2001 Yamaha Banshee Restoration Thread

05satinGT

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So, as most purchases in my life, this one was very spontaneous. My cousin called me at 9 o'clock at night, and saw two banshees for sale that were listed for 20 minutes and asked if I wanted to buy one of the two. One is a 2001 with a seized motor, and the other a 2005 that needed TLC but ran. I said, hey why not. I called the guy and ended up knowing him and a few days later, BAM, I own a 2001 Banshee with a seized engine. I had an identical 2001 blue banshee back in 2006 and have wanted one ever since. It's insane how much money these things are pulling in today's market.

I have a lot going on in my life so the plan was to tuck it away for now and start messing with it over the winter. My cousin surprised me on my birthday with a brand new, in the wrapper, OEM Yamaha Banshee seat. He said "I hope this motivates you to get this project rolling". I've had a lot on my mind lately to say the least and needed something to keep me occupied and well....a few days later, this is how she looks...
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I need to take more pictures. I pretty much have the frame down to nothing, and have everything organized. The plan is to redo everything.....I want it to be as close to stock as possible. The only after market items I'm considering are wheels & tires, handlebars, nerf bars, and exhaust. Going to get new plastics, graphics, etc.

I am going to list all of the stock parts for sale to fund the build. I just ordered a ton of parts from Vito's Performance, most of which are OEM.

What I purchased so far is:

-OEM Entire Intake Assembly
-New Headlights
-Front & Rear Brake caliper rebuild kit & new rotors & pads
-New A-Arm & Shock Bolts
-New Steering Bushings
-New headlight/kill switch controls
-OEM New Clutch Cable
-OEM New Throttle Cable
-New Swing Arm Rebuild Kit
-New Tie Rods & Ball Joints
-New Radiator
-New OEM Coolant Reservoir
-New OEM Fuel Switch
-New OEM Ignition Cap
-New OEM Ignition with 2 new Yamaha Keys
-New Coolant Crossover Tube
-New Kick Start
-New Vito's Wiring Harness
-A TON of new hardware for the above mentioned.

I have a local guy to rebuild my motor that's a retired motocross engine builder who rebuilt my cousins YZ125 Motor. Going to go as OEM as possible engine wise.

The right side lower A-Arm was dented, so I bought a used OEM one off of eBay, and going to send the frame, a-arms, swing arm, calipers, and as many other pieces as I could to get powder coated. All said parts will be done black. I still haven't 100% decided on what color combo to go with but I'm thinking the 2008 Orange and Black.

Anyone with Banshee knowledge, advice, or tips, please feel free to chime in :beer:
 

awful knawful

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Nice. Banshees are pulling good coin.

By the looks of the white marks on the plastic she's been on her side/ rolled quite a few times.

I love the stock as possible route.
 

05satinGT

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Cool fun project! Will be a blast when done! How many cc's?

Thanks. Banshee's are 350CC, 2 Cylinder, 2 Strokes.

Nice. Banshees are pulling good coin.

By the looks of the white marks on the plastic she's been on her side/ rolled quite a few times.

I love the stock as possible route.

Yeah def man, stock as possible ftw. This quad definitely had a rough life lol. But the frame is in perfect shape.
 

andymarkv

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Man I love those!! Never had a chance to ride one though... Can't wait to see this one evolve!

I had a 1986 Suzuki Quadracer 250 back in 1989...Recently thought it might be fun to get another, was blown away at the pricing these days for 2 stroke quads of that vintage!

Thought this vid might be appropriate!
 

shelbymopar89

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Love these old quads. I can’t wait to see when it is done. I hill climb/drag my 250R and see a TON of these Banshees in the drags. They get pretty radical! Love this era of bikes and quads. Here’s my old girl.
 

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jvandy50

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Always loved these. Neighbor just got one and I’m jelly!

Won’t ever forget my first accidental wheelie on one lol
 

floodstang

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Love the Banshee! A friend on mine had one and it was a blast to ride. I should start a restoration on my 2001 Raptor.
 

blackfang

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Man I love those!! Never had a chance to ride one though... Can't wait to see this one evolve!

Man you are missing out! Back in the day as a teenager a friend of mine let me ride his and I tell you what. What a blast. Such a fun quad especially when that front end gets light when powerband is kicking in.

This guy has a 100 hp Banshee and this thing is sick
https://www.youtube.com/user/mymatt77
 

Uncle Meat

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Let me know if you require a custom swingarm for either of those machines. My best friend works for a small company in Michigan that has been making Banshee swingarms for years. Hard to believe the company is still in business, but there are still a LOT of new Banshee enthusiasts out there like you starting new builds.

U.M.
 

CobraBob

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Man I love those!! Never had a chance to ride one though... Can't wait to see this one evolve!

I had a 1986 Suzuki Quadracer 250 back in 1989...Recently thought it might be fun to get another, was blown away at the pricing these days for 2 stroke quads of that vintage!

Thought this vid might be appropriate!
Wild video! That looks like a hell of a lot of fun.

Congrats, Ray, on the Banshee buy. Should be a great project that will get one a pristine 2001 for plenty fun.
 

projectslideway

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I've been eyeing Banshees for the last couple of years and really wanted to pick one up this year. The east coast prices have risen to insane levels so I ended up picking up an 07 Raptor 700 which will get some TLC and the Big Three. Can't wait to see the finished build!
 

05satinGT

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Thanks everyone. I've really been enjoying working on this bad boy.

Doesn't seem like a lot, but I made a good amount of progress.

I have the frame totally stripped down and pretty much ready for powder coat. I degreased it and washed it and it actually cleaned up really nicely. I also disassembled the rear swing arm and it's components. Almost ready to bring everything to powder coat.

I also spent about 5-6 hours polishing the pro circuit pipes that were on the machine. I was going to sell them and get new pipes, but seeing as how expensive they were, I figured I'd show these some love. One pipe has a few dents but for now it'll do. Thank you 04 sleeper for teaching me how to polish pipes from years ago haha. I am very happy with how they came out.

The machine also had pro circuit silencers, so I sand blasted them yesterday at my buddies shop. The plan for those is to restore them to their glory. I will attach a pic of how they should look. I called pro circuit yesterday and asked if I can buy the hardware and the stickers. The gentleman I spoke to was very nice and said they don't make them anymore but he will try and find a set. I am also going to get pro circuits packaging material. Literally everything on this machine was hacked. Someone grinded the mounting brackets off the pipe and there are only the mounting brackets on the silencers themselves. I am going to fix that as well.

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gimmie11s

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Great thread OP! I had a 1995 Banshee bought brand new back when i was in high school. I still miss that bike! About 5 years ago i found a clean 1992 (teal and white) for $1200 at a yard sale!! Rode it for a few years then sold it.

I need another Banshee!

NICE WORK on the pipe restoration... this should be a great thread, looking forward to your progress.


Man I love those!! Never had a chance to ride one though... Can't wait to see this one evolve!

I had a 1986 Suzuki Quadracer 250 back in 1989...Recently thought it might be fun to get another, was blown away at the pricing these days for 2 stroke quads of that vintage!

I picked up a CLEAN 1986 2 years ago.. still have it and my 13 year old now rides it. He loves it... I dont plan to ever sell it!

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Love these old quads. I can’t wait to see when it is done. I hill climb/drag my 250R and see a TON of these Banshees in the drags. They get pretty radical! Love this era of bikes and quads. Here’s my old girl.

Nice R... We have one also. Love this bike! Has some mild porting, cr250 head gasket, an ESR pipe, and an air stryker carb. It flies!!

250r.jpg


There's simply nothing new you can buy that can duplicate the experience of owning/riding some of those older machines.

100% !!
 

andymarkv

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I picked up a CLEAN 1986 2 years ago.. still have it and my 13 year old now rides it. He loves it... I dont plan to ever sell it!
WOW!! That '86 looks MINT! Thanks for the pics, they definitely take me back, the bike and the hair cut!!
I have SOoooo many good memories on that bike! When you're 14-15...you're invincible and fearless. I did many stupid things and only ended up at the hospital once, just for stitches.
 

gimmie11s

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WOW!! That '86 looks MINT! Thanks for the pics, they definitely take me back, the bike and the hair cut!!
I have SOoooo many good memories on that bike! When you're 14-15...you're invincible and fearless. I did many stupid things and only ended up at the hospital once, just for stitches.

Hahah fantastic... totally agree on all points. We love these old 2 smokers... We just put a pipe on the LT250 last week and it sounds sooooooooooooooooooo much better! Was tough finding one though.. parts are getting hard to find.
 

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