hi everyone, my first post...
i am going to get a 400 kodiak very soon, i have plenty of mechanical knowledge but i know nothing about quads. but need one for my small 10 acre livery yard, for towing rollers, harrows etc
im going to look at a 2005 kodiak in a few days time,
can anyone suggest what i should look and listen for please, is the ultramatic transmission as good as i have read, does it make any noise under normal circumstances?
do the kodiaks have any weak points?
thanks for helping

 

Kodiaks are fairly "bullet proof". The 4wd motor can fail, so check it does go in and out of 4WD. check the LH rear wheel bearing is OK if it is a swinging arm model, as a worn bearing causes spline wear on the axle shaft, expensive to put right.

 

thanks merryman,
yes it's a swinging arm, do i check the wheel bearing in the same way as a car..ie try rocking the wheel?...... do they suffer from the overheating issues that some grizzlys seem to have?
must find a workshop manual....
cheers

 

I don't maintain many Yamahas, but haven't had any overheating problems. The wheel bearing is tested by rocking, could be the RH one on the 400 model that gives trouble, opposite side to the brake drum anyway, as it is well inboard of the wheel, so takes a lot of strain.

 

I've had a 2005 450 Kodiak for 7-8 years. Has been a flawless running machine. Only replaced the reserve tank switch. The independent suspension and differential lock is nice.

 

thanks oldbear,
unfortunately ive missed out on that machine....i'm now considering a 2002 kawasaki kvf 650 but it has 1,800 hours on it as a farm machine,it appears to be in good condition..... but i'm not sure if that is too many hours.. wouldn't be getting a hard life with me.
thanks

 

Never had anything to do with KVF650s but note that there used to be lots of posts on here about not being able to get them to run right, due to balance problems with the carbs, seems to have gone away once they fuel injected them.