>Don't let your Banshee sit too long idling....it will overheat. Right off the showroom floor I have seen >them do it.

Interesting you said that, because that is what I always had been told... "Banshees will overheat if they sit at idle too long. They need airflow to keep cool." This prompted me to get an aluminum impeller as one of my first mods. I also always heard "running a 2 stroke before it's had time to warm up will blow the motor quick." Ok, I then wondered, "well if too long is bad, and too short is bad...how long should I let it warm up before riding it?" And this article is giving general guidelines most riders seem to follow. However, that wasn't enough for me, so I later added one of my custom water temp gauges. The results were quite interesting. Bear in mind that this is with an aftermarket high flow impeller. On an 80 degree day, after 1 min of warmup, the water temp didnt even register (I think the gauge starts at like 120). After 5 minutes, still no reading. After 10 minutes, NOTHING! I thought the thing was broke, as the cylinder was warm. So I rode it for a few minutes and the temp gauge rose very quickly and settled right around 180 degrees. Hard riding, low speeds would get it near 210, but thats it. Pretty good temps. The interesting thing is that no matter how long it idled, on an 80 deg day, it never really got up to "operating temps".

Now, this is for my motor. Varying engine mods, outdoor temp, humidity, cooling mods can all effect engine temps. My advice is to play it safe and get a temp gauge just to be safe. I used to sell my "kits" on Ebay for $50 but the measly $10 profit made it not worthwhile.

Colby

 

I dont know about that. I have a temp guage it runs from 160 to 200 when riden hard but never more then 100-110 at idle. Even after 5-10 min.

 

The funny thing is aftermarket impellers and not high flow. In fact, they flow less than stock. The idea is to slow down the water speed and keep the water in the radiator longer.

Colby, I would be interested in one of those gauges if you are still making them.

 

When you say they flow "less", do you mean they flow less volume than stock, or at a less rate? Flow speed and flow volume are two different things.

Think of it as fluid through a hose. If you have a tiny one inch hose, you could push water at a very high psi, but not flow nearly as much as a larger hose at a slower rate.

Keeping fluid in your radiator longer also means keeping hot coolant in your motor longer. If your coolant temp is getting too high, you want to get it circulated ASAP through the radiator to cool it off and back to the motor so it can do some good (flow rate). But I agree that simply making coolant flow faster isn't the answer, especially if it's so fast that the radiator doesn't have time to do its job.

I think more important is flow volume. Ultimately, area of coolant passages can limit flow volume, but so can impeller design. Like any fan, its design can affect flow volume and flow rate. They can also be designed to be most efficient within a certain RPM. I think the stock impeller has two flaws (bear in mind, this is based solely on what I've heard and I have no factual data to support it, so I am more than open to "your wrong's"): 1) they melt which is never good, and 2) they don't flow sufficiently (not sure rate, volume, or both) at lower RPM's, which is where Banshees become notorious for overheating while idling or more importantly during slow rides through woods. The aftemarket impeller seems to help low RPM flow.

Then again, thinking about all possibilities, if it won't overheat at idle, but tends to overheat while riding at slow speeds, then maybe the problem isn't flow volume, rate, or the impeller. Maybe the problem is that at idle, the stock cooling system can keep temps down no problem, but at higher RPM's the radiator cannot dissipate enough heat without sufficient airflow to keep temps down. That would mean you need 1) a more efficient radiator (which only helps until it too gets too hot) or better yet 2) a fan. Problem is there's no easy way to install a fan on Banshees.

I would probably still be willing to make my guages for forum members. Go to my site too see it.

http://home.insightbb.com/~vbzatty/banshee.html

Colby

 

I'm not sure I agree with the slower flow thing.... Not saying it isn't true for some impellors. I bought the prodesign one...it seems to be the same fin pattern as the stock one..just made of aluminum instead.

I do know that I don't have problems with overheating at all....even after riding in 90 degree temps for a few hours.

 

How do you know you're not overheating? Because you're not boiling over? Overheating is generally considered to be over 210-230 degrees at which point you won't be boiling yet. To KNOW you're not overheating you really need a temp gauge.

Colby

 

have one...been at this long enough to know I'm not overheating.

It's not that hard...most poeple act like this is brain surgury.

 

Just about anything can be made too hard, or too simple for that matter. I guess being an attorney I don't just take answers as facts without questioning the logic behind it. Makes for good topics and threads...beats the "will a banshee beat a..." posts.

Colby

 

I have a rm250 and when I go riding I have to be ready becuase it will not idle. so I can not warm it up without being by it to keep it runing. After you guy's start you banshee will they ilde cold?? or do you have to have the choke on?

 

I know what you mean colby...getting hard to have a conversation around here....