Motor troubles, gotten mixed feedback...

[kawabunga]

Maybe somebody on here can help.

I've got an '04 450R, pipe, filter, mild porting, EVERYTHING else in the motor is stock (or if it's been replaced in a rebuild, stock parts put in again).

The motor was rebuilt last spring, complete new top end, and a few gears in the transmission, along with new bearings. I have not had issues since and I am mostly just a casual yard racer. Occasionally I'll hit up an mx track but it's mostly woods riding. (What I'm getting at is I ride my machine hard but I do not race full time so it's not like I have hours of HARD riding on the motor)

So, this last weekend I pulled my wheeler out of the shed and it fired up fine, a few kicks with the choke on, all normal. I went to the trails and started going like normal, didn't notice anything strange, and I get to a spot (about 2 miles into the ride) where I have to slow way down and crawl through riding the clutch. I was pulling the motor down a bit and it just died. Okay, I thought I just clunked it out. Then I try firing it up again, it takes WAY more kicks than normal, I just about gave up on it, and I got it fired up. It would idle for a bit but if I hit the gas it would die.
I get the quad home and here's what it's doing now. Starts hard (many more kicks than normal), sometimes it will idle, sometimes not. It will not run if I try and hold the throttle at the lower end of the rpm range, but if I get the motor revved up and keep the rpm's high, it will run. So basically, starts hard, and only keeps running unless it's almost wide open.

I cleaned the carb and all the jets, didn't find anything out of whack there. One person tells me the rings are probably shot and has low compression so it wont run unless wide open. Another tells me it's electrical. Any input on this? Anyone else experienced these symptoms before? Any help is appreciate.
Thanks,
kawabunga

[hendershot106]

with symptoms like that you have to play the elimination game.... check over the electrical system completely.... check/adjust valves.... check low speed circuit jets in carb... ... try a new spark plug first....

[RobRacing]

Yeah I would definatlly check/replace the spark plug first. Then try putting in fresh gas. Also check your air fliter to make sure no mice decided to make a house in your air box :)

[kawabunga]

Alright, thanks for the tips. I'll start looking into it soon.

Anyone else have input in the meantime?

[Butter]

Like they said, play the elimination game. Sounds electrical to me, how it just all of a sudden started doing this, but could be a vent line got clogged as well, changing the mixture settings. Start with fresh gas, a new plug, and a fresh set of patience, then check all your vents and vent hoses, then start checking electrical devices. If all thats a no go, then unfortunitely, the engine is all thats left. Good luck!

[yamahopper]

sent ya a pm there tiger claw

[Scro]

I'm gonna say it's something to do with the carb. It's happened to me before when I used a certain type of carb cleaner (not sure what kind). But it left behind these white pieces of buildup in the jets. I drained the bowl several times until these pieces weren't coming out, and it fixed the problem.

If you're sure the carb is clean, I would do as suggested above and get some fresh gas through it and a new spark plug.

[Quadforce]

sounds like crab to me as well... when you cleaned the carb did you completely take apart and clean ?

[kawabunga]

Well, I've got an update. Last night I tore it apart. I dumped out the old but haven't tried fresh yet, still trying other things. I pulled the carb apart again, nothing in there was out of the ordinary but I cleaned all the jets and the insides again. It looked good. I also checked my valves because it was time anyway. They are all within spec. I got a new plug and this is where I ended up. I cannot get spark with either plug. I called the guy that rebuilt my motor last year and he's thinking that my stator is shot. I don't have an ohm meter to test it so I have to take it in to make sure it would be that. But, does this sound like a possibility to you guys? I just want a few more opinions.

Thanks

[badasprn]

just make wure that your on/off switch is on but it seems to me that it is your rev box. i had an aftermarket one i think a big gun and it just went out. i know it is a bit expensive just to try but that is what happened to me.

[lzyga05]

sounds like u need a new top end to me

[Rich250RRacer]

Originally posted by kawabunga
Well, I've got an update. Last night I tore it apart. I dumped out the old but haven't tried fresh yet, still trying other things. I pulled the carb apart again, nothing in there was out of the ordinary but I cleaned all the jets and the insides again. It looked good. I also checked my valves because it was time anyway. They are all within spec. I got a new plug and this is where I ended up. I cannot get spark with either plug. I called the guy that rebuilt my motor last year and he's thinking that my stator is shot. I don't have an ohm meter to test it so I have to take it in to make sure it would be that. But, does this sound like a possibility to you guys? I just want a few more opinions.

Thanks

It's sounding like a stator issue, I've replaced a few of them already, but they were in 06 and newer quads. Even if you had an OHM meter, you couldn't test it. Honda requires a Peak-Voltage tester to check the electrical components in the 450r's.

[Ruf Racing]

Originally posted by kawabunga
Well, I've got an update. Last night I tore it apart. I dumped out the old but haven't tried fresh yet, still trying other things. I pulled the carb apart again, nothing in there was out of the ordinary but I cleaned all the jets and the insides again. It looked good. I also checked my valves because it was time anyway. They are all within spec. I got a new plug and this is where I ended up. I cannot get spark with either plug. I called the guy that rebuilt my motor last year and he's thinking that my stator is shot. I don't have an ohm meter to test it so I have to take it in to make sure it would be that. But, does this sound like a possibility to you guys? I just want a few more opinions.

Thanks


So now, it won't run? When my stator failed on my 04'. I started it
one day to warm up. It died idling, never fired again. It's possibly
the stator, they are hard to troubleshoot. The whole electricial
system starts at the stator. Good luck.

http://i532.photobucket.com/albums/ee328/RideRed187/ATV%20Parts/Stator.jpg

[fastredrider44]

Check your connections real good. Also another possibility is your ign coil.

[kawabunga]

Well, a good friend of mine is pretty close with one of the mechanics at the local Honda dealership and recommended I speak with him. My buddy rides a Honda 450 dirt bike and had similar issues and the mechanic cured his problems. I just got off the phone with the mechanic and he's pretty sure that it is the stator. He said there's a very unlikely chance that it's the CDI or coil, but thinks not. So tomorrow I'm having my quad dropped off for testing and he's gonna let me know. He did mention that stators aren't the cheapest part but it should fix my problem. So, we will find out soon.

[3racers]

We had one doing almost same things ran good when reved and hard to start monkeys at honda shop kept it for 3mos. clean carb did top end still not right I refused to pay brought home put spare STATOR in had it running in a hour this was a real pain to find out.

[kawabunga]

Well, here's an update. Friday the stator came in and was installed which resulted in still no spark. So, the stator did not fix anything. The mechanic is now thinking it's the cdi (which he said would be unlikely, but possible) so that was ordered Friday and should be in Tuesday and I'll find out more then. I asked since the stator didn't work if I was going to be charged for it and they said no. He was careful with it and they plan on sending it back. I've got a good relationship with my local dealership and I've never been screwed by them and they've helped me out more than once. I trust them, and since they take care of me, I don't mind giving them some business.

[badasprn]

HEY, DID YOU EVER FIGURE THE PROBLEM WITH THE BIKE. MY BUDDY'S 04 JUST LOCKED UP ON HIM LAST WEEK. SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. OH WELL GUESS IT IS TIME TO REBUILD IT BETTER

[kawabunga]

Actually I did; I forgot to update the thread, sorry.
It ended up being the stator after all. The mechanic admitted to trying to find an easier way to turn the motor over and was using a battery impact wrench. When they got the cdi in, that didn't work and he went back to the stator and used a more powerful impact and just like that, SPARK! He told me that it was in his old age and trying to find an easier way to do things is why he was using an impact. Because of that they didn't charge me any more than 1 hour of labor which is what they figured to replace the stator in the first place. I can live with that. The part itself was the expensive part, but I gotta have it.
So there it is, simple as that. I was out riding tonight. I have to say, it's good to have it back:D