Hello All -

I go to Iowa every year in December for an annual hunting trip. Everytime the temperature get's in the teens/single digits my SP 500 won't run/start for shat. Takes me forever to start it and once I start it I can't let up on the throttle or it will shut down. Even if I ride it for about 10 mins and come to a stop and let go of the throttle the darn thing will shut down. However, when it get's 30 degrees and above it runs/idles/starts fairly well. Does the cold air mess with the carbs? Is there anything that can be done about this? 90% of my riding is hear in Tennessee and I rarely have issues getting this bad boy to run, just in Iowa under extreme cold temperatures. **Note** When in Iowa the Qaud sits outside in the open elements. Thanks in adavance for your advice.

10ptman

 

sounds like the enrichner(choke) isnt working right. sometimes when the temp drops we have to idle up a little by turning the idle screw.

 

Sounds to me like your carb is iceing up on you. Up here in the great white north, we run Isopropel alcohol (gas line antifreeze) in our quads for the winter months. I run 1 ounce per gallon. I have had no problems with using this stuff. We run it in our sleds too. Don't use regular gas line antifreeze, it won't work as well. Polaris says to use 2 ounces per gallon in there sleds, but i think thats too much. Give it a try and post your results.

 

In addition to the tips that have already been posted, you can richen the mixture by reducing the amount of air coming in. An easy way to do that is to wrap the air filter with a clean shop rag, two wraps if you're below 10 degrees. Before you start it, prime the mixture by giving it full throttle about 8 times before cranking it over, then while cranking it just hold the throttle barely cracked until it fires up.