Hey Guys~
I was out riding my scrambler this morning and it was running fine. I never did rejet the carburetor for the winter, but I had ridden in 20 degree colder weather the past couple weeks with no problems. Anyway, I shut the engine off after about an hour of running, and the whole hour of riding was less than 3/4 throttle. I went to start it back up and the electric start just clicked. Then I tried the pull start and it wouldn't budge. Did I lock up the engine?? If so, what all will I need for parts to fix this? Thanks for all the help!

 

I would firs suspect moisture got in the starter mechanism and froze up. If moisture gets behind the right side cover, where the pull cord goes in, it can freeze both the electric and hand start mechanisms. To test my theory, either park the bike somewhere warm for a few hours to thaw it out (or wait till spring lol )and see if that doesn't help. It is odd for an engine to run fine, and lock up when you shut it off, unless you heard some strange noise just as you turned the key.

Moisture gets in there pretty easy if you don't have the pull handle SNUGLY on its perch. Big, clumsy insulated boots knock it loose all too easily. The only cure I know of is take the side cover off, and dry it out good, and put it back together with a new gasket. Grease the starter mechanism while you are in there.
Good luck & I sure hope it isn't siezed.

 

PS could also be a stuck gear in the starter drive. That should be under the same cover.

 

MY BIKE DID THE SAME THING 3 WEEKS AGO. THE FLYWHEEL CAME APART AND MESSED UP THE STATOR.
POLARIS MAKES A NEW FLYWHEEL THAT HAS A COVER INSIDE IT TO STOP THE MAGNETS FOR COMING APART.
HOPE THIS HELPS.

 

wiscrambler same thing happened to my 95 Scrambler except i heard a couple of popping noises coming from the engine... low and behold the piston exploded.. causing fragments to get stuck between the crank and the side of the bottom end case cracking the case.. cost new case $250.00 wiseco piston $90.00 bored 10,000 over$40.00 labor $90.00 thank god i didn't bend the rod or the crank The dealer has had my motor now for 2 1/2 months called him Friday 12/29/00 and he told me that i was on the back burner due to all of the snow mobiles he is working on real nice dealer Mr. Moody PS.. I took the motor out of the quad myself wasn't an easy task to do just to save about $400.00 over letting the dealer do it

 

If you seized your engine, the only way to check it is pretty easy, take your head off (not yours, the quad's ). I seized my snowmobile engine last week and repaired it 3 days later (I could have done this the night following the day it seized, but all dealers were closed...on 31st december, no wonder).
First, you can try to play with your primary clutch (which is right at the end of the crank (I think)) to see if it doesn't move at all, if not, then take everything apart. If you can turn it, no problem inside, something's wrong somewhere else.
To take your head off, you have to empty your coolant system (no big deal, rip off a hose, and at least the top of the engine will get empty), then take off the 6(?) bolts on the head, and voila, it comes off and you can watch inside your engine. Watch out to keep the head gasket...if nothing's broken in there, you can keep it. If you seized, the piston should not be able to move, even if you hammer it. The only way to take the piston out of the cylinder has been for me to unbolt the cyilnder so it moves a little, then I would turn the clutch (and BTW the crank) hard so the cylinder comes hitting the base, and the piston would come down a little. I don't really recomend this, but I've done it, and it worked well, with no apparent damage.
Depending on if you want to save money and/or ride quickly, you may want to simply rub off the aluminium deposits on the cyl. walls instead of having it rechromed (if your engine did seize in). You might end with just a piston change...which would be cool. Expect to have some trouble taking the piston axles out (it took me 2 hours to take them apart on my sled...)
Hope it's nothing though.
Good luck

 

Hey guys~
Well, I have to give the prize to Farmr123! He apparently identified the problem! I was going to take the clutch cover off to check if the primary would move at all like Zorro suggested, but first I got out the propane heater and melted all the snow and ice off the machine first. Low and behold, after 2 hours of melting, I tried the pull cord, and she fired on the first pull! I'm guessing I must have hit the cord handle with my boot so it wasn't snug down. I was riding on some ice the day it happened and in some spots there was slush on top of the frozen ice! Thanks for the help guys! I'm glad I didn't have to tear the whole machine apart!! Thanks again!!!