hi I just bought a 2004 250 4x4 artic cat bought in new as a left over at a local gander mountain dealer
my son uses it. it starts great and idles great and has lots of power my concern is a occais back fire it has when wy son brakes from high speed ?
before i load it back up and arrange to bring it to the dealer . can i try a new plug and or some gumout gas treatment first! Its possible since it was in the dealership so long the fuel lines could be gummed up a little and maybe a new plug is in order.
beside all that what else could be the cause of the back fire
the machine in all other aspects runs perfectly well and has great power
thanks

 

Every machine you have will occasionaly do this. Its nothing to worry about. It happens mainly if you have the rpms up, then suddenly lower them, its a little rich at that point i imagine

 

i owend a 2001 250 did the same thing all the time i took it back they ajusted the valves and i tried diffrent octain gas nothing worked i thought a couple of time i blew the muffler off but it never hurt anything wish i could help but i cant

 

My 250 did and still does the backfire thing. I am told it is because of the lean condition caused by closing the throttle and is normal. My 400 does it too, but not as bad.

 

I had a 2000 300 and it did the same thing. I fiddled with the pilot adjustment and it got a little better, but was always there. When I mentioned it to the dealer (a true mechanical wizzard) he said all the smaller engined ACs do it, more than the larger engined models. For me it was worst during trailing throttle down hills and just as the thottle was re-applied.

Applying "just a tiny bit" of throttle during trailing throttle also helps. Still, whatever you do, it will probablly never go away.

 

how do you like your artic cat i found it to be much more stable and better in the woods than the 220 kawasaki bayou i have and having gear ranges helps dramaticly the only thing i did to it was install the 2 to 4 wheel shifter that artic sells we dont ride often enough to need a bigger machine i rode a 700 and found it to be too much power for me and my son! so i wont drag deer out of the woods as fast i can live with it

 

If you dont want the power, but you want the same size and options as a big bore AC utility, look at the 400, it is said to be a little underpowered for its size, but might fit what you want

 

Last months issue of dirtweels mag in the dialed in section was an article all about this. It says that if it back fires during deceleration that you need to turn the idle mixture screw out. It did not say how far, but I would go a quarter turn and try it and see if it back fires any more.