I just bought a 2003 kodiak 450, my first ATV. I'm courious about a couple of things, it seems to have a slight lean to the right.

Also sometimes when I put it in reverse it goes click click click click and doesn't engage. I have to put it in high and it lurches forward, then I can put it in reverse. only about one out of every ten times, but it's anoying.

Any help would be most welcome.

 

i dont really know much about the kodiak 450 but that reverse thing and the lean to right sounds like a defect

 

Thanks

 

Your idle speed might be too high, thats why it has trouble going into gear. Sometimes, it that isnt the problem, youll need to rock it for and aft, to get the splines lined up, before giving it any gas. Wait for the indicator light to come on , saying what gear youre in, before giving any gas.
The lean could be unequal air pressure , side to side, or the preload on the shock springs are unequal.

 

The bike does seem like it's idleing a little fast, I'll have to check it out.

The preload is on the second setting on both side and the rear. And the tire pressure is even. What else could it be? Could my right shock being bad cause it to sit lower on that side? Could it be bad after only 50 hours?

 

If you are talking about the 2003 Kodiak 450 in your signature, then the very first production run of 2003 Kodiak 450s were sent out with the frame not being quite square with the world. The jig used to weld the frame was off by a small amount, so the frames were not welded perfectly straight, and one side sat lower because of that. There was no functional problem from that defect, but it made them lean a bit. Someone on this forum tried to make a great big deal about it, to get Yamaha to recall the Kodiak 450s that had the problem; I'm not sure what happened with that. You could probably do a search back a few years and find his post.

DV