Banshee advice

[El'Capitan]

Well after lots of looking and reading i decided on getting the banshee as my new rig (it was close with the lt250r but i thought that the banshee would get the job done a little better at the dunes for a little more $$) and im starting to look for one. I have seen a few in my area for around 2500-3000 with mild mods and extra tires ect... what is somthings to look for on them, common problems. Whats a fair price for one depending on age. Stuff like that. and yes, i do ride at the dunes only :w00t:

[El'Capitan]

shoot...this was suppose to land in the quad section. could somone move me plz :)

[Mosh]

As far as prices,around here you can find like a 02-04 banshee with like FMF pipes,nerfs,aftermarket tires etc in nice shape for around 3 grand.Things might be a little more pricey your way.The first thing I look for on a shee,is the rear sub frame.80 percent of them are bent from slamming the grab bar on a wheelie.Look that area over real well.They are weak in the subframe department.One big thing you want to do when you get one is seal the intake system and seal it again. They are horrible about sucking dirt past the filter and intake tubes.If you can run a compression test on it.If the motor appears stock,no cool head,you should have at least 120-130 psi compression.If not it may need pistons.Find out what bore it is on.Lots of guys go thru bores on a shee becuase they dont seal the airbox like I said and suck dirt in the motor and score the cylinders.Check the rear shock.They are weak and known for blowing out on hard ridden machines.Check the rear axle they are weak and bend easy.I would try to find one as new as possible and as close to stock as possible.This way,you wont spend so much for one that is modded,and you will end up with a low hour machine that you can mod the way you want to.They are good bikes.There is so much parts for them it is not funny.One last thing would be to ride it a lot if you can.Get it warm and make sure the clutch does not slip.Shut it down and let it sit for a few and start it back up.They should start first or second kick on good tuned machine when they are warm.They way to tell a low hour hour banshee is when you choke the carbs when it is cold.On any banshee with stock carbs,when they have been ridden a while,the choke knob tends to fall back into the carbs as soon as you let go of it.If you pull the choke out and it stays out,then chances are it is a fairly fresh bike.After a while of use the choke knob has to be held out while you kick the bike when it is cold.If it looks like it has been hammered on,it probably has.Move on to the next one.If you look hard enough you will find a stock one that was never ridden much.I found a 93 here 2 years ago that only had maybe 75 hours on it for 1500 bucks.They guy could not get it to start.The dealer told him he needed a new engine in 1994.The only thing wrong was the vacumn tube for the choke fell off the carbs.Ten cent repair.Sorry for this long post

[SYKO]

I would stay away from ones that have motor work done, unless the owner has a receipt for the work done from a decent shop, their are alot of backyard mechanics that will dive into a banshee motor, and tell you it was done right, make sure if it has mods that the carbs have ben jetted and synced correctly, Personally I would rather buy a NEW banshee than buy a used one unless I knew the person who had it and new how they rode it and took care of it. all this said becouse if something is wrong you may end up paying twice as much fo rthe repair (2 cyls). goddluck man!

[devildog_0431]

Not much help to you but a guy just stole my sisters banshee and is selling it here locally for $100, problem is he won't let anyone come look at it, he has to ride to u, ha. Pretty much what everyone else said, look it over good. If you find one w/ a bent rear sub frame, u can bend it back so easy w/ a krowbar.