I have an Artic Cat 400i that I purchased in Nov. 02 (overall, love the machine). Followed the break-in procedure, changed oil and filter at 100 mi. Noticed gas smell in oil but figured blowby from rings seating. During first 100 mi, went through 2 tanks of gas. Thought that was a little steep on the fuel consumption, but again assumed break-in would cure. Been monitoring, got 53 miles, 51 miles, 54 miles before switching to reserve. Plug started fouling at 275 mi so changed plug, oil, and filter. Noticed fuel smell in oil again and a several chunks on the drain plug magnet . checked air filter, little bit of chaff but no dirt (alot of winter riding on snow). Oil kinda dark, oil level mid way between add and full. Talked to a bud with a Honda 350 Rancher and 450 Foreman (3 gal), both machines get about 80 mi before switching to reserve. Talked to a coworker with a Polaris 500 H.O., he told me he gets 80-85 before switching to reserve (4 gal.). Went to dealer, let him sniff oil, he said just smells like used oil. Claims they have a shop 300 that gets about 30 miles to a tank. Claims they jet them rich to keep them running cool. Says one plug in 275 mile is not bad.

All of my riding has been flat lands, average speeds 25-30 mph, use 4 wd about 5 % of the time. Top speed obtained in 2 wd is 45 mph at 3490 RPM (bought digital tach/hour meter from Northern Tool). What kind of top speed and max RPM should I expect? Am I expecting too much that a vehicle with an engine 1/11th the size of my van should get better than 2/3 its gas mileage?

 

Im not an expert but heres my .02. I have an old 98 500 full time 4x4 and still get 60~80 miles before res (depends on the driving) Also 275 miles on a plug is according to the dealer "not bad"?? You should get more plug life than that i would guess. I havent changed mine in over 750 miles. My friends 02 375 gets way more milage than that, prolly closer to 70. The autos seem harder on fuel. And its top speed seems about the same 45~50 tops.

 

Sounds like you have a little dirt in your needle & seat. Could be some mould junk left in tank.

 

I got 15 miles on my first full tank. Playing in the mud. 03 500i manual

 

id say the top speed would be around 55 to 60 if it was wounded out,

on our 250 we get about 60 to 80 mpg but again it depends how fast and how hard you ride it

 

Hey, Kevie.

My '02 400i ran rich (black plug) from the factory, and for the first 200 miles I averaged about 12 mpg. After rejetting and changing the plug, I now average 20 mpg and the plug looks normal. The motor continues to loosen up, and it feels stonger all the time. I'm sure the new jet helped. My top speed was 52 mph, but she was fully loaded with water, extra fuel, and 4 days of camping gear. There was a little more left, but with all the gear and 4 "slimed" tires, it started getting shakey, so I backed off. Right now she has about 500 miles. I think this is a great machine.

Doc

 

hey doc
ihave the same machine-what size jet did you put in ?
i have never run mine to reserve but think i could get about 60 miles to the tankfull ?
i also have about 450-500 miles on it-i do need to check my plug though.
speaking of plugs why are they $5.00 and some special size that you can't get at napa or auto zone ?
thanks pie1

 

Pie1,

See jet kit instructions at http://www.dynojet.com/pdf/Q619.pdf. I think the kit costs about US$70.

I used groove #3 on the needle, jet DJ136 and turned the fuel mixture screw out 2 turns. It runs great. I never run my tank dry, but find that it will take about 1 gallon for every 20 miles, so 80 miles is no problem (4.75 gal tank).

Sorry dude, but I didn't choose the plug. The local motorcycle shop had to special order mine. So what if it costs $5, it ought to last a long time (if the engine/carb is set up right).

Doc