We went to SpringJam 2007 last weekend, and it was nice and muddy, but to my surprise, my wife's new (4-stroke) Eton Viper 90R got mud in the clutch assembly, and clogged up the spring mechanism that engages the starter gear. (The starter worked, but did not engage the engine.)

The dealer charged me a whopping $150 to clean it out, and said (after calling the distributor) that it was not covered under warranty. In my view this is a design defect and should have been covered.

It seems that, while the air intake for the clutch is connected to a hose which runs up high under the fender, there is simply a slot underneath the clutch housing at the back for this coolong air to exhaust. On the larger Eton Vector 250 (nice bike!) the exhaust is connected to a hose that also runs up high under the fender, so no mud can get it in (unless of course, you are in about 3 ft. of water!)

The clutch housing on my daughter's Arctic Cat DVX 50 has the same slot, but we have not had a problem with mud in the clutch housing nor the starter.

Both these quads are made in Taiwan. The dealer suggested that I just plug the rear slot up with silicone, but I'm reluctant to do so.

is there perhaps an aftermarket housing with a hose attachment for the clutch exhaust that I could get, or could I perhaps adapt something? (The slot is on a relatively smooth part of the housing, so I can't just clamp a hose on.)

Ant help, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (By the way, the dealer said that the 2-stroke 90's do not have the same slot where mud can get in.)

 

I assume your reluctant to seal up the slot because you don't want to stop the airflow to cool the clutch?....Could you seal up that slot and then maybe drill a hole somewhere else to attach another snorkel to allow airflow out but have it high enough to not allow mud in?..You might even be able to tie into the original snorkel that you said goes up under the fender?....The two stroke models are certainly not sealed up tight although we have never gotten mud in ours..Water and dust can certainly make their way past the factory cover though.(see my pics for a look at the two stroke version) In my pictures the black outer plastic cover is removed as well as the filter(seen laying on the running board)..You can clearly see the big hole on the bottom side towards the rear where water can enter between the black plastic cover and the aluminium cover..Polaris models even went so far as to put a factory snorkel on their predators but they left this same hole open so the snorkel is useless...I thought about totally sealing the aluminium cover up and running two snorkels on the topside for air ventilation but on the two stroke version the ignition stator is open on the other side of the engine at the same level anyway so It would be pointless....These models(two stroke CVTs) were just not designed for deep water.

 

Thanks, Oldyeller. I'm up to the cottage for the weekend - will have a closer look at it.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: check

Thanks, Oldyeller. I'm up to the cottage for the weekend - will have a closer look at it.</end quote></div>


Went up to the cottage and took the Viper on a good mud ridde with no APPARENT mud-in-the-clutch problems. So far so good, but we did get a starting problem (twice) after turning the machine off for a short break. It would almost start (mening fire), and the after a few tries not fire at all, then after another couple of minutes it would start. Funny, can't figure out why it would do that, but I did read on the forum where it may not be good to use premium fuel on quads with compression ratios less than 12:1, because the engine may run too cool. And, I think I may have had premium in the Viper on that trip. (The compression ratio is only about 10:1)

 

I really doubt the higher octane would cause you any problems..You may not need it but it shouldn't hurt anything...When the restarting problem occured did you try choking the engine?...I'm wondering if you have some kind of a fuel related problem maybe due to heat..You need to figure out if its a spark or fuel problem..If you have a spare spark plug just pull off the plug wire and attach it to your spare plug..Make sure the end of the spark plug is touching the one in the engine so it will be grounded..Crank the engine and look for spark..If you have spark then it is a fuel problem and you have to figure out if its too much or not enough...Just in case it is getting too much fuel try cranking it with the throttle held wide open..This should clear it and let it start if its flooding...Let us know what you find out.

 

Thanks, oldyeller - I tried all that. I'll also check the spark arrester and mixture screws this (long) weekend - when we also try out our new Eton Vector 250 (with aftermarket 25" bearclaw tires)!

 

Update: Went on a one-hour ride this weekend and the Viper started fine after shut down, so.....? Only thing I can figure is maybe it was low on gas before. I topped it up before this ride, since the dealer says there is no reserve on this bike (even though it says there is, and thus the gas pickup in the tank gets exposed even when there is visible gas in the tank. Perhaps a design problem.

 

Yes the reserve on the viper doesn't seem to work..I've had ours not start a few times when you could still see gas in the tank..I filled the tank and it would start right up everytime..I just installed some clear fuel line so I can see at a glance if its getting gas or not.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: oldyeller

Yes the reserve on the viper doesn't seem to work..I've had ours not start a few times when you could still see gas in the tank..I filled the tank and it would start right up everytime..I just installed some clear fuel line so I can see at a glance if its getting gas or not.</end quote></div>


I hope you're right, oldyeller, because that's an easy fix! However, I am reading another thread which points out that the electric transmission shifter has also had some problems, so I will be checking that out further.

All in all, if these are the only little problems, I must say that this new 4-stroke Viper with reverse is just about the best quad around in it's class, and it has really performed well on the trails with the big (2 5/8" X 2) spacers we put front and back, and the big 22" Mudlite rear tires. (Will post a picture later - just have to reduce it in size and no. of pixels - a big pain in the butt with my software!)

 

The etons are very reliable little machines..99% of the problems I hear about are related to the reverse models with electrical gremlins..Ours is a plain Jane 90cc two stroke model and its been a great bike since day one.