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Check out previous ATV Answerman columns:

October 2010

Septermber 2010

August 2010

2001 Polaris Trailblazer
I have cleaned carb completely inside and out, however I know the adjustment ( air screw) has been out of adjustment. I have to crank the starter a long time to start with choke off and no throttle. It then seems to be flooding. Is it time to get a carb rebuild kit and are they hard to install?
thanks
Keith

You know, if I had a nickel for every time I have heard the “but I cleaned it completely” song I could retire. One thing most do not realize is that appearing clean and actually being thoroughly clean are two different things. If the quad is hard to start when it’s cold and you know in your mind that the carb was indeed filthy, I would go back step by step and find the leftover trash in the little beast. The primary jet supplies fuel on startup. So I bet if you pulled that jet and made sure you could not only see through it from end to end, but that there was no varnish clogging the ports on the side of the jet, you might be a step closer to firing the beast up for a ride. Get a service manual and set that air/fuel screw as well.

Gas Crank But No Fire
I have a 1996/1997? Arctic Cat 500 atv... I have spark, clean fuel, and just cleaned the carb totally. It ran, but rough.  Now, it will not start.  Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
DC

Judging from the information provided I would start by being sure all vent lines on the carburetor are clear of debris. Small tubing can become clogged easily if ridden in mud, and when an ATV sits it can become home to many dirt packing bugs. Secondly, clean fuel doesn’t mean it’s good fuel, so try draining the entire tank, pull the petcock off and be sure there is no water in there. Pulling the bowl off the carb and dumping any trash out would be my next suggestion.

2004 Arctic Cat 300 4x4 Loses Electrical Power
I am having a problem with the used quad I just bought. Sometimes it will stall and then there is no power to the indicator lights and no ignition function. Sometimes I am able to start by decompressing and using the recoil start but other times not. The next time you walk up to it, it will start. I am thinking it might be the neutral start relay but not sure. I drove it all last weekend the first day we were mudding pretty good and it stalled in a mud hole. Had to get pulled home, pretty embarrassing! It was a fuse for the ignition. Washed it the next day and changed the fuse. It started right up drove it the next few days and had intermittent problems but never left me stranded. Drove home in a rainstorm the last day of the weekend and the next day it started right away then ran about 5 minutes and stalled, never got it to even show an indicator light to tell if it was in neutral again until the next day after work. Walked up to it and it started right away. Any ideas?

It seems to me that the used quad you have bought came with extras that the previous owner didn’t want to disclose. I am leaning toward and electrical short more than a neutral switch though. It’s going to be a pain to search out but I would start with removing as much plastic as I possibly could to get a good look at the wiring. Search out the entire wiring system but pay closer attention to the areas where the wire harness touches the frame or engine. It needs a ground to stall the engine, so look for chaffing or cut wires.

Arctic Cat 250
How many quarts of oil do you put in when you change the oil?
Thanks
Jennifer O'Neal

If you are working on the Arctic Cat 250 it holds just over 1.6 quarts of 10-40w engine oil.

Suzuki Fuel Flow
I have a 2006 suzuki z400 quad and fuel flow out of the overflow tube on the bottom of the fuel bowl when the bike is running or not< just at a faster pace when running what’s my problem?
Justin Byrd

The float is stuck in the down position in the carburetor. Look for the carburetor rebuild article on this site and you’ll find the answer to solving that problem.

Carb Rebuild

Carb Cleanup

Grizzly Grinding?
Having trouble finding out why my grizzly 660 makes grinding noises in the gears only when I hit the rear brakes if I use the front its fine. Any ideas
Mike

It’s hard to say what is making the grinding noise, but I think if you’ll take a second to think about your question you will find it could possibly be the rear brakes and not the differential. Now there is always the possibility that you have a bad bearing in the rear end, but I’d check the brakes first.

No Plug Power
I have a 99 Yamaha 600 Grizzly I have no power going too the plug. I've checked the coil and it was bad. I've changed it out. I've checked the circuit breakers and they checked good. All the fuses are good. What should I look at next? And is there a way to check the cdi unit without having to buy a new one?
Tim

I would get a Yamaha service manual for you ATV first off, as it gives a ton of service and trouble shooting info for times like these. If I had to start somewhere I might look into the handlebar-mounted switch set up for corrosion inside the switch head. If this pans out, be sure to check the wiring going to the kill switch on the same cluster of buttons. Trace the wiring from front to rear to eliminate the possibility of chaffing or shorts in the wiring. I do not recommend throwing money at any ATV, but if I were to toss some bones I’d get me an OEM service manual from the dealer!!

Can-Am 800 Performance Parts
I have a 2008 can-am outlander 400 and am looking for a stage 2 upgrade kit.
Brandon

If I could determine what a stage two upgrade kit included I may be able to help, but truth is it could include several items that vary from engine to intake or maybe even cams. If you could tell me what you want to do to or add to your machine that would make my job a little easier.

Service Manual?
I am looking for a service manual for a LT-A50 Suzuki ATV
Where can you get one?
Boy Varwig

Any Suzuki dealer can order a service manual for you. The Worldwide Web is also a gold mine for used service manuals for the ATV world. You might even find it as a downloadable PDF that can be printed at will. Try the local dealer first.

Rancher Starting Issue
I have a 2002 honda rancher that the plug is not firing hot enough i just changed the coil what should i do next?
Denny Goynes

How have you determined the plug is not firing hot enough? I could use the information that tells me what your ATV is doing or not doing to determine if you’re even in the ball park with the plug heat range. If a hotter plug is needed then it’s as easy as buying one from your local dealer.

Huh?
I have a 2005 Artic Cat V twin Kawasaki engine. The drive belt was slipping and the belt light came on. I purchased and installed a belt and tried to reset it the way my dealer told me. It now blinks all the time. Any instructions you can give me to reset that light. I moved the switch inside the cover to the forward position. Thanks!
Randy

Dude, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about when you say you have an Arctic Cat v-twin Kawasaki engine … that’s something you’ll have to figure out and get back to me on ... sorry.

Brake Issue
I have a 2000 Polaris 500 magnum do the back brake need to be hook up to make the front ones to work?
Galen

Having disc brakes on this machine means most likely the brake lines are all attached at some point and I believe that if the rear brakes have been disconnected then the fluid is not traveling like it needs to in order to make the front brakes work. This machine does have one hand operated brake lever that most likely controls the front and rear brakes together so the answer to your question is yes.

Plate Purchase?
How do I purchase the rear hitch plate for the renegade?
Ryan Schneider

I would contact any local dealer and give them the year of Renegade you have. Then tell them you want a rear hitch plate for this machine. They will ask for payment and most likely they will order the hitch plate. That’s the purchasing process. Did I really have to explain that one?

Diesel ATV
Wondering how to find a inline heater for the liquid on this diesel ATV. The one that is inline now does not work.
Steve Huff

What diesel ATV are you working with, my friend? I need to know the year and make/model info to help you. If it’s a factory part then you should just go to the dealer.

Transmission Clear?
Hi there,
Could you please advise me as to what type of transmission this is ... is it a two-speed forward and one reverse and will it fit on a 2007. If possible could you please contact me at ###.
Thanks alot!
Dean Desjarlais

Well my friend, I cannot see through the email to your garage, so I’d need a few pictures to make my guess a little closer than mars!!

HP Rating
I own a 2009 TRV 550 and would like to know what the horsepower rating is on this new engine. It performs very well with one rider or two on it. Why does ARCTIC CAT not publish its HP on these new engines?
Regards
Max Plouffe

If you notice there are very few statements of horsepower on any machine and not just your TRV550. If you have to know you might try searching the arctic cat 550 engine itself as most of those motors were transplants from other machines. Most likely you will not find the rating, but if there’s a dyno close by you can usually get a two run evaluation for around $100.

Carb Issue
My carb will not stop overflowing. I cleaned it several times and kept overflowing. I then replaced the entire carb and petcock valve, and it is still overflowing. What am I missing here???

Could it be possible that you replaced the bad carburetor with another bad carburetor? I would tear the carb apart and look at the needle and seat for damage or varnish build up as that little jewel is what keeps the gas in or out!

Running Issues
We have a 1992 Yamaha Timberwolf 250 that runs well while cold, but quits after riding for around half an hour. Any idea what the problem is?
Thank you!
Thomas

Being a 1992 the ATV could be suffering from low compression. Check into the compression of the engine. When an engine is cold everything is tight, but as it warms up everything expands and the excessive loss of compression will cause the ATV to stall.

Need Shocks
Looking for shocks for a honda350fl odyssey 1985
Ted

Are you looking for aftermarket shocks or stock shocks? Aftermarket will be tough to find, but if you measure the shock from mount eye to mount eye you can use that to find a set very close to the length needed. It might not hurt to call any aftermarket ATV shock maker to get you as close as possible to the right shock setup.

Roost Boost
I have a Yamaha Banshee and I was wondering where I can find a roost boost for it.
Dylon

Your best bet is to search eBay for that item. Spark enhancements are widely used but with the days of the Banshee fading it could be a difficult find.

Import ATV
I’ve bought a used 50cc quad a Chinese import, it goes really slow and sometimes loses all its power so it wont go up a small hill i think it has speed restrictions which i want to remove my friend says its a 2 stroke but im not sure as it has no buldged exhaust but its got a gravity fed oil tank which feeds oil to the engine any help getting this sorted would be much appreciated.
John

It is indeed a two-stroke-type engine kind of like a weed eater that is oil injected. If this has not been working properly then you have a problem. The rings will not last long without oil, and low to no compression will rob all the power that lil’ clunker can build.

Chain Busted
I have a 2005 Bombardier Outlander 400 HO 4x4. My silent chain broke. When replacing it how do i position the cam and crank shaft to be sure the valves will open correctly
Nathan

I’m not sure I have ever heard of a silent chain, but a timing chain could be what you’re working with. To get this right, I would get a factory service manual for the Outlander from the dealer and it will have the specs as well as the procedure for setting the timing on the Outlander.

Re: Joe Byrd Quad Riding School
We live in Ohio and are interested in your racing school. Can you please tell me if you will be in our area anywhere close and if you have any of the 2011 dates up yet?
Melanie

We do not actually run this school but if you’ll check out the link below im sure you’ll find all the info you need to go fast: http://www.joebyrd.com/school.html

Battery Warning
On my 2004 Polaris 700 Sportsman, why does my battery warning light indicator start flashing when the electric cooling fan engages?
Richard Bruce

I would think that the battery could be low or maybe it is not charging. The light will blink when a draw is made on an already weak battery system.

Christmas is coming and with the old quad wearing down it might be time to trade up to something new. Ride safe and take a child with you!
RS