Really Slow Yamaha Banshee Build

[maxpower49]

Been having some slight issues with powder coating lately, the powder shop has been behind in his work but he has been keeping me informed so I am not terribly upset over it, and I have been attempting some of my own but I need to sand blast everything to remove pretty much every last speck of old pain and/or debris or it will just flake off. The issue I have been having is that my compressor is a little small to run my blast cabinet and I am just running it too much and I'm afraid of burning the little guy up... So I went to tractor supply and picked up a new compressor that should run whatever I want! Hey however I can justify the purchase to myself But that brought on a bunch of other issues like mounting, I poured a concrete pad 3'X3'X6" deep to anchor it too and I plan on build a little dog house to keep it out of the elements but so far I have the pad poured and I am going to run power out to the shed hopefully this weekend then it is on to all of the plumbing and building to finally get the thing installed... Kind of ironic I bought a compressor to avoid spending the extra $300 to get the small parts powdered but I'll always have the ability to powder from now on. (justifying again)

 

[maxpower49]

Finally got some news from the powder shop he has been pretty busy lately but he has blasted my frame and swing arm down and has the first coat applied!!! Should be ready for pick up this weekend after he applies the top coat to the frame, the pictures are live from the powder shop that he has sent me over facebook.

 

[Flyinhillbilly]

Awesome. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Banshees?

 

[maxpower49]

Back from powder and the sun finally came out long enough for me to get some good pictures of the frame, I am absolutely loving this color!!!

 

[Poboy kartman]

Manly yes...but I like it too!

 

[Bwdeaton]

That's looking great! Just sold the banshee I had this past weekend. Decided to buy a drz 400.

 

[maxpower49]

That's looking great! Just sold the banshee I had this past weekend. Decided to buy a drz 400.

Well that was quick haha but the drz'z are a nice little bike I would love to get an enduro of some sort one of these days but for now focused on the banshee.

No major progress update I need to order up some powder and I have my compressor all set up in place ready for sand blasting and to get started on powdering my own stuff once I get some more free time, pretty much everything that can be powder coated will be so I have plenty to do.

 

[Bwdeaton]

Yeah didn't have the banshee too long, but that's how I am, always planning to get something else. I want to get a DRZ as soon as I find a decent deal on one, but in the meantime, I just bought another project kart to work on.

My brother and I are both planning on getting Dual sport bikes so we can go on trips and have some fun together, and I always have a good time riding in a group.

I look forward to seeing your build progress, and maybe you can show some of how you do the powdercoating. I was considering a powder kit, but I would have to buy an oven and everything, so I'm not in a hurry.

 

[maxpower49]

Sure I have been doing a little practicing with powdering things and they have been going decent, once I get better then I'll start posting some pictures maybe even a mini how to. The biggest thing is getting the metal completely clean and the best way is pretty much sand blasting and that is what took me so long to get set up with. As for an oven you do not need a good one, heck the top doesn't even need to work, I would go to a local appliance store that delivers and gets haul away stuff and see if they have any decent ones for cheap or even scrap prices, I deliver appliances for a Sears store so I pretty much lucked out on a stove lol

 

[maxpower49]

Sand blasting is quite fun and everything looks so clean when it comes out! I have mostly been prepping parts and getting them blasted, I have yet to order the powder I need to coat everything so I am just getting things prepped for when I get the powder, I also blasted and powder coated a bicycle fork for my neighbor as some more practice. No major updates as far as the build goes I have been kinda busy with work and I need to order more parts and pieces before I can start bolting things onto the frame, mostly because a few of the parts I need are the bolts them self haha.

 

[Flyinhillbilly]

Sand blasting is quite fun.

And you just straight up admitted to being a masochist. I used to own a body shop that specialized in restorations, sandblasting gets un-fun when you've done as much of it as I have.

It's looking great btw, keep up the good work.

 

[Bwdeaton]

Looks like it came out pretty nice! Where did you get the powder you used on that fork?

 

[maxpower49]

And you just straight up admitted to being a masochist.

I can have hobbies out side of karting and quads I'm sure it is one of those things that get less fun the more you do it, and if it was my job I'm sure I'd grow to dislike it pretty quick. The powder I am using is a bottle that was included in the start up kit when I bought the powder gun, it is eastwood gloss black. I am not using it on the quad parts because I want to get the exact black from prismatic powders that was used as a base for the frame and on the swing arm so it will be as close as possible, I also need to buy the penny dust top coat and will more than likely be ordering some up this weekend.

 

[maxpower49]

I am still here and messing with the banshee slowly as stated in the title, I got extremely busy with work the last few weeks and it has taken up a large chunk of my time. On the plus side time at work equals time in the paycheck and it kinda shows, I bought some of the final major purchases that I have been day dreaming about and thought were out of my budget, however I got quite lucky on a couple deals on line and actually had the cash when they popped up and long boring update short I bought some fox float evol shocks to go with my long travel front suspension and a dmc 916 exhaust system. The dmc 916's sound awesome on a banshee and they are a good all around pipe for low to mid power so should be awesome for my build, and the fox floats are like floating on air so I am quite happy!! Now I just need time to actually work on things

 

[maxpower49]

Had some free time and I started to insulate the upstairs of my shed to see if I can keep some heat in and build the banshee upstairs, I bought a Mr.Heater big buddy and it actually pumps out some heat for as small as it is!

Any way I finally got all of my bolts, nuts and various hardware to mock up the front end and it turns out that the bolt holes were too small in the shock bushings... Any way popped them out and drilled them up a size or two and those things were some extremely hard steel I ended up buying a cobalt drill bit just to make it threw them but long story short I got them drilled out so the bolts would actually fit.

But the ball joints on the a arms were not lining up and seemed to be pointing down at an extreme angle so I snapped a picture and sent it to the company that manufactures them and they promptly replied and told me that the arms were upside down and on the wrong sides...

So I flipped them over and swapped sides and everything bolted up perfectly! And for giggles I tossed the plastics on just to get a sneak peak of how they will look.

 

[maxpower49]

Had some more free time so I figured I would get the head lights mounted up, I bought some cheap 18W cree led's off of ebay quite some time ago but the mount will not quite work unless I modified the frame or modify the mount, and cutting my frame up for a pair of headlights seems counterproductive so a buddy of mine sent me some pictures of how he mounted his lights and I copied his mounts. It was actually quite simple using a piece of hollow tube and some round stock I sand blasted the mount, the tube and round stock and after a little mocking and measuring got everything set in place and welded it all up, after a quick coat of powder coat I got bolted everything up and I think they look pretty good! Well it looked kinda goofy with headlights and no plastics so I tossed them on just for giggles and it looked even better!

 

[Bwdeaton]

The ride should be great with those fox shocks, I wish mine had better shocks on it, but it doesn't matter anymore since it has been sold. I considered yfz450 front end swap, but never had the capital for it.

The DMC 916's are sweet. I would definitely have gone with that system if I had chosen to keep the quad.

 

[maxpower49]

I hope I will like the pipes and suspension, I have read up on them quite alot but I have never personally experienced them, from everything I have seen on the yfz swap is that it is pretty much a waste of money and you still have a less than perfect suspension, the biggest complaint most people have about the banshee is that the front suspension is horrible but on the plus side there are plenty of companies that offer suspension upgrades for reasonable prices.

 

[maxpower49]

Been busy with work but I have been ordering up some parts and getting some stuff powder coated, did a bunch of small brackets myself but I ran into an issues with the steering stem, mostly that it will not fit in my oven, so I took that along with the steering knuckle/spindles to the powder shop and got them powdered in the ink black. Got some free time and mounted the steering stem and got the radiator mounted in place, all of the front suspension is tightened to spec and either has a lock nut or some thread locker to keep everything in place. I bought a stainless steel bolt kit that includes almost every bolt for the banshee however for the important parts like the suspension bolts or major load baring I have been going with oem Yamaha bolts just for the added strenght and security. I am almost ready to mount the motor in place however I just need to powder the engine stay brackets and the local dealer back ordered the bushings that I need to press into the engine stays so I am suck waiting on parts again... Any one notice a theme popping up involving waiting :toetap05: any way onto the pretty pictures! And I know my shed is a mess I guess that is what happens when you get over focused on a project

 

[Flyinhillbilly]

Looking good. I found this old pic of me giving my eldest daughter a ride on my banshee. I was the age that she is now when the picture was taken. Time flys when you're having fun.