Forgive my lack of knowledge in the area, but I just picked up an 02 Scrambler 400 4X4 and had a few questions. I ran it for a couple minutes yesterday and when I shut it off I noticed smoke coming from the exhaust and a bit coming from the the handle bar area? I know that the 2 Strokes smoke, but wasn't sure if it should be coming from there after the unit is off?

Also the steering is very sloppy on it which appears to be a common problem on these. There is definitely a lot of play in the steering and I have to turn the handlebars a bit to keep it straight. How much and I looking at to fix this?

Thank you.

 

More than likely the exhaust gaskets are worn and leaking. I've found a lot of these worn down to nothing. Item # 9. Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Honda, Arctic Cat & Polaris OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse
Steering post bearing could be worn(does show an updated part #) or simply tie rod end slack or worn bushings at the top of the steering post.http://www.cyclepartswarehouse.com/f...2002&fveh=5600 And they've been updated also.

 

Thank you very much for the advice. How easy/hard is it to tackle the steering portion of it? Are the exhaust gaskets easy to get at or is it a timely job?

 

Gaskets are simple,just remove the springs and replace the gaskets.Depending on whats worn,the steering wobble is more involved,but some plastic and the tank have to be moved back to address the upper bushings if worn or the lower bearing.