My engine is getting WAY too hot

[Rohr397]

Okay so I've got a 2003 Banshee motor that is getting extremely hot when I ride. I've already got Engine Ice running through it and the coolant levels all look good. However the engine is getting so hot that it's melting my boots and riding pants to the expansion chamber. This is in about 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. I need to get this figured out because next Wednesday I'll be riding it at the Moses Lake sand dunes where the temp is roughly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The only thing that I can think of is that because my Banshee is so fast I was only riding in first gear on a tight SX practice track and that wasn't fast enough to keep the engine cool. Any help or ideas would be great! Thanks!

[Hondamaster5505]

Boots and such always get melted on the expansion chambers, it's like any other exhaust. I actually fried up some leg skin one time in shorts:p

If it actually IS overheating, look into a high-flow billet water impeller.

[HondaPohl]

X2. Check your impeller. Pull the small plastic cover off the right side, in front of the clutch and under that you will have a steel water pump cover with about 5 screws. Remove that and make sure the impeller is not ground down to nothing. If it looks ok then kick the motor over to make sure its turning. There is a little pin on the shaft that can come out. You have to pull the clutch cover off to get to it. Start there.

[01boneless]

hey austin dident know you were on here lol

[SpasticR450]

It better be getting hot enough to burn your boots and pants lol.

Get them FX temp stickers for like $10. You get 3 of em. Then you will know if you really are getting to hot. And look at the plugs to see if there white cause lean = hot.

I read that high flow impellers can make you hotter by not letting the water stay in the rad long enough to let it cool off. But idk.

[TWILES]

If its running great, mix your gas a little heavier on oil. I used Yamaha 2R at 32/1 or sythetic 50/1.( I liked Yamaha 2R 32/1 better) If you are already at that mix, jet up a 1/2 size. Thats too hot. Right at that temp is just right but melting thing is too hot.

[Hondamaster5505]

I ran the Yamaha oil and never will again. My bike fouled out, smoked, and sputtered like crazy. (Doesn't do that with any other oil)

[Rohr397]

Well this Banshee is gone, long story, but I figured I'd follow up on this anyways. Every one of my radiator hoses (which turned out to be from a hot tub) blew open. I replaced them all and still was overheating. I then noticed that radiator fluid was going into the engine but not coming out of the top tube. The water pump was working fine though. I'm not sure what the issue was but new problems kept popping up including a mystery rear brake that must've come from another quad (didn't mount up right at all) and the notorious J-arm problems. The thing was just too tampered with and weird. Luckily we've got an 02 Banshee that belongs to my mom, but she never uses it so I can still enjoy all the goodness of that twin cylinder 2-stroke motor.