Hello,
Today I took my 800 out on the trails, we went about 55-60 miles. Dusty as all hell to. Part way through the ride, when I came to a stop, like at a stop sign, my machine would quit. I could restart it and take off, but it would die everytime I would stop. I notice the idle dropped way down, like 700, maybe 750, somewhere in that area. Normally it had idled around the 1100 range. I used it yesterday to spray weeds on a baseball diamond here and had no problems. I thought maybe when I re oiled my K&N air filter, that being so dusty it clogged on me, so I checked that, and nope,, thats fine. I even tried a stock paper one when I got home and it still did the same. I tried to get a code out of it, and no codes came up. I tried adjsuting the cable, and it was hard to even get it to idle at one rpm. I turned the handle bars all the way to the left and then to the right, the rpms went up when it would be turned like this. But that could be caused from me trying to adjust the throttle cable. What else would cause this, maybe a bad or clogged fuel filter? Fouled plugs? Bad gas? I also notice somewhat of a knock when it is running, coming from somewhere on the right side of the engine, right side when your sitting on it. when idling you can hear it plain as day, when rpms are up,, you dont notice it. When driving ont he trail, it was fine, didnt notice any lack of power or anything. Also, it seemed to get worse gas mileage than normal to. I had got 16 or 16.5 mpg before,, now only about 13.5 mpg. The 4 wheeler has around 600 miles on it. Please do let me know any ideas you guys may have.

Thanks

Rob

 

The knock is normal.........I have over 3,000 miles on my SP800 and it has made that noise since day one. I can't say what the other problem is. Let us know.

 

you might have got bad gas and made the filter dirty. but it wouldnt have come out of it. the adjustment in the cable is for free play and not to adjust the idle. it has to be done at a dealer. mine knocks w/ 400 miles on it w/ no problems. i actually just replaced my filter which was full of water and mud from a bad seal. i know if the filter gets bad enough it will shut the machine off from lack of air. pull the plugs out and see if there all black. if so replace them and try it. just some idears.

 

Check the throttle body at the plate for dirt buildup which will reduce airflow at idle, clean it with carb cleaner. I don't and will never use a K&N filter, seen way to many machines with very dirty intakes from dust passing through the filters...

 

i guess i still dont get why people use a k&n air filter. unless you have mod. exhaust of some kind. the extra air flow seems wasted to me. i knoiw that my buds bf750 hes had it cleaned 3 times and reoiled to get back the right performance. i grant you that an oiled air filter is easly cleaned and reused. but i've only had to replace one of my filters on all my wheelers i've had.

 

The first thing I’d check is what powerslider suggested. I’ve stopped using the K&N filters on our machines too, back to the stock paper. I wash the socks after every weekend of riding and blow the paper out from the inside with compressed air. K&N didn’t offer any noticeable improvement in breathability/power and I’ve heard some stories about dust getting through them. I’ll replace our paper filters once a year, easier than washing out a K&N.

 

Hey,, I pulled the air cleaner box out and cleaned the throttle body, and it now goes back to around 11,000 rpms. It did have some crud in there, not alot, but apparently enough to mess with the air flow. And that air flow made the no so good mileage of my 800 even worse. When I should of got 65 miles out of the tank of gas, I only got about 55-56. Worst part of all this is I ran out of gas only about 1 mile from the parking lot and my brother inlaw pulled me back.........with his Honda Rincon. I am so glad nobody took any pictures of that. LOL
We knew it would be pushing it, but was closer to the parking lot than a place to get gas. I know I WILL be investing in a gas tank to strap on my rack in the future. Why dont these have an auxillary gas tank that hold say 1/2 gallon or so? Or a bigger gas tank when it gets poor mileage?

Anyhow, thanks guys, I ahve found this forum to be more informational than my service manual.

Rob

 

Glad you got it corrected, the oil from the filter may help increase the build up but I think it will be a periodic issue with most over time.

I always carry extra fuel when riding the 800, you never know when a side trip may pop up.....

 

RobD....
I had a similar situation with my machine last year......Dusty conditions, K&N, they don't mix......I took the K&N out and cleaned the throttle body and the rpm's were right back up to 1150....I never put the K&N back in..
John

 

The most miles I’ve ever gotten out of a tank on my 800 is 62 after it was broken in. But I’m running 27” tires, a Heel Clicker clutch kit and Aaen pipe so it sucks more fuel than most. There’s no way I'd ride without spare fuel with me.

Yeah, I did the same thing with my wife’s 700 when it started idling erratically and low. Pulled the air filter and shot some aerosol carb cleaner in the “boot” to clean things out. Idle came right back. Anybody want to buy a pair of slightly used K&N air filters?

Don’t forget to readjust your throttle cable back to the way it was. That is NOT an idle adjustment and having it set that tight will make your rpms jump when you turn which is unsafe.