I recently picked up my 2003 Kodiak 4x4 from my dealer for its first service. I am 5 months into my warranty. I Asked about the Governor that Yamahump has seen fit to install on 2003 models. My question is why? I test drove a 2002 Kodiak before purchasing mine. I thought i was getting a bike that lived in the mud. My 2003 has to be picked or winched out of 6 inch mud puddles because of that stupid governor. Can i simply have the 2003 ignition replaced with a 2002 version. My dealer told me he would have to check with Yamaha on that. Is there a simpler way to disconnect the governor without damage being done to the ignition or reverse gears?Also is there a way to keep the belts from slipping when riding through water. Before i had my service any water would cause my belt to slip and i would be waiting by the side of the trail like a jerk till my bike drained. What about siliconing the crank case or just heavy grease in the seal.

 

Are you talking about the rev. limiter for reverse? If so, I'm not sure what the problem is. If your that stuck in the mud that you have max. it in reverse then it's probably just too deep. Is your 4 wheel drive engaging correctly. You should be able to get out in forward. In regards to the belt slippage, I have a 2000 4x4 and never have had a problem. I have had it floating in water and still no slippage. You need to check the snorkel that connects at the front of the transmission. It may not be fully connected. Kodiaks as a whole generally don't have this problem. As far as I know. That's why I like mine so much. I have been in plenty of mud and never been stuck but once or twice. At the same time, I don't know what Yamaha has done to more current versions of this bike. Hopefully, it's not a downward trend in quality. I did hear something about the frame being misaligned in the rear. Hope all turns out ok for you.

Ride on,
Mark.

 

Yes, the rev limitor is what i meant. I will check the snorkel hose for a loose connection. While i have taken this through some water, i have never drowned the bike or even went higher than the top of the wheels. That is why i was concerned about the slippage. When i called the original dealer that i purchased the bike he told me the best way to rid myself of any slippage problems is to buy a Honda . That's why i have a new place i take it for service. He meant it as a joke but to me it is a 5,998 dollar joke. I wasn't laughing. I did have them check and adjust the belt when i picked the bike up yesterday. They told me i have a great machine. No problems no worries. When i told him that the first three months that i owned the bike, the rev limitor never kicked in. I had full power in reverse until recently. So my question was, if the rev limitor didn't kick in at first, was it broke when i bought it? You wouldn't know of a way to disconnect the rev limitor would you, without damage occuring?

 

As far as your belt slipping goes, there are two hose clamps that may need tightened. If you look at the front and back of your belt houseing on your atv you will see a vent/snorkel type deal (about 2 1/2" in diameter) that is held on with a hose clamp, one clamp on the front entrance of the housing and the other coming out the back. It is common for these to come from the factory not fully tightened down, in which case, water has straight shot into your belt housing. I found this to be the case on my buddy's 450. We were both running in a creek, I was in the water about 5-10 minutes up past the belt housing with no problems at all. He went in and all the sudden his belt started slipping. I check the two clamps, the one on the back was loose and the vent/snorkel had partially slipped off. If I am not mistaken, the Kodiaks have a notched belt, so if the belt is slipping there has got to be a pretty good amount of water getting into the housing to make the belt slip. I know when we drained my buddy's belt housing it was completely full of water, mine was bone dry.

As for the rev limiter, I seem to recall others here posting the same question. I kind of remember glancing at few, it didn't seem to difficult to do. So if you do a search on that subject here in the forum you should find plenty of info on disconnecting it.