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First thing is to check the valve clearances are set right. Then there are a couple of tests that point to worn rings. First is, when you do a compression test does the pressure come up to near the final pressure after only one or two compression strokes and then only increase slightly after that, or does the first compression stroke start out low and then every subsequent compression increase the gauge reading slightly to it gets to it's maximum. If it comes up compression by compression it points to rings being weak/worn. If the first reading is almost the same as the final reading it's probably valves And the other test is to put about a teaspoon of engine oil down the spark-plug hole and then do the compression test. If the oil makes a big difference then it indicates worn/weak rings. Oil doesn't make much difference to leaking valves. If you have compressed air, and can inject it into the spark-plug hole under a bit of pressure, while holding the crank at top, you can listen for air leaking out of the exhaust, inlet or crankcase breather/oil filler, and that will show where compression is leaking away. You can't tell if you need a new piston and bore until the engine is apart generally.

Thank You Ajmboy! I will check that out.

Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS ! Happy and Safe HOLIDAYS everyone. !

Hey everyone, first I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Now onto my new problem. My apologies now for a long post. I just want to go thru everything I've done to help figure out what the issue is. Here goes: I have an 04 Yamaha Kodiak 450. Last week I went to take it for a ride and it wouldn't start. The display would light up and the speedometer numbers would go around in a circle like it was loading (to give an idea of what it looks like). When I would try to start it, it wouldn't do anything and the display would go blank. I tried crossing over the solenoid and it still wouldn't do anything, nothing at all. Today I was writing in it and hooked up a charger/jump box to see if that battery was dead. The charger read that it was completely charged. I tried cranking it and after a few tries and reconnecting the charger, I got the 4 wheeler to start. I unhooked the charger and a minute later the 4 wheeler just shut off like I turned the switch off. I, again, hooked up the charger, waited a couple minutes and the ATV started again. This time I left the charger hooked up several minutes while the ATV was running. When I unhooked the charger this time, it stayed running and I was actually able to ride it around the yard for several minutes without any issues. I parked it, shut it off with the kill switch like I always do, turned the key off. I thought I would see if it would start on it's own. I turned the switch on, kill switch off, and nothing. The display wouldn't light up nor turn over. When I would turn the kill switch on, the display would then light up, but once I turned the switch off, the display would go blank. I took off the start button ignition assembly off the handlebar and all of the connections looked new, so it should be making a great connection to the handlebar. I originally had a new solenoid on, but I put the original back on, cleaned all of the terminals, tried crossing it over with nothing happening still. I put on a new starter a couple of weeks ago and there hadn't been any issues until a couple weeks ago when I tried taking it for a ride like originally stating. Could the kill switch have gone bad and is causing this issue? Could it be some chance be the starter since it's not an OEM? Could it be the rectifier going bad? Any ideas or help is greatly appreciated. I would love to get it fixed soon. I have some other maintenance I want to do on it and have it road ready in case I need it if weather were to get bad. Thanks in advance. I do appreciate all of y'all's help and advice.

It sounds like either a dead battery, bad connection somewhere, or no charging. I'd check the charging first. If you charge the battery so it will be able to start the bike, then, before switching it on you put a volt gauge across the battery terminals, and it should read about 12.6 volts. If you push the starter then it should hopefully start up and if it does the voltage should start rising to about 13.6 volts within a minute or so. After some minutes and a bit of revving the voltage should regulate at about 14.7. If the voltage rises at about that rate then it's charging and we can eliminate that as the problem. If you turn the headlights on the voltage should drop to about 13.6 volts till you switch the headlight off, when it should climb slowly to 14.7. If though, when you push the start button, it doesn't start that first time, then it's either a dead battery or a bad connection (and perhaps not charging as well). So then you'd check the battery terminals and cables by doing a voltage drop test, along the positive and negative leads. If there is no voltage drop through the leads and terminals while the starter is operating, then it seems most likely to be a bad battery. You could confirm a new battery gets charged, and keeps the bike starting and running, by using a jumper pack or jumper leads off another battery in place of the bikes battery. To do the voltage drop test you put a volt gauge clip onto a battery terminal, and the other clip to the start solenoids threaded post where the starter cable attaches, and it should show zero voltage, then, when you push the start button it should still read zero volts. If the volts go above about a half a volt when you press the start button then that cable or it's connections have a bad resistance which needs fixing. Between the voltage drop test, and the substitute battery test, you should be able to ascertain whether the battery is at fault, or find the fault.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ... HO HO HO!!!! ...

It has a nice stance to it but I would like to go higher about 2in lift

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

We always used ATVs - 90s Polaris Sportsmans - to get to our camp in the bush. Growing up those were my favorite memories. Now I'm a mechanical engineer and I've been rebuilding a lot of the machines we used when I was younger. It's been great to address all the issues. I have no interest in mud bogging and crazy new machines, I really see ATVs as work machines to achieve a greater goal.

Oh you were riding high on those bikes, we just had little tiddlers but they were probably hondas most reliable engines, pushrod, only a few came over in the early 60s they were so smooth and quiet, no overhead cam and tough as nails.

You guys were spoilt. My mates and I started out on garage finds, things like James, BSA, Jawa, which we spent more time getting going than riding.

I really enjoyed reading your story, thanks for sharing, brought back lots of memories, my brother had one of those 50s. I has a 90 but mine had a clutch, fun little rides.

It's interesting seeing everyone's stories here! I grew up in rural NJ and I vividly remember exactly how I ended being into quads. I was invited to a 10th birthday party by one of my friends. He had a small red dirt bike, I don't know the model now, but it was definitely a 4-stroke manual. Probably a Honda 80 or 100 maybe? Anyway, he was giving dirt bike rides for everybody up and down the street, and that instantly made me want one. Fast forward a couple years. After two years of bugging my dad to get one, I finally got one around 12 years old. My dad knows how to fix all that stuff, cars, boats, etc, so it was an easy sell. He also wanted to get something for himself too. I got my first bike, an 86 KX80. I really didn't know how to use the clutch or throttle at all, probably not a good learner bike haha. I ended up crashing the thing into our metal shed and putting a huge dent in the side. I wouldn't get on the thing for another 4 years haha. THEN, someone I know got an old used Honda 50 from a friend for free. He gave it to me and while it was goofy riding this thing around, it was perfect for me to learn on. It was a 3 gear semi-auto transmission. I didn't need to worry about a clutch, I could just get on the thing and practice actually riding without fighting the clutch. I rode that thing all over until the trans finally died, which brought me back to the KX80 that was just sitting in the shed. I was also a bit small for the KX when I was 12, now at 16 years old I was taler and less afraid of it, and also started driving. Plenty of things helped me get some experience with motor vehicles in general. From that point, I learned to ride the KX80 no problem and by that time, a lot of my friends were starting to get into riding too. In this part of rural NJ, it was popular since we had easy access to plenty of woods. I remember the days where I wouldn't even call any of my friends before I went out, I'd just show up at the sandpit and most times they were there. Different people sometimes, sometimes we'd band together and look for a few of the other kids and see if they wanted to go with us. No particular plan, just...be there. ANYWAY.. A lot of my friends had dirt bikes, but a couple had quads, and that's really when I started to lean more towards quads instead of dirt bikes. I think my interest in quads was a heavily influenced product of the time. I was just learning to drive, and I was admiring some of the creature comforts that came with ATV's. Having storage to throw a few things, racks to strap backpacks or bags for more extra stuff, not having to worry about leaning it against a tree because none of us had kickstands, electric start and headlights, etc. I think it was just the perfect age where all of that seemed like fancy luxuries and something about it just appealed more to me than the bikes. So at that point I sold my KX80, saved up my measly $100 paychecks from working part time, and got myself a quad that was nothing like what I really wanted haha. Got myself a Yamaha Blaster, bored out to 239 or 240cc, I don't quite remember. I think it was a 1999, I know it had an oil injector on it which was VERY nice. I hated mixing oil and gas for the KX. From that point on, I sold that quad and ended up experimenting with ALL kinds from 2wd sport quads to 4x4's, trying to figure out what I want the most. I had internal struggles between wanting a sport quad to pull sideways all the time and hit jumps, and a 4x4 that would get me anywhere and not leave me stranded. I've mellowed out over the years and settled on 4x4 utility quads, especially for this area of NJ. It's notoriously hilly, rocky and bumpy. It's just more fun to be able to go along at a slower pace, enjoy the scenery and know you've got your 4WD, diff lock, and winch. It's actually amazing and pretty nostalgic to really think back to the "paper trail" of how I got into the hobby and how my preferences shifted along the way. I've never bought brand new, and the used market prices really seemed to have elevated quite a bit since then. I'm seeing quads sell now for higher prices than I bought them almost 15 to 20 years ago. A couple examples: in 2008, I bought a 2002 Honda Rancher 350ES in basically perfect condition, with a plow and extra set of wheels and tires or $2550. I'm now seeing them go for about the same price or higher. I bought a 2009 Yamaha Wolverine 450 4x4 just 6 months into the year of 2009 for $3900. Today I'm seeing them go for usually $4k starting depending on condition. This story was WAY longer than I expected it to be. What a wild ride to really think about how one ride on a dirt bike at 10 years old would trigger a long history of riding, researching, buying and selling quads as I figured out what I like the the most. The people that have come and gone from my life, that I've ridden with and went our separate ways. I do miss those days of being a teenager when you got out on the trails, rode for hours, then stopped and shut the bikes off. The roaring motors died down, silence took over and time stood still. No particular time to be back, just hung out and talked about life for a while, and back to the trails. Thank you to this thread for allowing me to revisit those buried memories.

I always wanted a quad and finally as an adult, (29) I finally pulled the trigger. So far its been a fun ride! thanks for the add!

Perfect plot of land for riding quads, did the same about 30 years ago and made trails all trough for the kids to ride on, lots of fun.

bought 10 acres of wooded land.. first purchase was 2 older ATVs.

My wife's grandfather left us an ATV when he passed

No greater memories than working with dad on some piece of junk we found, wheather it be cars or motorcycles, there werent any 4 wheelers back then.

Hey, I've been wanting to know if any mechanic would like to help me with my Custom quad frames from welding and parts list Let me know by replying to this message. thank you!

We always had a 4 wheeler or a 3 wheeler when I was a kid. I didn’t use them much but did go rip around gravel pits with my buddies from time to time in high school. After that I didn’t own one til this weekend and only occasionally rode them in the last 20 years. That being said, I discovered that I really love working on engines. I’ve always done all my own maintenance on my vehicles even though I don’t have formal training or interest, I was just cheap. I have this thing about not paying people to do something I’m capable of doing myself. I’ve done anything from oil changes, window motors, replacing fuel pumps and a clutch. Generally using a manual and recently youtube and the internet as my guide! So from there I really found some sort of calming relief and joy from working on small engines. I love it. There’s nothing like taking a weed whip, chainsaw, or snow blower and getting it all cleaned up and running again! I love the solitary part of this, the trouble shooting/research and thinking it takes to diagnose and fix an issue. Anyways, worked my way through some riding lawn mowers, motorcycles, and my bobcat fixing whatever I can. I ran out of things to work on this winter and went shopping for a project! In order to convince the wife I needed a project it had to have purpose! I decided to get a 4 wheeler with a plow so I can move snow quicker and easier(on the times when it’s only a couple inches.) and since I live in Minnesota that’s quite often. Anyways, I shopped for quite awhile for the right machine and found a 1994 Polaris sportsman 400 with a brand new plow, no major cosmetic issues other than the seat, with only 540 miles on it. It does need some work though and makes it the perfect project! I already know this is just the start of a likely obsession with atvs… I’m already shopping for another one and can’t wait to get the one I just bought cruising and it snow plowing condition. So that’s my story. The reason I’m here is that I love forums like this and rely on people to share knowledge! That’s how I’ve taught myself anything I know about engines or anything mechanical. Also, one of the big reasons I joined is I can’t seem to find an owners manual or any service manuals. Other than the ones on websites I’m not familiar with and don’t know if I can trust, looking to sell me a digital copy. I’ve had bad luck with that stuff before. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to look? Any free download or even a trustworthy site to pay for one? I would appreciate the help. It’s a 1994 polaris sportsman 400 4x4. Thank you all in advance for the help and I look forward to learning and contributing where I can. Adam

@optionizerSS I'm sure you gonna experience the riding with your quad! Enjoy!

You will enjoy it lots of fun ahead.

New guy here. I rode dirt bikes starting at about 6 years old up until 13. Dads best friend was killed on his street bike in 1981 and my dad sold his bikes so I quit riding too. Step-father bought a brand new 2013 Suzuki King Quad 500 and rode it around his yard 99% of the time and plowed their driveway. He passed away this past August so my mother gave me his quad. Has 1067 miles on it and is in very good condition. I'm new to ATV's so will have a bunch of questions. I'm 54 and plan to do some trail riding. Lower speed, no mudding, etc. Nice calm riding

I got into quads because I started working on lawnmowers and wanted to expand my knowledge.

I have always had motorcycles, wanted ATV to move my boat around the yard and do work, haling dirt logs ETC, I needed something stronger than my John Deere lawn tractor, they are a blast to ride, but be careful they are addictive I now have three.