I bought a 1995 big bear 350 last weekend and she needs a little work: brakes, starter issues, battery won't hold charge, fix winch, etc etc.

My main concern however is the fact that I can't seem to start it by hand. Every two or three pulls the cord is ripped out of my hand. I bought a manual and found that earlier models had a decompression valve. Does a 1995 have a decompression system? If so could it be ones of the ones that hangs the exhaust valve open slightly? Could my exhaust valve be set to tight?

Also, in trying to start it with the electric start it seemed to make some horrible grinding noises. I pulled the starter off and checked the gear off the starter and it seemed ok, as did the gear in the motor that it mates with. Is this normal?

I'm new to ATV's (mostly a snowmobile guy), so all help is appreciated.

 

try hitting the starter with a hammer while trying **** crank it, you can buy a new or rebuilt starter off of ebay for it reasonable, not hard **** change, I think the starters get hot on the older aircooled engines cause they sit right under the exhaust pipe.

 

Thanks for the help. The current thought is that the starter is fried. I'm gunna get a rebuild kit for it.

Thanks

 

the starter you can buy brand new on Ebay for 80 bucks with shipping...

if you don't hear anything when trying to start over the engine, check your solenoid also. make sure its grounded properly.

you could also take apart the starter motor and just clean it out, there is some bushings inside that can get stuck, they look like little bricks, and have some springs that may get stuck, so its something to check, never know.

and its easy, 2 screws on the starter and out

my old starter motor had a huge crack down the magnet so i had to get one on Ebay, works great

the decompression valve might be near the motor. i have one on my motor apparently,


hope it helps!