i was out riding last week and when i got home i hosed off my quad. next morning went to my garage to check on it found that the starter, reverse override, parking latch, and throttle were frozen. So i loosened up everything, took a blowdryer and defrosted all the buttons and connections and dryed everything off with a paper towel to soak up the water. Now everything works fine except the choke lever, that was originally frozen too, so when i took off the houseing for the starter button/on/off switch housing fron the handlebars to dry everything off, i looked at the lever. nothing would budge. i took the lever off and tried to pull the cable with a pair of pliers, that wouldnt even work. so i took the blow dryer along the cable housing down the steering stem and warmed everythign up, still nothing. Took out the airfilter cover, looked at the carbs, thinking they might have seized up, they were fine opening up with the throttle and everything. Any ideas anybody? its an 04' 650.
p.s. y couldnt they just put their electronic choke on the 650 too??

 

You are getting water into things. With a heavy dose of Water Displacing - test #40 your problem should be cured. Spray it down thru the cables from the high end and on anything that sticks due to water freezing. BTW that stuff is WD-40 and will run the water out and usually not let the water back in. You might refrain from hosing your machine down in freezing weather as freezing things up isn't real good for them. If you must use the hose, try spraying right afterwards.

 

I have an '04 A/C 650. In 1300 miles, I have not been in water up to the seat. It did sit in the back of my truck all of November (hunting season).

Around Christmas, I went to start it and the choke was frozen. I used a heat gun around the top end - nothing. I heated around the engine - bingo, it freed up and I ran it for a few hours. Next day - frozen. I thawed it again, started and stopped it. An hour later it was frozen again and a plastic piece inside the lever broke.

The dealer replaced the cable because it was frayed, along with the plastic lever and pressure lubed the cable - almost $200 and not covered by the warranty. Half the rig has to come apart to replace the cable.

For comparison, a friend sunk his 650 in a river and got water in the engine. His choke doesn't freeze. I suspect that some cables didn't get lubed well at the factory.

You or the dealer can pressure lube the cables - do it - it will save you lots of money.

Good luck!