question for the other kodiak ownwers,

I am still breaking in my new 450 and noticed .....that either my fuel gauge is cheating or my ATV is guzzling gas compare to my kodiak 400,

I top off the full tank on both , the 450 and the 400 ,
we ride behind each other and after we are done for the day, my gas gauge show 1/2 or less and the 400 is almost still full.

I wander if becuse it is not broken in yet, rings are not seated properly and just wasting more fuel...... or simply the slightly bigger engine is consuming more , keep in mind that it is only 21 cc more between the 400 and 450 (421)

on the other hand , it was showing 1/4 left , went to fill it and only took 2 gallons.

do you guys see exessive fuel consumption on your new machine compare to you r prevoius ATVs.

beside the above , I like this ATV , I've put it through some nasty hill climbs, 4x4, diff locked , works awsome. shifting on the fly is great,
the funny thing is I did not even needed 4x4 where I thought I would get stuck other wise.

 

Have you done a milage check? The gauge could be inaccurarate, and they could both be getting 20 mpg.
It seems like none of the bigger 4x4s get good milage, especially if the going is slow and in 4x4. My foreman 450 gets worse milage than the kodiak, which I thought was surprising, seeing how the kodiak does much higher rpms, than the honda does. Ive had as bad as 12 mpg.

 

Well the Kodiak has a 20L tank, 5L reserve, so 15L normal Tank.... if you showed 1/4 Tank and only put in 8L then it should have read 1/2 full..... but i went out driving, put on 45 Km, with a second rider as well.... out running for 4 hours... and i used 1/2 a tank.... which i don't think is too bad...

 

it is not the fuel milage I am concerned about, since it is off- road use / fun , who cares.......

I am concerned about the big difference betwen the 2 kodiaks...... 400cc(wifes ) vs. 421 cc (mine) ....
as I said, I am thinking may be a brake-in issue , or misreading fuel gauge.

 

i know, but i was just saying that, your gauge read 1/4 tank, but you only put in 1/2 tank and it was full again... you know what i mean? But it is true, it will probably eat a little more fuel until it is broken in and adjusted..... then i am pretty sure it should be ok..

 

I"ve had mine just over a month now and although I have nothing to really compare it to, as this is my first ATV, my 450 seems to consume a little more gas than I feel it should.

I've been basically putting around my hunting property and the gas seems to disappear pretty fast. I have 12-15 hrs on it and am on third tank of fuel?

JS

 

under the same note,
compare to my kodiak 400, it seems when i put the 450 in gear and ready to go , it seem to take more effort to get moving than my 400 does. this is in 2x4 mode,
again this is comparing a new 450 (not broken in) to a 400 which is broken in 25 hours +

I guess we will know more as these new bikes get broken- in..... I think this is just simple case of paranoia on my part. but it may explain the added fuel consumption.

honestly..... I love the 450 as it is now,
it seems when the bike has about 200-250 miles plus, that is when the tight tolerances get a bit looser and everything flows better, bike feels stronger.

feel free to post away if you are experiencing the same things.

 

I've only got about an hour on mine so far, but will be sure to let you know. My guess is that it is the breaking in process, and conservative gauge reading.

When you say shifting on the fly, you are talking about going from 4wd to 4wd differential, right? I haven't used either of those, and realize the manual states it must be stopped before shifting from 2 wd to 4 wd.

Thanks again for all the advice you've given me!!!!

 

No sirrie.......

shift on the fly.....that is the beauty of it.
since you are not shifting it mechanicly , but electronicly a solonoid or motor , will or wants to engage the front differential as soon as you push the button, how ever the actuall lock( 2x4 to 4x4 ) will take place if the splines line up, and the coller can slide over the the shaft. you will have a much better chance to actually shift it in to 4x4 if the ATv is moving.
keep in mind there is no harm if the shift motor actuates 4x4 and it does not go into 4x4 right away , there is spring tension on a collar

as for activating the diff lock , I would choose slower speed.

you will notice, switching in to and out of 4x4 or difflock will take a second or two because (as mentioned above ) the splines has to line up , if they are lined up when you push the button, (whether you are moving or not ), than it will take place immidiatelly.

 

Wow, I didn't know that. As I said, the manual specifies that the ATV be stopped when shifting from one to the other.

I can't wait to get back out there. But where I live, there are no places nearby to take it without worrying about the police being called. Almost brings a tear to my eye to see it sitting in the garage idle like that! Hopefully, it will wear a red streak from the blood of a whitetail here before long!