I just bought a new Prairie 700 and I am also new to this forum. I have about 100 miles on my 700 and would like to share and compare some things that I have found. I did the first service myself at about 10 hours and 100 miles. I noticed that the front and the rear differentials were more dirty than I expected and the first oil change was cleaner that I expected. Has anyone else seen these same results? The rear had an antiseize kind of color but I expect that its normal due to the brakes in there. I expected the front diff to be like new oil but it wasn't it was darker than new oil. I could not see thru it when it was in the pan but It looked clear on my finger. I also was amazed that Kawasaki didn't put an inline fuel filter on the 700. Due to my previous experience with small engines I decided to install an inline fuel filter between the outlet of the fuel pump and the inlet of the petcock valve . The filter that I used was a Fram G4164 and is a clear plastic $2 paper job. Has anyone else put an inline filter on the p650 or p700 before with good results? I have only ran my for about 2 miles just to make sure I had no leaks and that it would not starve the beast of fuel at wide open. I tought that there may be a filter in the tank because this thing has a fuel pump but I can't find a service manual for the P700 yet . It must be to new because Kawi doesn't even have a part number for one yet on there web site. Sorry for the long post and I thank anyone that replies in advance. thanks

 

i use a fuel filter on my z400. it is similar to the one you describe. i use it because i got trash in my carb one time and i dont want it to happen again. i have used it for several months with no problems.

 

I wanted to install a fuel filter but never got around to it because I wasn't sure if it would make the in tank fuel pump work harder. Now with 18000km on mine I don't see the need to do it.

 

Haven't heard of a single prob with the lack of a fuel filter. I wouldn't worry.

The repair manual says the "filter" is a sock on the fuel pickup in the tank. It says to clean it, but doesn't say how often.

The engine oil is always clean since the pistons are small and there is no wet clutch. The front and rear diff oil get dirty like you said.

Don't sweat that stuff. Change the front and rear diff with exactly what Kawi says. Don't put synth in the engine yet. Don't put any synth in the front diff thinner than 20w50, or the limited slip will not be very stiff.

Get those yucky tires off it. Don't give them to anyone that you care about.

Get that belt cover off and tighten the belt to the low end of the spec (at least that is what we tell the 2002 and 2003 owners). It lasts longer tight.

Print out my belt light reset procedure and take it with you (at least that is what we tell the 2003 owners). I don't know if the 2004 CDI is programmed to cause your engine to run so bad that you take it in just to have the belt checked. It could leave you in a pickle, even if the belt is perfectly fine. Happens at 100 hours.

Does anyone know if the 2004 Prairies have the fuel in crankcase issues? We have to turn our fuel switches off. Some of us modified the tank breather hose. It only hit a small percentage of us.