I have just bought a 03 Big Bear 400 and when it gets hot I hear ticking in the engine. I havent gone through the break-in period yet? Also when I put it in 4 wheel drive I hear a good whine from the front, this is my first 4 wheeler and I might be paranoid. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

Normally the noise you hear are the valves. The Big Bear is air cooled so you will hear the valve noise a little more than you would on aliquid cooled machine. A liquid cooled machine has a outter jacket that cooling liquid runs through and that muffles the sound out so you don't hear it.

My brothers 02 Big Bear is the same. You can hear it a tad more when hot or when he bogs it down pretty hard (very hard to bog down though). We rode all day today and not a problem. Has 350 miles on it. It has a K&N Filter, WB E series pipe, Maxxis Altracs with Douglas .190 alum. rims. THe machine is bullet proof. Great running machine for the money. I even like to ride it as a change from my Warrior. The gearing is low but works great for trail riding and pulling heavy loads. HE rides with us all the time and we all have sport machines and as long as we don't get in the open trails he stays with us. Now we are not racing through the trails but we still ride quick sometimes and and he does fine. This is his first machine as well. Only been riding for about 8 months now.

Just make sure you take it in for the first serive at like 100 miles or so so they can adjust the valves and change out all the breakin fluids for the standard fluids and you will be fine.