Hey there! This is the first message I've posted on the forum. I think there are a lot of good ideas and opinions here. My question is if there is anybody out there that has had a problem with the throttle cable on Explorer 400's. I have a '95 and the throttle is hard to push in. I don't know if it is just the two-stroke or if there is something wrong with it. Other 400's I've seen don't have this problem as bad as mine. I drive in a lot of cold weather, too. If anybody knows what could cause this it would be greatley appreciated!! I think the Explorer 400 is one of the best machines on the market and the improvements Polaris made on it in '99 were incredible. I wish I had enough money to buy a '00!!

Thank You
Explorer 400


[This message has been edited by 400explorer (edited 01-26-2000).]

 

Do you have a slight kink in it? Does it stick?
Have you ever lubed your cable? You usually don't have to unless you ride in really wet conditions. I ride allot in the cold up here in MN and WI, and I have lubed my cable only once and it is a 94 400. If you have never lubed your cable and you ride in the wet weather or in swamps allot I would either try replacing your cable, or lubing it. If you lube it I would use a very thin lube because if you ride in the codl the thicker lubes can get stiff.

 

My 00 400 has had the cable freeze up a couple times lately after getting wet in really cold conditions. I end up letting it idle for a while because it wouldn't take any gas. when it warms up the cable moves freely again. I don't know if this helps or not but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

My dad has a 95 Explorer and it is also pretty hard to press in compared to my 00' 325 Boss. Last winter the throttle suck and I hit a tree.

 

You could be experiencing ice in the throttle cable. Two places that it likes to collect are 1. at the joint where the carburetor cable joins up with the oil pump cable and 2. the oil injector box.

Follow the cable down along the side of the tank to the oil pump at the front of the engine. Carefully take off the cover without damaging the gasket. Clean out and dry out the entire area and reseal the cover with some RTV. This is after you drain and lube the cables of course. This should eliminate freezing and sticking problems.

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Sportsman 400 " I love the smell of two stroke in the morning."

 

I have a 2000 Sportsman, and a '95 Xplorer 400; and have also noticed a big difference in the throttle resistance on the Xplorer. I live in AZ, so cold and water are definitely not an issue. My dealer suggested placing a piece of rubber hose over the thumb lever to get more leverage, and make it easier to operate the throttle. What about lubing the cable? Where, and how, is this done?

It's getting to the point where I don't even want to ride the Xplorer. After a day of riding, my thumb feels like it's going to fall off.


-Mike

 

I agree! Sometimes I just get so mad at it!! I think I'll have to try taking the cover off of the oil pump and see what's going on there. I had it off once and there was a lot of white residue there, probably from water. This may be what is causing the stiff throttle. The seal on the pump may not be very good and may have let water in.
Thanks for your input everybody!

 

The cable can be lubed by detaching it from the electronic throttle control on the handlebar and going from there. Most Polaris or cycle dealers have cable lube in inventory. J.C. Whitney used to sell a "cable luber" which would force lubricant thru the cable. Most of the stickiness I had in my cable was due to dirt accumulation under the oil pump cover. Waterproofing the cover helped out quite a lot. It's amazing how long water will stay in a cable.

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Sportsman 400 " I love the smell of two stroke in the morning."