I have a sportsman 700 2002. I was wondering if anyone could answer me this. I have only 40 some hours on it. Couple weeks ago it would not start right. Sputtered and popped then stall. I replaced the plugs and it runs better now, but now it is running sort of ruff. Backed fire couple of times today. Its blowing a little smoke as well. I live in Ohio so its cold, but i warm it up for a good bit before running it. I didn't change the plugs myself so could it be the setting. Ran super up till the time it didn't start right. Bad gas, bad plugs, water in gas some how, plug setting off. These are the minor things I could think of before going into the major stuff. Any help would great. Thanks.

 

anybody?

 

1) Make sure there is not too much slack in the throttle cable (time it takes to actuate the slide in the carb). If there is that could allow the ETC to act up.

2) My brothers '03 SP 600 did the same thing and his was a piece of dirt that was lodged in the main jet. (Depending what RPMs your engine runs rough it could also be the pilot jet too).

As you said, make sure you have good gasoline and the air filter is dry and not clogged with dirt.


If you have any more details about how it runs that would help. Does it only run rough at idle? Mid throttle? Full throttle? Does it ever improve as the engine warms up or cools down? Does it seem to get better as the temperature outside gets warmer / colder? If you pull the choke out just a tiny bit does that improve the rough running or does it want to kill the egine?

 

is the choke cable moving freely? might need some lube.

 

It mainly runs rough at first. Of course because its cold but i get a lot of oil burning. The smoke subsides after a bit. Yes it runs a little rough after warm up with the choke in all the way. If I do pull the choke out it runs like it has the choke out even a little bit. I ran it for about 20 minutes then I sat for about 2-3 minutes reved the engine a little and it studdered and gave me a back fire. as my first post said the one time it took me 30 minutes to start. after i did get it running seemed as if only one plug was firing. Now that i got new plugs it runs better but as explained above it runs like this. What gets me is that before the not starting incident it ran like brand new.

 

Make sure both cylinders are truly firing. Next time you start it up feel each side of the cylinder as the engine warms up. If one cylinder does not seem to get warm then you are probably not firing. As you know the engine can hot quickly so be very careful as you touch the motor. Or you could just do the more safe (more labor too) thing and pull each plug and verify they are sparking.

 

how long has it sat with gas in it without putting new gas in? change your fuel filter....clean your carb...

 

gas was just put in. but it sat for a little while in the can. which is a good route to clean the carb?

 

Polaridoo is probably right on the money. Check the slack and let us know what you find.

SnowDrift

 

I had the same problem with my 2002 700. Checked the pcv valve on the valve cover. Mine had gotten alittle moisture
in it, causing it to freeze. Dried it out, now is OK. Also check with your dealer, I believe there is a problem with some 700's running rough in cold. Not sure if the adjust the carb or rejett carb. Your dealer should know the details. Good luck.