Hi guys. Forgive my lack of paragraphs i'm using a cell phone. No enter button lol. Well I bought a 2004 Honda Foreman 450 S last fall for hunting. Was in good shape. Owner had not driven it in over a year. Battery was dead. Had to change the regulator/rectifier. Backfired sometimes when slowing down. Dealer told the owner that's normal and don't worry about it. 3 years of that blew the inside of the muffler apart. Was really cold blooded too. Always needed choke after it sat for more then 5 minutes. Other then that it worked fine last fall. Was kinda hard on gas though. Left it in a building all winter till a couple weeks ago. Now it's really hard to shift into 3rd 4th and 5th gear. Like you have to actually hurt your foot to shift. Then it seems to get too easy to shift after it warms up. But then it's random either super easy or super hard shift. Wierd. My father was good with the older bikes but isn't sure about the newer ones. I don't trust the dealer on our little island. So I figured i'd ask here first. Seems it may be running too lean but he couldn't find the fuel air screw. I read somewhere that they may be covered by a brass cap now? Anyway quick recap. Backfires, gas mileage maybe, extremely cold blooded, and the wierd shifting problems. What ya think?

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]I haven't worked on a 450,but have other Honda's.I have 2 EX400's i got new,a 2004&2005 great Rides!!!!!!!!!!!.They come out Lean from the dealer's stock!!!! If you can,put bigger jet,s in it!! go up on both idle&main,you should be able to get them at a dealer,I had to do it to both my 400's.They where real cold blooded and I would have to choke Snot out of them till they warmed up real good.Have you change the Oil in the Tranny?????.Most time the hard shift will happen in cold weather,and before the oil thin's out.I use Bel-Ray 10/40 in all my bikes,but there is a-lot of different>GOOD< oil out there,I think to many guy's put 20/50 in them!!!!or just a 30/40wt,shoot I have heard guy's say they run 80wt???????.The poping and Back-fireing is a lean mix or a vacum leak,from my knowledge with them.Hope this Help's>>U can't beat a HONDA!!!!!!!!.I have a couple Yamaha 2 stokes,there Fun,but they can B a-pain in the Butt.For a turn Key and Ride,IMHO>U< cant go wrong with a Honda.You just have to get them Rite First and then leave them alone.U will get it!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck.

 

On the backfires, what the dealer probably meant to tell the owner was that they are normal for the first few tanks of gas after new, while they are being broken in. The cosmolene that coats most of the metal inside of the engine (kinda like packing oil), is burning out of the carburetor and will cause it for the first few rides. How many miles are on the bike? No way it should still be doing it. My bike is also a 2004 Foreman 450S with 7200 miles on it. The fuel/air screw is on the bottom of the carb, not easily accessible on our bikes. Cold blooded issue: Sounds to me like your bowl is draining down when the bike is not running, thus you having to choke it quick after you shut it down to get it started again. Apparently sitting up has done bad for the bike, I would suggest buying a complete rebuild kit for the carb for about 40$ from Honda, that will fix your carb and backfiring issues. Go with a little bigger jet and new muffler while you're at it. As far as the tough/loose shifting, I have no idea. PM HondaMechanic, he will be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck!

 

Start by getting a service manual......

This is a very common problem! The engine sits and fuel dries up in the carb and cruds up the slow jet (idle/pilot)...then it won't idle and it runs lean. Do a carb cleaning and pay particular attention to that jet! When you reinstall it, adjust the fuel screw as well.

Do a clutch adjustment. Procedure is in the owner's manual and service manual. It's fairly easy.

 

Try a Full synthetic oil,It made my stiff shiffting Big Bear and Moto4 shift MUCH smoother and easier to shift.

 

Wow those were quick replies. Since we're in the first week of lobster fishing neither me or my father have time to spend on the bike. I'm gonna take it to the dealer in a few weeks but like I said I don't trust them here. Bad enough they're french and don't speak much english. Bike has 4400 miles on it. Gotta get new brushes for starter so i've been using the pull cord. With half choke she takes right off on second pull. Idles fine after she's warm. Let her sit for 5 to 10 minutes and I gotta choke her again. Not that cold here now in Atlantic Canada. Oil was changed just before I got it. No idea what was put in it. Was hard to shift into 3rd last year before she warmed up but this year, well see my first post lol. So from what you guys said I should get a rebuild kit for the carb and bigger jets? Just the main jet or the idle jet too? Not keen on bigger jets as my gas mileage is horrible now. On a full tank I get 4 trips to the pond and back for hunting. 25 minutes to get there with about 8 minutes spent on a beach going almost top speed. However many miles that is. How many miles per gallon do you get on your 450? Might just adjust that fuel screw for now till I get it to the dealer.

 

Don't worry, you're about in line with what it should be getting, I don't get very good gas mileage either. If you don't see black smoke, then you're not running too rich, so you should be fine. When you go with both bigger jets, you will see worse mileage (not too bad), because it will run richer. Going to the next size up jets on both will gain you about 7+ horses though! Gotta pay to play!

 

Forgot to add: The gas mileage on the 450s is one of the reasons Honda discontinued that engine and now build only 500s for the Foreman. In my opinion, and others in my riding club, they were a little more bulletproof than the new 500s, but Honda discovered they could put the same carb on a slightly bigger engine (about 40cc), and gain more power for the same amount of mileage. But for me, it's 450 all the way. With my jets and HMF pipe, I crawl around 500s all day..

 

Sometimes a bike thats sat around alot is worse off then one that is constantly used.

Carb needs to be cleaned for sure, definantly some crud in there leaning out one of the jets.

If theres stuff loose inside the muffler, thats normal for a bike thats sat around a bit. My muffler has a broken baffle inside, I recently cut off the end, emptied out the broken peices and welded it back together. Factory mufflers are expensive, HMF makes a nice Utility series if your looking to replace it. I'm currently doing a 10 year restoration on my 450s (1998), www.sledsooley.com - Area 51 Page for pics and my blog (I will be updating with more info and pics tomorrow).

 

I'll just repeat what Recon Ranger said...

The carb is likely a little gummed up. Start by cleaning it, as deposits in the jets may be responsible for making it run lean. Don't buy a rebuild kit until you've opened the carb, since the seals are reuseable if they are in good condition.

Secondly, adjust the clutch. The symptoms you describe would tend to indicate it is out of adjustment, and a lot of people overlook that step when doing service.

Good luck with your machine.