Does anybody have shift linkage problems with their Prairie? I don't know how many times I've struggled with that thing until I was on the verge of going crazy. It's bad enough that you have to take your hand off the gas to shift, loosing power. If you're buried in the mud as I frequently am you lose momentum and can't ever get a rocking motion going on like with the footshift wheelers. Well I fixed this problem the other day. I took that shifter off and removed the button mechanism, now it will shift into gear when I need it to and it is still resistant enough to not get knocked into another gear. I don't have to worry about this anyway as I'm usually in low to begin with. Anyway it now works a lot better, when I reach down to move the shifter, it moves. No more having to roll it back and forth to get it into or out of gear.

 

There's a good Idea, remove the button.
Do you have yours wired to start in any gear? That will also help with the stuck in the mud- oh crap my quad just died and now I've got to get in nuetral to start it- issue.

 

Sweet! you can wire it to start in any gear. I woudl love t oknow how to do this if you coudl please help me i would be very greatful. Oh and i would like to also say that my praire 400 sometimes won't shift at all when it is cold has heck. I have to wait for the engine to heat up for awhile then sometimes it will shift

 

It was once a topic on this messageboard that was very discriptive so if you Try doing a search on the matter you should find it.
What I do remember is you pull a small black wire box out from near the battery. The box has four prongs that plug into the wire harness female connections. You pull the box off and jumper two of the four female connections with a piece of wire, RTV it sealed and your done. The trick is I don't remember off hand which two to jumper.
I put my little box up in my garage. My dad put his near the battery box and when he took it in to get the belt replaced under the recall the pulled his jumper and put the box back on.

I just performed a search " start in any gear" and it's the two black wire connection. pull the search for more info...

 

Start in any gear


To Modify A Kawasaki Bayou or Prairie To Start In Any Gear:

First remove the seat. Near the battery you will see a black plastic slide-in tray on which are two relays, both of which have black rubber covers. The larger of the two is the Starter Relay, which we'll leave alone. The smaller relay is the Starter Circuit Relay, which disables the Starter Relay except when the gear selector is in neutral. The Starter Circuit Relay has a connector attached with four wires; brown, green, and two blacks. Pull this connector off of the relay, and then, if you like, you can remove and save the relay, or leave it in place on the black plastic tray. Now make a jumper wire to connect the two black wires at the four-wire connector. Make sure the jumper wire is secure, and then tape or fasten the connector to the black plastic panel near its original position. Replace the black plastic panel, and you're done. To reverse the modification,just remove the jumper wire and replace the relay. WHAT IT DOES: The Starter Circuit Relay disables the Starter Relay except when the gear selector is in neutral. This modification enables the Starter Relay any time the ignition switch is ON, and the starter button is pressed. At the four wire connector: 1: With the Starter Circuit Relay connected, the starter motor will work only when the gear selector is in neutral, the ignition switch is on, and the starter button is pressed. 2. With a jumper wire connecting the two black wires, the starter motor will work whenever the ignition key is ON, and the starter button is pressed. 3. As a possible theft deterrant, without the relay OR the jumper wire installed, the starter motor will not work at all."

 

My 300 Prarie has only given me trouble one time when I was riding in the snow. The outside temp was 10 degrees. After letting it idle for about 20 min. it worked fine until I started riding again. Other than that I have had no problems with my Prarie.

Thanks guys for tip on starting the Prarie while in gear.