Ive had a y2k Kodiak for about 8months now
and no problems till now, not so much a problem as it is annoying. For some reason when im idling sitting still the bike will just shut off by itself. This seems to happen randomly. I even increased the idle and still seems to happen here and there. It always starts right back up. It never stalls when im moving though. Seems to have a mind of its own sometimes when its just sitting there running. Anyone had this happen? any possible solutions, please let me know...

 

Does it do this when it is cold? Check out the choke cable to see if it is stuck. Maybe there is some dirt in the gas line filter. Ajust your idle screw.

 

Mine did the same thing. It may not be the same problem but you might want to check all your eletrical connections.
I posted this some time ago. I saved it just incase. Read This.
I read your posts about the 2000 Kodiak machines cutting off. I just couldn’t believe it. I was experiencing the same thing! Three times it happened to me. It just dies. No power indicated by the dash. It would not start. I was far from home each time. It never lasted long much to my LUCK! I would flip the key back and forth until I got something to light up and then it would start and go.
Well you folks may have what I did I hope. If so at least you can go to it and feel confident again.
I was in the process of installing a reverse light. My first step was to look for a wire that gets hot when reverse is selected. I have a Yamaha Shop Manual ($42.00) and glad of it. Money Well Spent. I pulled up the seat to look for a certain color wire that comes off the reverse switch solenoid. Well I needed better access so I removed the triangular wiring harness hold down and the screw that fastens the CDI to the side of the machine. Now I could move the wiring around and see the colors and pull the solenoid up as well and see its wires. To get the CDI to lift out you have to go under the fender and pry a clip a little bit. The Solenoid just lifts out.
While I was moving the wires, solenoid and CDI around with the key on and the machine in Reverse I noticed the reverse solenoid was clicking on and off. I looked at the dash and the light was doing it too. I put the machine in Park and it did the same. So I shook and pulled several wires duplicating this thing trying to isolate the wire. It narrowed down to the FUSE BOX.
With a little pry I lifted the box out and the solenoid was going crazy. Finally it came down to the Red with White striped wire going to one side of the 10 AMP fuse. Yes, the Ignition Fuse! Oh Boy I thought, I got a broken wire. I’m going in! With a sharp Ice Pick I pried the TINY plastic molded clip that holds the fuse receiver wire in place. The end of this wire has the Fuse pin receiver. When I got it out I put my meter in Ring mode and grounded one lead and clipped the other to the end of the wire in question. Well it indicated (Ringing) all was well. I wiggled, pulled and twisted and the connection would not break. Hmmmm? So I went after the Brown wire on the other side of the fuse. I did not remove it. I just put my lead on it and shook. No problems. Well I decided to see how the fuse fit in the receiver at the end of the Red & White wire. It was LOOSE. VERY LOOSE. When I removed the wire I did not have any trouble. I did not distort it at all so I knew I had it. I squeezed it and reinstalled it. It is GONE.
DAMN! All you guys have to do is open your fuse box and pry the fuse receiver to get tighter! To test to see if you have the same problem. Turn your key on and put the machine in reverse. Tap, shake, push, pull and wiggle the fuse box and the wires going to it. If your reverse solenoid (RED) clicks on and off you have it. Shake every thing. Good Luck.
therock

 

i have a '03 Kodiak 2.x.4, bought new at the show room in August. It ran great on the first tank of gas, but after that it began having the same idle stall problem. It would be idling fine and just stop. I'd turn up the idle and then have problems getting it into drive and reverse. I could set the idle high, and then choke it down to shift, but this quickly annoyed me, and would be dangerous for family members learning how to ride. I followed all the owner's manual instructions for setting the idle. I never could get it quite right, and the parameters would totally change on really cool mornings.

I continued to have problems, so I checked the spark-plug after about 150 miles, and it didn't feel like the spark plug cap was firmly in place when i pulled the wire. Also, when i loosened the plug, it didn't feel like it was tightened enough. I checked the plug, it was black as tar. I cleaned it off with a wire brush and a little gasoline, tightened the plug back with a torque wrench, and placed the ignition wire firmly back in place. It was idling better but not perfect, so instead of messing with anything on the carb to change the richness of fuel, or adjusting jets. I just bought the lowest octane gasoline i could find ~85 octane (but not at the cheapest place!), now it's working good but not great.

I'm getting Honda-like starts and semi-rough idle, but it's not stalling anymore. I've never owned a Yamaha, and don't know anyone else who owns a Kodiak here in my town, so I don't have a good benchmark for comparison.

I fix computers for a living so I'm in a habit of always checking the physical connections first, and am always suprised how often even seasoned mechanics can over-look simple issues when troubleshooting.

good luck out there.