Ok, here's a good one for you carburetor guys. My kids 97 Badger is dying out after running for a short time, it starts great, idles fine and seems to run well. However, after a trip across the field, the thing dies out at low rpm's ( at high rpm's it wants to die but acts like it is being forced to stay running and does, can't tell my 5 year old to keep it pegged, I want to be able to set the throttle limiter for him.....anyway ) and does not want to start immediately unless choked or if it sits for about a minute (seemingly long enough for the carb bowl to fill back up with gas) My opinion, the gas is not getting into the carburetor fast enough and is causing the stall. I recently purchased this bike and the carb was nasty so I installed a complete kit, all new jets and gaskets/seals and after some minor adjusting the thing ran great. I also replaced the petcock assembly thinking it may be gummed up and found the existing one didn't even have the main line filter/spigot and it wasn't floating around in the tank either, so fuel was running straight through with no reserve capability. I also replaced the spark plug and installed a clear fuel filter in the gas line. The gas line when disconnected appears to be flowing gas just fine. So, given the symptoms and the list of items I have replaced, anybody have any more suggestions?

 

What length of time riding does this start to happen?

 

See if it runs without the gas cap on..... might have a stopped up vent line....

 

We can ride it about 300 yards after letting it warm up for a minute or two and then it dies out. If I start it back up and take off immediately, it will die out pretty quick in about 50-100 feet or so. If I let it sit for a couple minutes, it again goes about 300 yards or so and dies out. This is why it makes me think that the carb is not filling up with gas fast enough.

I thought the same thing about the vent line on the gas cap so I removed the hose from the vent. I will try taking the cap completely off as suggested. I'll try to get to it tonight. My truck is stuck in the field so I have to get it out first. I'll post results when I have checked it.

Thanks for replies!

 

What ever happened with this?

 

Sorry, I forgot to post the results. I took the gas cap off and same thing happened, breather tube is free and clear and I removed the ball check in the gas cap and cleaned it, it did appear to be sticking however that wasn't causing the problem since the bike did the exact same thing with the cap completely off. So, at this point I figured I needed a second set of eyes to take a different angle of view. I brought the bike to work and turned it over to a guy I work with with lots of engine background, especially bike motors. He took the carb off and everything looked good except orings on the outlet portion of the carburetor, (there are two of them separated by a plastic insert) just before going into the engine intake. One of the orings was torn and the other was a thinner but slightly larger diameter oring that also showed minor wear. As of right now, I have replacement orings, a slightly thicker one for the larger dia. of the two and my buddy is going to install them tonight and see how that works. He seems fairly certain that the intake was sucking air past these orings. Makes sense.
Since I had replaced the smaller oring that actually sits in the carburetor outlet, it didn't occur to me to check it again. Looks like it probably got torn when I reinstalled the plastic insert. (This carburetor is a snug fit and I tend to manhandle **** when I get frustrated.....) So, I wasn't suspect of it since it was new.
After 20 years of working on bikes I still need a second set of eyes from time to time! I probably should stick to changing brake pads and tires, got those figured out. But tinkering is so much fun and believe it or not, I occasionally get it right! Wonders will never cease.
I will post the results of the new orings later this week after I've had a chance to put it to the test.

 

I'm diggin the Buggy crash pic.... Hope nobody was hurt though.

 

No injuries, my 14 year old daughter and her friend were sure shook up though! She doesn't get to ride the buggy anymore, not cause of the wreck but because she was told not to go in the woods at all on that thing. Kids love to show off for their friends. Now she can only ride her 04 KLX125L and my 86 LT230 quadsport. She won't have her friends on those with her to showoff and get stupid.
Imagine what a pain it was to get that 700lb thing out of a 4 foot ditch. I had to widen some trails to get my 2000 Jimmy down in there and then I broke one of my tow straps. Lots of cursing and beer drinking that night! When I got it out though, the only damage was the rack was slightly bent and the right rear wheel fender was bent down a few inches, other than that, not a scratch and started fine.
Just thought I'd share a story!

 

I am having the same problems with both of my Badgers. Were the orings the problem? If not what did you find out?

 

Newshooter, my problem with the Badger dying out, I presume, was the carburetor components. Let me explain, I had problems with it when I bought it, the guy I bought from had a garage full of quads and claimed he had just cleaned the carb. Not so, it was filthy, I literally had to scrape the inside of the bowl to remove the filth. So, upon doing that I put it back together and still had some bogging issues. So, I got on ebay and found an aftermarket rebuild kit for about 15 bucks. I like to assume that when I buy items like this, they are accurate. This was not the case, I fussed with this carb for weeks and tried numerous adjustments and finally after a lot of beer and even more swearing, I figured it was time for a second set of eyes to see what I can't. So I took it to a bike/racing guru at work and he fussed with it for about two weeks and finally said the only thing he could figure is the kit that I put in the carb was wrong. Compression was good, valve lash was ok, etc. So, I ordered a new idle screw and main pilot jet just to compare. When I got them from OEM, the idle screw was slightly different in length and end taper. When we replaced it, the damn thing ran fine. I still have minor choke issues and this bike is the most cold natured thing I've ever seen, but starts easy and runs consistent nonetheless. It will die on occasion, but I don't see it as anything but a hiccup (probably just need to change jet size or adjust air screw, don't care, I consider it fine) when compared to the hair pulling irritation I experienced before. I hope this helps with your dilemma! Best of luck and happy trails!