just went out today and my dad bought us an 05 honda recon. the owner barely used it, and it has an estimated 25 miles on it. it has been serviced at 10 hours and thats it. is there anything i need to know about this machine? is that an oil cooler or a radiator under the body infront of the engine? and also, how do i fill up the fuel reserve tank? and any info on the top speed it has? any help is appreciated!

 

Good move....the Recon really is one sweet little machine!

When gas sits, it dries up and turns to scum, and this will clog the carb up. I would pull the tank off and empty it and refill with fresh gas, and not use the stale old gas that is in the tank.

There is no reserve fuel tank per se. There are two tubes that draw from the tank, and the "reserve" one is lower than the regular one. Really, it is just designed to give you a warning that you are low on gas.

I would do an oil change first thing! If it has sat that long, there is a good chance the oil will have gone acid. There is no oil filter. It actually has a very effective cetrifugal oil cleaner, that should be serviced by the dealer every ~200 hours.

It is very important that you do the first valve adjustment at 20 hours, just after it is completely broken in!!!

Not a bad idea to change out the gear oil in the rear final drive (it has been sitting for four years now!)

 

well, it has not just been sitting. the guy was part of a hunt camp and bought it from the owner of the camp and then got kicked out about a year ago, but still didnt use it much, and has been riding it around the road and driveway once a week to keep it running. but the first thing i was gonna do is drain the tank. what would be the easiest way to drain it? and is there any way to just check the oil instead of changing the oil? thanks! my cousin has 2 of these that i have ridden so i was excited about it. its killin me now that it has to just sit in our driveway in the city till friday though, lol!

 

Like most quad engines, the engine and transmission share the same oil. That means that the oil gets violently thrashed between the gears. So, it is important that you use oil that has a proper anti-wear/high-pressure additive package (something that modern "car" oils no longer contain!).

Look for an oil that is motorcycle specific, API SG/JASO MA. I like Maxima's oils, because they have the best addtive package in the industry....

A couple good oil reads:

http://www.thumperfaq.com/oil.htm


http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0308_oil/index.html

 

so do you think that i do need to do an oil change?
and so if i do change the engine oil, i change the transmission oil at the same time with the same oil?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Hawkman300

well, it has not just been sitting. the guy was part of a hunt camp and bought it from the owner of the camp and then got kicked out about a year ago, but still didnt use it much, and has been riding it around the road and driveway once a week to keep it running. but the first thing i was gonna do is drain the tank. what would be the easiest way to drain it? and is there any way to just check the oil instead of changing the oil? thanks! my cousin has 2 of these that i have ridden so i was excited about it. its killin me now that it has to just sit in our driveway in the city till friday though, lol!</end quote></div>

Don't get lazy!!! The point is that the oil has sat there for 4 long years now, and it will have turned acidic. It needs fresh oil....probably badly! Oil changes are super simple on this machine!

And...if it only has 25 miles in 4 years , no way has it gotten ridden very much. It is bad to start an engine up, and not let it get completely hot....and with only 25 miles on it from "weekly" rides, that is probably what he did. If the oil doesn't get hot, it won't drive the moisture out of the crankcase, and your oil will turn to a white emulsion. Change the oil, then take it for a good long ride.

If you pull the plastic off the front end, it will be pretty obvious how the fuel tank comes off. Just a couple bolts in the front, and some rubber bands in the back. Turn the fuel valve off, and disconnect the fuel line, that's all there is to it.

Also, do a clutch adjustment after it is nice and broken in.

I assume there is an owner's manual with it......

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Hawkman300

so do you think that i do need to do an oil change?

and so if i do change the engine oil, i change the transmission oil at the same time with the same oil?</end quote></div>

Engine and trans share the same oil, and that is why you need motorcycle specific oil with a good additive package....

 

ok, ill change the oil when i can, and the gas i will do tomorrow. i just dont have any oil right now that i could use and i will try to get it tomorrow. if i went to a store that sold hondas would it be best to get some oil there or go to some autoparts store? and my hawkeye has 3 different oils in it, so im just not used to this. and also, i dont know what you mean by a clutch adjustment becuase my polaris is an automatic.

 

See the owner's manual for the clutch adjustment procedure. It is super simple.

Any Honda dealer will carry Honda oil, and probably some other brands as well. Honda GN4 is ok, but if they have Maxima Premium or ATV, get that instead.

Get some Honda hypoid gear oil for the rear end as well. It only takes a few ounces. Again, the drain and fill procedure are in the manual.

 

will i need a maintenance manual for this atv? im going to be doing all the maintenance unless something is like wrong with the engine, then ill take it in, but for the routine maintenance i can do all that.