Happy Thanksgivving to all!

I have had a recurring problem with my 05 Viper 90R (the one with the electric Foward/Reverse shifter). After riding for about an hour and when the engine is pretty warm, the shifter fails to engage into either Forward or Reverse. After starting up in nuetral, waiting for idle, gripping the left brake and switching from "N" to "R", there is a pause and the engine immediately quits. The indicator panal lite flashes on the blue "F". Trying to switch back from "F" to "N" will not work until I reset the system by 1. turn off the ignition key, 2. flip the main swith off and 3. physically pulling out the ignition key. Then I go back to square one by inserting the key, switching the power switch on and before starting, shift into "N". The bike starts up just fine. Once I let it idle again and try to shift out of nuetral, it does the same thing over again.

The only thing that has ever worked is to simply wait about 30-45 minutes for the bike to cool back down. then its as though there were never anything wrong.

I suspect the electric shifting motor is failing due to overheating, but I dont know how to verify this nor do I know how to remove/replace it.

I have two questions: 1. Does anyone have any suggestions? 2. Does anyone know how to convert the quad from electric shifting to manual?

*******UPDATE**********
The problem has been resolved! Here it is:
The seal between the electric shifter is LOWSEY! Apparently, water got into the electric sifter motor, thereby corroding the internal electrical parts. The starter was replaced and we havent looked back. In light of this, I would recommend that if you have the starter replaced, ask the mechanic (or do it yourself) to add extra sealant where the shifter motor contacts the crank case. This may prevent another costly repair should your bike come in contact with water as ours did (we had fun doing it, but we paid the price!).

AS far as "converting" converting the quad into a manual system....it can only be done by changing the entire engine. Oh well. The quad runs great!

Additional tips for those of you new to the eTons:

Water
The poor design of the air intake tube which is an upside down "J" invites water into the airbox everytime you hit water puddles at speed (water splashes UP into the snorkle).

Airbox
The rubber air intake tube (mentioned above) is poorly fitted to the plastic airbox. If you find that the two are seperating, you may want to complete remove the tube fro the airbox, clean off ALL of the sealant and re-seal it with petroleum-resistant black silicone sealant.

Exhaust
These bikes run pretty rich and as such, the exhaust clogs easily with black exhaust residue. If you notice a decrease in performance, remove the exhaust spark arrestor (a single allen wrench does this) and brush off the excess black stuff from the screens.

Air Filter
Clean the air filter at least every other ride! You'll be amazed at how much junk gets into the air filter.

Carburator
These are extremely easy to clean! I've had my carb clog-up about 3X now. It takes about 10-15 minutes to completely remove, dismantle, clean and re-install the eTon carburator. Trust me, if I can do it, so can you!

Wheels
I found that the quad was slightly top-heavy, so I added wheel extenders (2 1/2" on each side) which completely changed the way the kids rode. The wider wheel-base makes the bike much more stable and less suseptable to rolling. Wheel extenders run about $65.00 per set, so you'll need two sets if you want to do this.

Lights
I added the aftermarket headlights and found that it enhanced the safety when we used them as daytime running lights. I do not recommend allowing the kids to ride at night.

 

I know that there is something built in that cuts off the engine when shifting at too high an idle. There is a gold screw on the carberater(right side when sitting on ATV) that can be turned counter-clockwise to lower idle. I had same problem and it was driving me crazy until I found out about the cut off at too high of RPM when shifting.

 

Yeah, thats one of the built in safety features. It will not shift into gear when the engine is above a certain RPM. I'm positive that is not the problem. Like I said, it runs great when its cold-warm, but when its been running for a while and is hot, the electric shifter wil no longer shift.

 

Have you figured it out yet?

My sons is doing the same thing! To the point that it would not reset. So I switched the wires around on the three sensors so it thinks it is N when it's actually in F. But after about an hour worth of riding... it only blinks now! And will not reset. I think it's the CDI, at least that?s the direction I?m headed!

 

Gheez, I just got a 2007 model, that we haven't even used yet. (It's the new 4-stroke 90.) I hope I don't have that problem out on the trail!

James

 

Hello, a late reaction, but what is the most easy way to remove the shifting engine?
regards, Jan