Ask the Editors Week of May 30 – 2011

Ask the Editors Week of May 30, 2011
By: ATV Connection Editors

Hello ATV Connection readers, welcome to our latest feature! Due to the rising popularity of the Ask the Editor forum, we have decided to expand the idea and post responses to the homepage.

For those of you who are new to this, basically, if you have an ATV related question, you can ask our editors for help/advice. Create a forum account if you don’t already have one, then create a new thread in our Ask the Editor section. It’s easy and fun! 

So, without further ado, here are this week’s questions…

Dear ATVC:

I want to use my 500 Sportsman on a fishing trip. We go from altitudes of 3000 feet to 7500 feet. At the higher altitudes it runs poorly. What do I need to do to get the best performance at these different ranges?

Klutchdust

In your situation, where the altitude of operation changes, rejetting the carb wouldn’t do you much good unless you planned on tearing it down and swapping jets each time the elevation fluctuated.

Fortunately, there is a product designed to do precisely this for you. Called Dial-A-Jet, it fits any carburetor; Keihin, Mikuni and most off brands, round slide, flat slide or butterfly, and can be installed in under a half-hour.

It allows you to run in a broad temperature or altitude range without rejetting and automatically compensates for air density, motor load, and fuel quality.

Should the conditions actually vary even more aggressively than the Dial-A-Jet can automatically adjust to, you can rejet yourself in seconds by simply turning the 5-position jet dial to richen or lean your mixture. When you get back down from the mountains, simply dial it back to the setting that worked best at home.

It’s really an invaluable piece of equipment designed specifically for the exact situation you describe. More info can be found here: http://www.thunderproducts.com/dial_a_jet.htm

Dear ATVC:

Is there an adjustment for the wet-clutches on a 2004 400i? If so, is it fairly easy or do I need special tools.

Thanks, Sff

Adjusting the clutch on your Arctic Cat is no more difficult (or require any special tools) than on any other modern ATV clutch. The “wet” portion of the description refers only to the fact that the clutch is immersed in oil (as opposed to a dry clutch, which does not depend on fluid for lubrication/ cooling).

To adjust your clutch, follow these steps:

-Remove the screws securing the clutch cover and set aside the o-ring
-Loosen the two jam nuts securing the adjustment control
-Rotate the first adjustment screw counterclockwise until it stops
-Rotate the second adjustment screw alternatively to ensure free movement without binding, then lock the jam nut
-Rotate the third adjustment screw clockwise 1/8th turn, and then lock that jam nut
-Now reinstall the o-ring and cover

These steps should get you in the ballpark. If the clutch is dragging/ slipping at this point, it may be time to investigate potential wear of the plates or clutch basket itself.

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