Banshee rear trouble

[04Warrior04]

Hey, I just got a banshee rear shock. It seems to be weird though. the adjustment on it doesn't do anything really and when I try for a wheelie it just squats down and I have a hell of a time getting the front end up. Is the banshee suposed to be like this? Also I might add that I weigh 170.

 

[87warrior917]

hmm no actually the banshee rear is stiffer than the stock warrior. Maybe its getting ready to blow... alot of times they feel very soft before they let all the fluid spill out on your garage floor over night

 

[04Warrior04]

Wonderful! Well I just traded my stock for this one. Even when I sit on the bike hard enough it'll bottem out.

 

[04Warrior04]

Can they be recharged for a low price?? Or is that even possible?

 

[87warrior917]

oh wow so you can actually bottom it out! yeah its def. blown. Yes you can get the banshee's rebuilt, heck if you got the extra money you can have a well known shop built it for ur weight and it'll be light riding on a caddy! Or just get another one off ebay or something...

 

[04Warrior04]

Yeah well I wish I had some money but i though this shock was band new unfortunately I spent way to much on it..lol yeah I already asked a guy how much it'd be to get it rebuilt. He said it'd be 150 so i might do that but i think ill just get one of ebay this time..

 

[87warrior917]

Yeah thats up to you man. 150 isnt a bad price. When i bought mine it came off an 04 banshee and it looked brand new. Ive had it about 3 years now and it still feels like new

 

[04Warrior04]

Damn I think the guy said that it was a 98. but I dumber around and traded him my 04 warrior shock. Great Condition. And 35 for this ****** thing..

 

[87warrior917]

Dang... you win some you lose some. The place i got mine from has a HUGE warehouse full of banshee stuff.... I cant remember the name but i think i paid 90 for mine and it was basically new. The spring didnt even have chips on it or anything

 

[04Warrior04]

Hm whish I would of got one from there...lol but this ones gota cupple chipps on it. but i could have easily got 50 or 60 out of my stocker and used that 35 to get a nice banshee...but like you said.

 

[04Warrior04]

Does anyone know what ,or someone that knows alot about shocks, that can tell me what i should do with this thing??

 

[87warrior917]

I would honestly get it rebuilt for your weight and kind of riding you do if it was me....

 

[MotoArts]

Have you checked where the spring preload is? Probably just set too soft (collars too high). Preload is what holds "up" the whole deal.

Is the shock leaking oil from the shaft seal?

 

[04Warrior04]

well i noticed that the top ring was on its last threads but is there a bottem adjustment too for it?
My thing is why does the black preload or what ever it is doesnt do anything to it when you change it.

 

[MotoArts]

The preload adjuster make the spring "shorter", increasing its "rate", so to speak. The shorter the spring gets, the more it's fighting to keep itself extended, making for a stiffer ride. The top ring is the lock for the adjuster ring. If they're anywhere near the top of the threads on the body, it's likely barely enough to keep the bike weight up, let alone bike + body. Crank the adjuster ring about halfway down the body and let us know what happens.

The knobs only adjust compression or rebound damping rate. You'll barely feel the difference when just bouncing on it. Even when just casual riding, those adjustments barely make a difference. Find the correct compression/rebound settings (I'm sure they're online somewhere), set 'em and forget 'em. You need a baseline to start with.

Back in the day, I roadraced a stock, streetable Kawasaki EX500 (Ninja 500 with really skinny rims). Just about a flexi flyer, wimpy assed chassis as you could ask for. Bare bones, small steel tubing, lightweight...not really a racer, but sorta looked like one. The forks would sack out approx. half of their travel just lifting the bike off it's sidestand. When I sat on it they would almost go flat (I only weighed about 175# then LOL). They had no comp/rebound adjustments either. All I did was add a stack of big diameter washers on top of the springs (inside the fork) and they worked, well, acceptable. Certainly upgraded springs, oil level and viscosity changes would have helped, but these were spaghetti thin tubes to begin with (wobbled like a bitch in the rough stuff). Even the rear shock was stock, with the spring cranked full tight (looked like a stock Warrior front shock).
I had as much fun as I could handle with that bike...

 

[04Warrior04]

Hm well i've got a nice little track beside my house and its got some jumps on it. The thing is when i go to hit the little woops and stuff it kicks me in the ass all the time. I put the knob on soft all the way and it seemed to help with kicking me all the time. Could it be to stiff??the two rings on the top of the body are all the way down (short spring)

 

[MotoArts]

Again, set the preload halfway up the body and go from there.

 

[04Warrior04]

Hm alright I'll try that then. Thanks.