I just bought a 650 quest and am happy with it, BUT I have 2 problems I am concerned with from the first ride. Although I had a new spring put in the transmission (recall), it is still a struggle to shift from one gear to the next, especially from reverse to any forward gear. Second, when I turn the atv off, it almost always backfires! Not good for hunting! This is a brand new unit! I am going to address these complaints to the dealer! Has anyone else experienced such problems? Could either of these problems be inherent to the machine? Do I just have to eat this as a characteristic of the machine? I hope not. I would like a response from owners in addition to what my dealer is going to tell me. Any responses would be appreciated. Badbart

 

Badbart,

Regarding the problems you mentioned with your Quest. I have an 02 Quest 650XT and I can offer the following comments:

1. Shifting: Yes, they are stiff and notchy from the factory. They do improve with use, but there has been a major transmission problem with some early Quests (generally though not exclusively in the run of units 200 to 600 - check your serial number). The major symptom of the tranny problem is that it will get "locked" into a gear and you will need to turn the Quest off to be able to shift out of gear. Failure generally occurs when the tranny is under heavy load. Bombardier has been replacing failed transmissions free of cost even after warrenty has expired. If you purchased your Quest after March 2002 then you do not have to worry about the tranny failing because Bombardier replaced all dealer stock at that time.

2. Backfiring: The infamous Bombardier backfiring & farting problem. This is generally caused by one of two things - 1. incorrect jetting for your altitude, or 2. hot spots (at welds) on your muffler. You can get your dealer to check the jetting on your Quest, but if you have very low kilometers on your Quest then it is likely the muffler hot spots that is causing your back firing. According to Bombardier, this problem generally disappears once you have 400-500 miles on your Quest.

also, please check your ATVConnection personal messages for some more information.

Cheers,

 

Thanks Canadian Viking. I Will Check my serial number. Also, since I am at 56 miles on the odometer, 500 miles may not take very long to determine the backfiring problem. Although my dealer says it is a carb problem and it is probably adjusted from the factory lean, I will weight to the 500 mile mark and make that determination. I still think I made the best decision on purchasing the quest 650 for trail/utility/longivity/dependability/and ease of use. Badbart