01exrider87
02-16-2010, 08:54 AM
So i am going to start off with the story then my questions will be at the bottom of the page.....
I bought a 2001 400ex about 3 months ago. When I first got it it started fine. Obviously in the cold it was a little harder then normal but one it got going it was fine for the rest of the ride.
About a month ago I went to my garage (non heated) to start it up and let it run for a bit just so the gas didnt foul anything up. When doing so I noticed that it was taking alot longer then normal to start. It took so long that I ended draining the battery. So I hooked up the charger to it let it sit for a bit then came back to try and start it..and nothing happened for about 20 minutes. It kept popping for the whole time then finally started. I let it run for a while then shut it off and didnt try for about another week.
This time while trying I once again drained the battery and after close to an hour I finally gave up. I brought it to my mechanic who has been working on bikes and quads for years to take a look at it.He called me up and told me that the engine was gouged and that the oil ring was letting cold air pass making it have an extremely hard start/no start problem. I said ok so do what you have to do. So he reccomends do a cylinder bore/hone and new piston and rings. I agree and he says it will be like new once it is done.
Exactly 3 weeks later I get a call from him saying that it is all done but he STILL cannot get it to start. He told me that the CDI box that was in there was made for an XR400 dirtbike only so that may be the problem. I had gotten an stock CDI box from the kid that I bought the quad from so I brought it down to the guy to see if that was the problem. We tried for about 30 minutes to get it started and nothing. It was popping and trying to start but thats it.
He then told me that because of the CDI box that was in there it could of offset the timing.
By this point I was starting to get a little bit irritated because I have been out of the quad for 3 weeks and spent close to 500 on the motor rebuild.
He told me to reset the timing you have to unhook the battery connect the positive and negative together for 2 minutes then let it sit for 4 to 5 days then do it all over backwards when putting it back together. Im not very familiar with these machines at all so I cant say if this is wrong or right.
My question really is, is any of these things going in the right direction to getting it started and running again?? Ive looked up the directions to reset timing and it says nothing about unhooking the battery for 5 days and then it will magically reset itself.
Any help would be greatly appreciated to get me going in the right path.
I bought a 2001 400ex about 3 months ago. When I first got it it started fine. Obviously in the cold it was a little harder then normal but one it got going it was fine for the rest of the ride.
About a month ago I went to my garage (non heated) to start it up and let it run for a bit just so the gas didnt foul anything up. When doing so I noticed that it was taking alot longer then normal to start. It took so long that I ended draining the battery. So I hooked up the charger to it let it sit for a bit then came back to try and start it..and nothing happened for about 20 minutes. It kept popping for the whole time then finally started. I let it run for a while then shut it off and didnt try for about another week.
This time while trying I once again drained the battery and after close to an hour I finally gave up. I brought it to my mechanic who has been working on bikes and quads for years to take a look at it.He called me up and told me that the engine was gouged and that the oil ring was letting cold air pass making it have an extremely hard start/no start problem. I said ok so do what you have to do. So he reccomends do a cylinder bore/hone and new piston and rings. I agree and he says it will be like new once it is done.
Exactly 3 weeks later I get a call from him saying that it is all done but he STILL cannot get it to start. He told me that the CDI box that was in there was made for an XR400 dirtbike only so that may be the problem. I had gotten an stock CDI box from the kid that I bought the quad from so I brought it down to the guy to see if that was the problem. We tried for about 30 minutes to get it started and nothing. It was popping and trying to start but thats it.
He then told me that because of the CDI box that was in there it could of offset the timing.
By this point I was starting to get a little bit irritated because I have been out of the quad for 3 weeks and spent close to 500 on the motor rebuild.
He told me to reset the timing you have to unhook the battery connect the positive and negative together for 2 minutes then let it sit for 4 to 5 days then do it all over backwards when putting it back together. Im not very familiar with these machines at all so I cant say if this is wrong or right.
My question really is, is any of these things going in the right direction to getting it started and running again?? Ive looked up the directions to reset timing and it says nothing about unhooking the battery for 5 days and then it will magically reset itself.
Any help would be greatly appreciated to get me going in the right path.