I just got my first quad, as the title states it's an '86 YFM225S Moto4. bought/traded for $50 and an pickup toolbox...cash wise a $200 quad. This being my first quad but not my first off road machine I'm familiar yet lost. The machine was well taken care of. Frame was re-painted, kept over a roof, parts weren't tampered with and upon inspection of the piston/cylinder/head it hasn't been abused. Long story short, here are my questions:

-Reverse: How do I activate the reverse gear?
-Is there an in-line fuel filter or in tank filter..or any at all?
-Can this quad operate without battery supply?
-How do I use the range selector?

I've done my homework on everything else I could find via internet and those were the only questions I needed to ask as of now.

 

I had an old Moto4, 1986 200, the reverse was a lever down by your right knee, you had to be in 1st or Neu. I believe, then just pull back on the lever and the red reverse light should come on, then just back up! I did test drive a 225, the range selector can be used in any gear, it just drops you down to a lower transmission ratio, so you got 10 speeds to choose from, 1st, low range 1st, 2nd, low range 2nd.....etc.
No fuel filter, except for the screen in the tank attached to the petcock, putting an inline between the tank and the carb is a good idea.
It runs fine with no battery, you just use the recoil start, and make sure the battery cables are taped up so the positive wont short out on the frame, or if you have a dead battery, just leave it hooked up and it will start and run fine. The air intake for these quads is up near the handlebars....you can go up to the tank in water without sucking any into the air box......don't ask me how I know.....lol.

 

There doesn't seem to be any form of lever or place for one on the right side...I doubt there were any models without it because there is a red indicator light...unless it indicates low range...I'm in the garage looking at it now, no possible location for it on the right side. I'll check out google again and see if that helps. Thanks for the info bud, this bike is a pleasure to work on and it's nice to have a machine to call my own and a great resource like this forum :P

Oh and BTW, do I need to be stopped or slowed to engage/disengage ranges?

 

hmmm.....thats funny, there should be a black T handle **** on the right side of the motor for the reverse, thats where Yamaha put all the early reverse shifters, the Warrior had it there too. And yes, you would want to be stopped to shift ranges, its like a transmission shift, so you would not want to be rolling when doing it, just to be safe. you could probably to it at a crawl, and not under load, but why risk it?
Ooops......I just did some looking, I think the reverse lever for the 225 is on the left side, is there one like that on yours?

 

Ah, I figured it out. The range selector seems to have another range to fall into...however it won't fall completely in. I rushed you comment on whether to be in neutral OR first and only read neutral. After about a half hour of being in a panic, I re-read and sure enough, once in first the lever nearly seats into what sure enough should be reverse. But there is a switch apparently that I've stumbled upon searching ebay that is called (more or less) a reverse switch. So is there a wiring connection between the two externally or is there just a wire I'm not seeing that screws onto the switch? I'm assuming that there has to be some sort of solenoid or motor connected to the switch that puts it into a reverse gear allowing the lever to fully seat in place...either way I'm sure there has to be voltage going to the switch in order for it to engage right?

 

To be honest, I only owned my Moto4 for a couple years, and I never had to tear into anything with the drivetrain, the quad was flawless and never gave me a spec of trouble, so I really can't say what all needs to be hooked up for that selector to work properly, sorry.

 

Well, your help was greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot man.

 

i have a 86 moto4 225 the range selector is on the left. there are three positions all the way forward high in the middle low all the way back reverse. Mine has been over used so to get it into reverse i find it easier to shift into neutral pull al the way up on your shifter to shift to first but do not release hold it up and while holding it up pull back on the range selector. Hope this helpful and these bikes are as close to industructable as you can get.

 

sorry was reading the thread and got right stuck in my head the range selector IS ON THE LEFT