Yamaha Banshee

Friday, September 9, 2011

Four-stroke quads have taken hold of the quad market. This is mostly due to the red sticker law that limits the two-stroke's riding time. This law has pushed manufacturers to develop the four-stroke to compete in both performance and in the marketplace. But when it comes to hillclimbs and drags, 1987 Yamaha technology still holds the crown.

We picked up an '87 Banshee beater, which is still a green sticker bike, for $1,900. The bike was in decent shape but it still had some problems. One cool thing about purchasing something older is you will usually get a few extras thrown in on the deal.

This quad came with Works shocks, FMF pipes, two sets of tires, a fistful of old flags, and two gas cans, but the first trip out we lost the tranny, which gave us an excuse for rebuilding the beater bike. Also, we went to Razorback ATV, a one-stop shop, to find the parts for our rebuild. Not only does Razorback peddle parts, it also does some engine mods to bring the power up to par. The Banshee can be built to over 100 hp, but we wanted to keep the stock engine size and optimize the quad for shredding the dunes.

Read more: http://offroad.automotive.com/44388/0605or-1987-yamaha-banshee-atv-dune-sweet/index.html#ixzz1LNh2Ir8n