My Bayou 300 4x4 won't start even though I was riding it everyday for about 30 mins for the last week or so. When I go to start it, every so often it will start up but for about half a second and then cut off. I have replaced the fuel with fresh plus gas treatment. I have also taken the spark plug out and clean that as well as the spark plug boot. The battery has about 12.5V. My Bayou has never been this hard to start. Please help. Thanks.

 

Try a new plug,don't just clean an old one that could be fouled. May be a s simple as that.If it still won't start,but has spark and fuel to the carb,the carb may need to be checked into for trash,etc clogging the jets.

 

In addition to what OPT suggested, 12.5 volts no-load is a little low if you have just driven it for 30 minutes the day before, I would expect 13-13.2 volts. If you measure the voltage the same way, but crank the engine at the same time, what does it read? It should maintain 9.5-10.5 volts when cranking for at least 20 seconds. If it starts in that range but then tails off, or is never in that range to begin with, you have a battery problem.

 

OPT, the spark plug that is currently in the bike is a few months old and there is spark. I have narrowed it down to the problem coming from the carb. It hasn't been cleaned in a year or two and the bike has sat for long periods of time in the last year.

Tron, I took both batteries, one from the 300 Bayou and the second from my 420 Rancher, to Interstate Batteries to be tested and turns out, the battery in the Bayou was starting to go. What I find funny is I bought it last June and have had a floater on it every so often. So, I bought a new one and will be installing in the bike tomorrow once it has gotten its first 24 hour charge. But I can't use the bike till I open the carb and clean it (or the bike just magically starts tomorrow and allows me to run some fresh fuel throughout the carb....hoping). Even though this a Kawasaki thread, the battery from the Rancher had 300 Cold Cranking Amps which the serviceman said was "fantastic" and that battery is a few years old. I will install the battery tomorrow and post back the results.

By the way, does anyone know of a good carb cleaning tutorial on my 300 Bayou. YouTube has a couple vids on carb cleanings in the Prairie and Bayou but none look the same as mine. Would help to have a guide since this is MY first time cleaning the carb in an ATV. Thanks.

 

Sometimes you can get one run to run ok with just cleaning,more often not.My two cents if you pull a carb apart rebuild it with a good kit.KAWASAKI KLF300 KLF 300 BAYOU CARBURETOR CARB REPAIR REBUILD KIT 1989-2004 NEW | eBay Several different videos on you tube on cleaning/rebuilding cv carbs.

 

So I took apart the bowl of the carb and clean everything that I could. I pulled out all 3 of the jets inside of the carb and one of the deepest was clogged. After putting it back together, I put the new battery in and she started right up. You guys don't know how how happy I was at that moment. Lol. Thanks to all who helped me.

 

Batteries can show 12+ volts but still fail a load test.Carbs don't like ethanol fuel along with sitting up for a couple years just allows carbs to get stopped up. Keep a good fuel stabilizer in the tank and that should eliminate any future carb problems.Glad it's running ok.

 

Here we go again....just went to go take the Bayou out for a ride before it gets cold and she won't start again. I seriously can't believe it after all the work I did on it for the last few days. Carb is clean, air filter is clean, spark is good and the battery is showing 12.3 V (was 13 V last night). I know if I take it to the shop to be fully checked over it will cost me a few hundred or even more. What else could it be? (BTW the top end was rebuilt a year or two ago so since it is getting old)

 

More crud may have moved into a jet if the carb was not completely rebuilt so an ongoing carb issue is still a possibility. If your new battery is down to 12.3 then you still have a battery issue, a full battery should be at 12.6 volts minimum..You may want to check running voltage when you get it going to see if your battery is being charged. A drop from 13v to 12.3 overnite is not a good sign.

 

I agree with you on the battery issue. It's a brand new battery which shouldn't lose almost a whole volt sitting one night. The bike started last night and ran really good. Another thing I have to ask is when I press the electric start to start the bike around 5 times for about 5 seconds each time, sometimes a really loud "pow" will come out of the muffler. I know there is a spark arrestor on the Bayou's but could that be causing the problem?