Hi folks...a friend of mine bought a 2001 Kodiak and has asked me what i know about them...my answer was nothing, other than Yamaha makes a great machine....so here now i turn to you Yamaha guys and ask what he should watch out for, likes and dislikes, pros and cons, reliability, etc...thanks in advance for your help.

 

Probably the easiest way to find out what you want to know is to just do a search througout this forum. You will find tons of opinions and information on the Kodiak. I have a 2003 which I like a lot. I have had some problems with the servo motor on mine, but I believe mine to be a very rare case.

 

I just bought a Kodiak 2003 4x4. I like the bike but i wish i purchased the 02 model. The 03 comes with a rev limitor that really restricts your power in reverse. other than that it is a quality machine that stands tall .

 

I find mine too narrow, the water pump leaks (i think some early '01's had this problem too-look at the date on the front fraim tube to see what month it was made in) Or just look at the water pump to see if it has the vent hose on it, if not he'll have, or allready has a leaky water pump. The choke cable gets moisture between the cable housing and the cable itself, in the winter this freezes and the choke doesn't work. In the summer mud/water gets in there and rots out the spring at the end of the cable (located in the carb) and it won't work either. Other than this it works great (I have the part numbers if he needs them)

 

I have a '00 Kodiak , bought new in early '00. I absolutely love it. No problems of any significant. There are three issues that I have read abought in the '00 & '01's mostly. Water pump problems, already mentioned. Cooling fan motorsburning out, mostly on machines ridden in deep mud. And lastly, rear brake caliper pads not holding up very long. The only issue I have had is the rear pads longevity. I replaced the pads with sintered metal pads with much improved performance. Purchased pads from Rocky Mountain ATV for 'bout $25.00 or so.

The Kodiak is a great machine, in my opinion! I have yet to experiance the machine's full capabilities, only my own rational judgements. Someday, I'll cross over to the dark side and see what the machine is really capable of doing.