I bought a new 400ex 2 weeks ago on a Friday.The first day I drove it about a hour and all was fine other than cutting off twice,the second day I drove two hours or so and it was pretty hot that day and my wife was behind me and said she noticed a puff of smoke between shifting so I stopped and revved it up some and noticed it too,it was hard to tell the color but it was smoke,I checked the oil and it was at the upper mark but in the limits.I called the dealer Monday and spoke to the salesman and he said it may be the new burning out the exhaust but unsure.I have rode it off and on over the past week maybe a total of 2 hours and all was fine which it was cool those days,I would have rode it more but we had rain alot.Today was nice but hot around 90 so I took it out the shop for a ride and it would not start even with the choke so I checked the plug and it was dry,the tank was half full and the fuel was on so I opened the bowl drain screw and nothing come out so I shook the 4 wheeler hoping to free the needle and seat which it did and fuel started flowing from the overflow hose.It started up fine after that issue,I rode about 2-3 hours today and noticed the engine felt really hot and shifting was a bit harder as well as increase in engine noise and the smoke returned.I rode it back home and pulled the dipstick and the oil was nearly running out the oil tank,the only thing I figure is the engine is full of gas but the exhaust pipe is not smutty like it was running rich but after parking it several times today it smelt like gas.It being a new engine and still in the break-in period I'm afraid it has done damage.I dont want the dealer to say we fixed the carb and changed to oil and it's fine.I'm looking at the future life of the machine after the warranty has expired if that makes sense.What are my options? I had a buddy that had this happen to his Polaris and the dealer changed the oil and fixed the carb and it did it again filling his engine with gas,they finially put a new carburetor on it which fixed it but after his warranty was out his motor started knocking and using oil and he is in his 60's and never really drove it hard but he feels like the gas thinning the oil did damage.Should I demand a refund a new motor,atv or what?

 

I think you'll have a hard time demanding a refund, new motor our quad. I think the standard warranty is 6 months. Give them atleast that to get the problem(s) fixed. Just keep good records including phone calls and all problems you experiance.

If you are unhappy with the dealer/servcie dept contact Honda (without the dealer knowledge) to see if they concour with the the problem or dealers actions.

You could also check into an extended warranty if since you are thinking long term.

Good luck.

 

is this your first atv........

 

If this post had not been run into one huge very hard to read paragraph, I might have taken the time to read it!

 

If the float valve stuck and it dumped gas into the crankcase while parked, I would have expected it to have been flooded when you attempted to start it, or even fluid locked.

I'd not run it and bring it back to the dealer. Could be it was overfilled with oil. To get an accurate level on a dry sump, the engine needs to idle for several minutes, followed by sitting a couple.

If you wanted to know for sure what's going on in the oil, pull a sample and send it to blackstone or one of the other lab services. They could tell you how much fuel is in it, and also how much metal and what kinds, and what the results may mean.

If it did get fuel in the oil, if once that's fixed it runs quiet and doesn't smoke, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

I say take it to the dealer, have them fix now what they can find.
Tell them you concerns with it happening again and with your concern that this may cause engine problems after the warranty expires, make sure they write down your concerns on the worksheet.
Then take it home and ride it hard, don't beat on it but don't baby it either.
What I'm saying is, try to make the engine fail while it is still under warranty.

 

Yeah, best to get on the throttle good early on to break them in, and vary engine RPM (but don't lug it, or hold it agaist the rev limiter).

A little hint of smoke before the rings are seated wouldn't concern me.

 

No,it is not my first new atv and no it was not over full of oil.I'm not sure where the fuel in the bowl went when I tried to start it but it was not flooded,I'm thinking the float was stuck closing off fuel to the bowl because when I opened the bown drain nothing come out,so I shook the atv to free the float and finially got fuel

 

Even though the tank looked half full, you may have been in the range where you needed to be in the reserve. I've done that too, the tank looked half full but needed to be in the reserve to start. If the main pickup is above the fuel, the bowl will be dry. Shaking the ATV will splash fuel, getting it to the bowl, but not enough to run for more than a minute or so. The warranty is 1 year on a new 400ex. There will be some smoke between shifts as timing is changed and unburned fuel is expelled. There is also some "new" that does burn off, but should stop after a few hours of use.

 

Unless Honda changed their warranties, they are only six months.