDINGO Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 5 hours ago, camp0429 said: Not sure what value's are in your area, but myself I would never pay that much for a Banshee unless it was set up better and I knew it's history better. Also the fact that the CL poster can't even type out any kind of description would make me move on right away. It looks fairly clean but mostly stock. Around me that's a $2,500 machine on a good day. Did anybody mention, it does not matter how much you put into one of these piles, they are never going to bring much money. I've bought 2 banshee's, first one was running but it was in rough shape, bought it for $1,300, added about $300 worth of parts, greased and cleaned everything, ran a leakdown and all was good, ran really well for about an hour then broke a piston. Come to find out it was on the original bore and pistons with a lot of hours. It got fully rebuilt, ported the whole deal. Second one I bought was for my wife, it was a basket case, paid $500 for it. Spent around $900 on bore, new pistons, new crank, gaskets, seals, cables etc. and its a very good running stock (except for pipes and pods) Banshee. If I had to do it over again, myself I would prefer the basket case route since I know everything was done right. A lot of bikes I see on Craigslist around me magically have a "fresh rebuild" and all are "scary fast". Even if they are freshly rebuilt you have no way of knowin if they were rebuilt right or half assed. Another problem is the market is flooded with cheap junk parts a lot of people will use especially when they plan the flip a bike. He sent me a list of what was done but I guess I cant upload anything more than 51kb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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