I’m new to owning a bike. I purchased an older Kawasaki bayou 300. It needs some, okay a lot of work. The problem is I don’t know what year it is. I’ve looked at the year guide posted on here, but it doesn’t make sense to me. Below is a pic of the VIN. The bike has side by side headlights
let me thank you in advance for helping a new guy out.

VIN NUMBER

 

Welcome to the forums.

That would be a 1998 model.

 

Thank you. Is there anything I should be on the lookout for with this quad? This is the first one I’ve ever owned. The start button is not working, however I can jump around it and it starts up. The neutral light isn’t lit, I’m guessing the neutral switch might be connected to the button a safety thing.

 

Those were tough little engines, with care they will run a long time. I owned a 2000 Praire for 16 years, worked it hard, plowed snow, it had almost 3k miles on her with no issues...Get yourself a factory service manual for it, you will find it to be quite valuable for servicing and maintaining your machine.

 

If it is 4WD the front prop shaft splines and UJs are prone to wear, and the gearbox can give trouble, possibly because you can change from reverse into first too easily. Otherwise they are one of the best Quads, the only other pre-Millenium quad with that instant starting and smooth idle that the Honda 300 is famous for. There are two solenoids in the starter circuit, the first clicks in when you engage neutral, the second when you press the start button. As Kymco 450i wrote, get the service manual, and trace the neutral light circuit to find the fault on the starter lock-out wiring.