Well, trips to Canada snowmobiling are over, so time to get to the quads. I blew up my 94 Bayou 400 last year trying to keep up with a yz 250. I had the engine rebuilt from the crank up, new piston, head, valves,cam, etc. I put the engine back in the quad and drove it. It ran fine for about a month and I started to notice it popping out of gear. It would usually happen in 2nd and would pop up to 4th gear. Sometimes it would make a horrible sound, like trying to get into gear without using a clutch. It drives ok most of the time, but seems to happen a lot when going up a hill or slight grade and bouncing.

The other problem is how hard to start it is. I used to put on the choke, crank it and if it didn't start immediately, I would move the choke to 1/2 way and it would usually start. I would then choke all the way to keep running, until warmed up. When I put the engine back in the quad, I removed the choke spring from the carb. I was tired of constantly having to hold the choke lever open, and removing the spring helped with this. The only problem is without the spring, when turning hard left, the choke will come on, killing the engine. I checked for binding in the cable, but figure the spring was probably helping hold the choke closed when turning, so by removing the spring I caused the problem. My fix was to install a tywrap around the handlebar at the choke lever that I can pop over the lever after the engine warms up to hold the choke closed. This works great. The problem is that some times when I go to start the quad, it just won't start, I remove the spark plug, and it is black, covered in gas. I at first thought it was caused by the choke being left open a little, but after intentionally checking to make sure the choke was closed, it still won't start sometimes. When I clean the spark plug, the quad fires right up. I did install an aftermarket exhaust when I put the engine back in, and the shop said that was probably causing the plug fouling. They said re-jetting the carb would fix it. They also said that the popping out of gear is probably a spring in the tranny that broke and is not keeping enough tension on something.

After dropping $2000 bucks rebuilding the engine, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I can't recoup the cost by selling the quad, and I don't want to take this back to the shop. I have no problem ripping this apart, but need advice on what to look for.

This forum has given me good advice in the past, I hope some good ideas show up from my post.

Thanks

 

I assume you have a copy of the Kawasaki shop manual, but the solutions aren't obvious there.

Kawasaki USA Customer Service has been helpful answering my technical repair questions; you might give them a call. Good luck!

Tree Farmer

 

there are several things that could be causing your sparkplug to foul. dirty air filter, low compression (i know your motor was just rebuilt but might be worth checking),if your bike sat three or four months while it was not running your carb could be varnished up and my need to be cleaned. installing a less restrictive exhaust system usually wont make your bike run richer but leaner. as far as your transmission goes you just have to take a look, you can inspect the shift mechanism by removing the clutch cover. to inspect the transmission gears and shift forks etc. you would have to split the cases. good luck

 

I'm sure you,ve gotten it fixed by now, but were you aware of the tech bulletin on the shift detent arm?