maybe the gas is bad from sitting so much?????
id put in new plug every year a change gas also.

 

maybe the gas is bad from sitting so much?????
id put in new plug every year a change gas also.

 

maybe the gas is bad from sitting so much?????
id put in new plug every year a change gas also.

 

The gas was fresh. I just filled it up the day before I used it.

 

benelli

For some reason, both my Polaris atvs (325 and 425) are very tempermental after sitting for extended periods of time and not being run. The thing should have started with the low battery, though. It should run better after you get it out and work it for a while. Mechanically, my only guess is to check to see if the choke is working properly.

 

I've got a 99 sp335 I bought new in 99 just for deer hunting. It only has 125 miles on it. I use it very little during the summer. It used to be after harvesting a deer the work began, now when a deer is down the fun begins being able to use the wheeler to get it out. Well Saturday was opening day for deer hunting I get one down at 7:30 am. I field dress it and go back to the truck and wait for the other guys to show up before I take my wheeler to get my deer. The others show up and we tell our deer stories and it's time to get a couple deer. I get on the wheeler and to my horror the thing WILL NOT START. It cranks but won't start. This thing always starts with just the push of the button. I'm always amazed how this thing will start so quick even after sitting. I'm mumbling something about trading this thing in on Monday and buying a Honda and somewhat embarrassed at the same time. Nobody in my hunting group has a wheeler and I was looking forward to showing them how much easier it is to get deer out. After realizing this thing really is not going to start I take the tool kit out and pull the spark plug to see if it is wet with gas. It is black and wet, so I dry it off and make sure it has spark. It does, so I put it back in and still nothing. I do this a couple more times until the battery is going down. I'm hot! I start talking about that Honda again and make a mad dash back into town to my shop. I pull the plug out again and clean it with a spark plug cleaner and try it. NOTHING. So then I hook a battery pack up to it and this thing really cranks over and it starts right up. I head back to the timber and put the thing to work. Is it possible that all that was wrong all along is that the battery was down and it was not a hot enough spark to start? If I would have tried to pull start it that it might have started? Like I said this thing sits alot and has alot of short runs to move it in and out of my garage. Now it starts right up, but I don't trust it because I'm not sure what the real problem was. I like Polaris and the features they have and I really don't want a Honda or any other atv, but I want to trust this thing again. Any thoughts? One more thing please don't turn this post into a bash against Polaris.

 

Don't feel bad, I took my brand new Sportsman up north to Mio over the weekend, and it took about 15 minutes to get it going both mornings. It was about 10 degrees, but my 1998 Prairie 400 started up on the first try. There's nothing like having everyone getting impatient, waiting for you to get your piece of crap started !!

 

Nobody else has any suggestions?

 

Did you turn the gas off while you were transporting it? There has been some talk on these boards about flooding while in transport, from bouncing of the carb float if the fuel isn't turned off. And if you did turn it off, maybe you forgot to turn it back on .

Dave

 

I think it could be the Battery, I had a Sport that would do exactly the same thing. I had to put it on a charger if I didn't ride over a couple of weeks, especially in the cold. The test is let it go, try to reproduce the not starting, then use the recoil. If the recoil starts it, its the Battery. I realize this isnt very scientific. Another option would be take it to a battery shop, not a shop that sells batteries, but a battery shop. They will be able to test the battery and the electical system to see if you have a "dead drain" somewere. Good luck.