has anybody hurd of or had any reverse failures with the new gear?

 

No. Probably will not either as the lubrication problem has been addressed

 

Mine is still going strong, but not alot of time on it yet.

 

Mine went a month ago. Suzuki was awesome, replaced the motor with the new gear. Before they would release my quad they over nighted the throttle fix also.

Thing that sucked is breaking it in twice, the thing that was good is I was at 19.5 hours. I'm glad it didn't happen right after my initial service as I would have had to pay for it twice.

Let me tell you about my quad, cause I know you'll ask. =-)

My quad was purchased the middle of Feburary, Exact date, can't remember without looking at my paperwork. The new ECM was already installed. I have stock wheels and rims. No other modifications as it is still fairly new.

I got my quad stuck after mudding and swamping. I was competing with a Brute force, doing GREAT until my belt got wet and started slipping, then found the mud hole. The mud was composed of Oklahoma Clay and Cow Crap as I was on farm land. I could no longer go forward, so I attempted to go backwards with engine spitting cause of the ECM, so I let off on the throttle, hit the override, It was getting dark so I had to stop and look for the Override button. Then nailed the quad. I was coming out of the mud, and all of a sudden I heard a pop then grinding noise. It really didn't take much to toast it. I had to drive about 1/2 mile to the trailer with the gear klinking around in the engine. I took it slow.

Suzuki was incredible. I was spoiled, I took my quad in expecting to have them just change the gear and do the initial. Found out a couple of days later that I would be getting a new motor out of Canada. I was only down from start to finish a total of three weeks. This is also time waiting for Suzuki to decide what to do. I don't think unreasonable. They called me to tell me my quad was ready, then called an hour later telling me it wasn't because the new throttle recall came out. With the MAY CAUSE DEATH, they held my quad over night, and overnighted the throttle fix from Canada. Called the next day about 3. Picked up my quad, been happy ever since.

Was just a no hassle deal. Suzuki has extended the warranty for 5 years on the gear, but you must first have the upgraded ECM in your unit or your hosed. I'm convinced with the design of the old reverse gear, when you need it most it will fail. There is no oil hole, no bearing.

Sorry so long. I just wanted you guys to know what to expect if you have a failure. Me being aware of the problem before hand saved me much stress and agrevation. The guys I were riding with were freaking out, jaws dropped. I had to keep telling them it would be ok. I had just told them about the problem hours earlier, it still shocked them.

Happy owner of a Green 2005 King Quad. 11 hours on new motor.

 

SuziKing,

I hope I have the same dealer experience when my reverse goes this summer.....I plan on putting many miles, many mudholes... so I'm expecting the reverse to go....

It makes sense that they would just replace the entire engine, considering the amount of labor to crack the case, and then the chances of future engine failure due to debris.

 

My mechanics told me the first gear Suzuki had them replace. Now they just replace the motor.

I was lucky in that I didn't do anything stupid till the weekend was over and we were about to put them on the trailer any way. I had an entire weekend of fun. So the three weeks I was without it only consisted of two weekends, which were nasty any way. So I really had no loss of time in the seat. The next weekend I was going riding, picked it up on a Thursday. They did an EXCELLENT job and very very nice.

My recommondation to anyone going on a LONG trip to becareful with reverse till the weekend is over. I wasn't upset as I knew there were some chances buying a first year release model. I love my KQ, I know I made the right choice. Why I also purchased the extended warranty. Which I've read about some guys getting one on ebay for $350 on a Buy it Now option.

I watched a King Get stuck last weekend, I was relieved when they brought out the winch, instead of muscling it out backwards. My face cringed as I was ready for it to go as it revved in reverse.