I bought this atv back in august and the battery has went bad already,when I pulled the side cover off I can't find a pull starter,did honda not make a way to start this atv without using battery start?

 

Yep they left it off to make ithe bike as affordable as it is. Once you start adding alloys and extras the price starts climbing. They do however offer it as an add on. Don't know $$$ but think it is easy to do.

 

Yeah, the big mud crowd also had problems with mud getting in the pull starter, which would hold grit in and take out the crank seal... so they put on block-off plates frequently.

A Battery Tender Jr would be a good investment.

 

Battery went on my 420 after 8 months too. Dealer tried to get ti covered under warranty but Honda wouldn't cover it but I did get one at cost.

 

How long was your ATV sitting? I have not rode mine since the snow came in November, I just start it up once a month for 5 mins to make sure the battery will not be totally dead come spring time.

I would just jumb start your atv with a car, and it should be fine if you let it idle for 10 min.

 

I have to wonder if the cold isn't killing your batteries????

Several of my quads are 10 years old now, and every one still has the original battery. If it is real cold, and it isn't reasonably warm where they are stored, pull the battery out in cold weather and store it in the house.

 

I took atv back to dealer today and got a new battery through honda warranty,the mechanic told me they have lots of bad batteries with the 420.

 

I have 15 months with my 420 and no problem with my battery, I use it every weekend. Also Texas weather is not cold down here. Ive read a lot off people that live in cold weather have a lot of issue with battery's on 420.

 

Jeffin TD already gave the answer - use a battery tender to trickle charge the battery, particularly in cold weather and if it is unused for week or more.

 

Yeah, I don't really subscribe to the start it for a few minutes once a month theory.

These things don't put out much alternator power at idle, and also cold/dry starts on the engine without letting the oil get up to temperature will promote condensation of blow-by gasses and moisture in the crankcase.

If you could run the engine for at least 1/2 an hour with a load on it, IMHO that would be much better.

With mine, I just park them in the toyhauler, hook both to battery tenders that plug into an outlet in the garage, then every month or so I run a power cord out to the RV. Keeps both the the RV batteries and the ATV batteries up.

Letting a battery sit in a partially discharged state will allow it to form sulfide deposits. Also, every time you drop a battery's voltage below about 10.5 you shorten its life.