Honda quad question

[3930dave]

OK, got into town this morning, had a bunch of errands to make it worth while. Quad related, I got a new battery ($57 ) and a new fuel line (I broke the old one removing the tank). Yesterday, I cleaned out the fuel tank, and spray cleaned the carb, as a first step measure. Also re-oiled the air filter.

I put some sea foam in the tank and added some gas, and put it all back together. I had to add the acid and charge the battery, so after a couple hours, it showed charged. Took it off the charger and installed it. Let the fuel bowl fill up and pulled the choke out, and hit the start button. Took about 2 seconds turning over and she fired right up. YIPEEEEEE!

I have a suspicion these little things are cold natured. It wouldn't idle worth a hoot till it warmed up, but it could have taken that long for the sea foam to work through as well. Once warm it sits and idles very nice. Took a few spins up the dirt road with it, and all gears and lights work correctly.

Happy camper.

I still need to flush out the front hyd brakes, since the old fluid looked bad. Also need to adjust the rears, but that is minor stuff.

Eventually, I will buff out the oxidation on the plastic, and re-paint the metal racks, and wheels.

Took the wife and I both on about a 1 mile round trip, and it handles the weight better than I thought it would, suspension and power wise, both. Very happy with it, and did I say the price is right?

Here she sits after our ride.

Great save - you put some ergs into fixing it, but at least the problems so far were relatively minor.

PM me if your neigbour has any more "problem" ATV's he needs to dispose of .... a trip to Cali is looking pretty good about now (-36C here yesterday morn).

Weight limits exceeded on the new/old Honda ??? I think I'd sooner start dissing Hawgs in a biker bar, than start through that minefield !

Rgds, and Congratulations, D.

 

[jejeosborne]

OK, got into town this morning, had a bunch of errands to make it worth while. Quad related, I got a new battery ($57 ) and a new fuel line (I broke the old one removing the tank). Yesterday, I cleaned out the fuel tank, and spray cleaned the carb, as a first step measure. Also re-oiled the air filter.

I put some sea foam in the tank and added some gas, and put it all back together. I had to add the acid and charge the battery, so after a couple hours, it showed charged. Took it off the charger and installed it. Let the fuel bowl fill up and pulled the choke out, and hit the start button. Took about 2 seconds turning over and she fired right up. YIPEEEEEE!

I have a suspicion these little things are cold natured. It wouldn't idle worth a hoot till it warmed up, but it could have taken that long for the sea foam to work through as well. Once warm it sits and idles very nice. Took a few spins up the dirt road with it, and all gears and lights work correctly.

Happy camper.

I still need to flush out the front hyd brakes, since the old fluid looked bad. Also need to adjust the rears, but that is minor stuff.

Eventually, I will buff out the oxidation on the plastic, and re-paint the metal racks, and wheels.

Took the wife and I both on about a 1 mile round trip, and it handles the weight better than I thought it would, suspension and power wise, both. Very happy with it, and did I say the price is right?

Here she sits after our ride.

Good deal. If it idles poorly even with fresh fuel and clean carb, it is likely that the valves are out of adjustment. Get a battery tender to maitain your expensive battery. If with proper care, expect your battery to only last a couple years.

 

[JSanders10]

Hey, I have the exact same 2005 model Recon, and yes it's a hardy machine with only a few idiosyncrasies here and there (my battery post is loose, so at times all electronic shifting will cease until I stop and jiggle the post under the seat. I just need a new battery).

Along this line... how hard is it to install a winch on these things?

Considering one from HF here > Electric Winches & Hand Winches - Save on Winches!
2500 lb is good?

 

[pmsmechanic]

If with proper care, expect your battery to only last a couple years.

This is not necessarily true. I have a 2008 Grizzly 700 with 4600 miles. I'm still using the original battery and expect to for a few more years.

 

[jejeosborne]

This is not necessarily true. I have a 2008 Grizzly 700 with 4600 miles. I'm still using the original battery and expect to for a few more years.

You are correct in that there are exceptions. He may get better service out of his battery but I highly doubt it. I own 4 off road vehicles and my average lifespan is much lower than yours and so is every person I ride with.

I hope you have a second means of starting it or you might end up far from home or the trail head when it decides it is done. I think your expection of it lasting a few more years is very optimistic. I hope it does.

 

[handirifle]

I will take a stab at upping the idle speed a little to see if that cures my cold idle issue. It idles nice and smooth when warm, but does seem a little slow. Manual says 1300-1500RPM. I have no way to actually test it, but it sounds lower by a bit. I know I don't want it too high, to prevent the clutch from engaging too soon.

That HF winch is on sale with a mail in add for $49 if I am not mistaken. Wouldn't mind one myself, but not sure how much power draw this thing can support.

 

[KubotainNH]

I have both electric and manual. Same shift pattern for both. The red R button may be gone or worn of but the button shaft should still be there. You will have to press it and pull the brake lever back before pushing the shifter down to go into reverse. The shift pattern you stated is the same as I was saying but may not have been clear enough.

Hmm, you know I think my machine has this too but I think I defeated it years ago. Zip tied a piece of wood in there to keep the cable pulled I think. There's too much snow where it is now to go look at it...lol.

As for someone's original battery from 08 still being good, please tell us your secret because I haven't seen this on any small batteries. I have multiple motorcycle, lawn tractor and the ATV battery that are all small and 3 years is the max I seem to get out of them.

 

[pmsmechanic]

As for someone's original battery from 08 still being good, please tell us your secret because I haven't seen this on any small batteries. I have multiple motorcycle, lawn tractor and the ATV battery that are all small and 3 years is the max I seem to get out of them.

I had to think about this as really there is no secret. I'm not particularly easy on my stuff so the only thing I can think of is that the Grizzy 700 gets started at least once a month and taken for a good run. Like at least 5-6 miles and most often more. The quad has never had a battery charger on it but any of my other equipment usually gets a small battery charger put on at least once or twice a winter. As soon as I notice that starting gets a bit sluggish I put the charger on for a few days.

Another "secret" might be that we live at least ten miles from any where. If a vehicle gets started it's gets twenty miles there and back so the alternator has a chance to fully recharge the battery after starting.

I have a camper with two RV battery's in it. I can think of at least twice that they have been totally dead and after a week on the charger they are good to go for the whole summer. They are around seven years old.

I've had troubles with my 2004 4410. It's on the third battery. First one was about five years, second about a year and now the last one. My 1949 IHC KB-1 only gets about two hundred miles a year on it and I usually get 5-6 years out of that six volt battery. It's the only vehicle with a battery isolation switch. If I leave it connected for sure the battery is dead.

On the vehicles that I drive regularly I usually get 8-10 years out of the batterys.

 

[3930dave]

Hmm, you know I think my machine has this too but I think I defeated it years ago. Zip tied a piece of wood in there to keep the cable pulled I think. There's too much snow where it is now to go look at it...lol.

As for someone's original battery from 08 still being good, please tell us your secret because I haven't seen this on any small batteries. I have multiple motorcycle, lawn tractor and the ATV battery that are all small and 3 years is the max I seem to get out of them.

Knock wood, the original Yuasa battery in my '07 street bike is doing well. It spends the winter on an older VDC maintenance charger; it was one of the first with a patented de-sulphation function. If I'm not riding for a bit, in season, I'll throw it back on that charger for a stretch.

That, a bit of luck, clean battery terminals, and keeping the battery topped up with distilled water as needed is what I try to keep on top of. Some poorly regulated alternators can boil off electrolyte much faster than others.

On the other side of the coin.... some small engine alternators may be a bit low in output - battery may be somewhat undercharged all season; bad news if it's left like that over-winter.

When I eventually need to replace that bike battery, I'll look at Yuasa again in conventional batteries, as well as pricing an AGM solution.

Rgds, D.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Some of those older Hondas are extremely cold natured and some aren't. I had a 98 300 Fourtrax that the cold never seemed to bother. Now, my 2000 Fourtrax 300 is the coldest natured machine I've ever seen! Diesels warm up faster then this thing. Once she gets warm though she runs and runs. I have to use choke every time to start her and have to let it run with the choke on and get to going before switching it off or else it'll die. I probably need to rebuild the engine in her oneday but she's doing fine for now, especially after I learned the tricks to get her to run right.