Mech

Ok.. first question.. Is this thing a four stroke or a two stroke.. I think old ones were two.. But I'm not a yammy guy. If it's a two stroke, the crank seals may be leaking.. Then, if starter spray made it fire then it sure sounds like a fuel problem still.. Did it run for a second or two with the fluid, or just give one fire then nothing again ? If the later, then it could be a bad spark issue, but if it will fire for a few firings/seconds at a a time on the fluid .. carby ! Or, to be more accurate, the fuel's not getting in there. Are you sure the new carby is a good one, did it come off a running bike ? A lot of new aftermarket carbs are not dependable either, they aren't set up right. And to recap.. you started with a hard starting problem, but then it changed into a easy start but won't get up the hill problem.. Is that right ? And that was after you'd cleaned the carby ? And the new carby you put on then, are you sure that is a good carby ? Just because it's new doesn't mean it's good.. Or did it already have the hill problem and the hard start problem ? We really need to address one problem at a time, and do one step at a time. Perhaps you need to go back to the original carb and start the process again. First get it to start, then sort the hill problem. If that doesn't sound good.. well.. A badly blocked exhaust can stop air and fuel being drawn in, and it will stop it getting up hills or revving.. especially revving. . The pipes can flake and distort and block inside if they are double walled exhaust which a lot are. You could try taking the exhaust off at the head for a bit. just swing it slightly away will be enough. Have you checked there isn't a vacuum leak between the carb and the manifold. If it's sucking in air there it won't suck fuel, but the starter fluid, being squirted, might make it into the cylinder. It happens a lot when people take carbs off old bikes that the rubber manifolds split, or, the metal manifolds warp when the carb gets bolted back on with a new O ring, Since the problems have been changing since you changed the carb you need to check that carefully. Are you sure you haven't lost the O ring or gasket if it's a bolt on carb? It happens. Either the blocked exhaust or a vacuum leak could stop fuel getting in.. Really, depending whether you know these new carbs are good ones or not, I think I'd recommend cleaning and servicing the original carb and putting that back on, with a careful manifold check. The get it starting and idling, then ride it and fix any performance problems.. One step at a time, and only change one thing at a time if things need changing. Have you cleaned carbs before ? Did you take every jet, and the long brass tube between the main jet and the slide needle out ? Did you check the diaphragm on the slide for splits.. they need stretching to find the splits quite often. Did you take the brass seat the float needle goes in, out, they can get blocked and some have a tiny filter above them. Try and recall and see if you can answer some of these question I'm asking.. It would help me to help you if I had a clear idea of the way this problem has developed. At this stage, depending how long it will run for on starter fluid, I'm suspecting the new carbs are not good ones.. or they have an air leak at the manifold..

If you answer some of those questions we, or in this case I, can probably be of more help..

No. Not if it's meant to have, and been running ok on the 8.You should adjust/setup the carby. Are you sure though this black plug is new ? Are you sure you don't have an ignition problem ? Why did you change the carby ? Aftermarket carbies are never setup for any particular model, market, fuel or altitude range.. That are all generic tune that will work after a fashion for almost any bike they will fit on. It's generally best to repair/clean your old carby. It's just slightly possible the new carb has a problem, or perhaps only needs some adjustments. Have you tried adjusting the idle mixture and speed ? How is the bike running ? How was the bike running before you changed the carby ? Quite likely, if the new carb looks like an exact copy of the old carb, you can probably swap all the old jets over into the new carby, including the slide and needle, and the long brass tube the slide needle fits down into.. That will probably cure the problem... if it is a carb problem.. Apart from that you need to start re-tuning that new carb.. I generally opt for cleaning the old original carb and putting that back on when ever I hear these stories....

There might be a defective wire, or the starter might be playing up. Before buying a new battery I'd try using jumper leads from a car and see if the starter works then. If it starts when jumped from a car battery then you will need a new battery. You should also check the charging system is charging, and regulating.. A faulty charging system can load the engine so much it will struggle to run.

I suspect the flashing is an intermittent connection, probably a broken wire, which makes and breaks with the vibration of the engine running. When the engine isn't running it's not connecting at all.. And Bruce has confirmed it should start with the brakes on, so try that.

Hi. Yes that's a good explanation. I'd suspect that's in the steering linkages then. There are two rods that come from arms on the wheels into the center of the bike and attach to a short lever that pushes one of the rods as it pulls the other rod when you turn. We can adjust those rods to change the toe in of the wheels. When the handle bars are straight ahead those rods should both be the same length and the wheels should(on most four wheel drive bikes), be slightly wider apart at the front of the wheels than at the back of the wheels. That's known as toe out. Now, when we turn a corner, the wheel on the inside of the turn needs to turn a little more than the outer wheel because the inner wheels is following a smaller radius turn. We arrange that by having short levers on the steering hubs that don't come straight back from the hubs but converge slightly towards the back of the bike. The short levers on the steering hubs point to a point on the rear diff. What that does is, as one rod pushes it's steering arm, say the left wheel arm, it swings it's lever through the point where the rod and lever are at right angles. The rod starts off pushing the arm at slightly one side of a right angle, through right angle, and beyond till the rod is past a right angle with the arm. That wheel turns at the optimum amount possible for the rod travel. The other side rod though starts off pulling it's arm already past a right angle, and keeps on pulling it more and more into a position of decreased movement in comparison with the rods travel. The left side steering rod achieves full swing of it's wheel, while the right side rod struggles to turn it's wheel much. The left wheel tucks into a tight turn, but the right wheel doesn't turn as much as it might and it follows a bigger radius turn. All this is called "toe in on turns", and it's achieved by having the short arms attached to the steering hubs converging. The whole idea is known as the Ackermann principle. I'm pretty sure that your bikes are both going to have something bent, probably the short steering arms attached to the wheel hubs, or, the upper and lower suspension arms have been changed for ones of different length, or, the steering shaft that comes up to the bars is twisted. People have adjusted the rods so the basic toe in when it's straight ahead is still right, but there is no toe in on turns, or at least, the toe in on turns is wrong when turning left. On some bikes the rods attach in the center to a plate that's wide and both rods attach the same distance from the steering shaft. On those bikes both rods attach from either above or below. On other bikes the rods attach to a narrow plate attached to the steering shaft which is attached to the bars, and because the plate is small they attach one rod behind the other. On those bikes one rod gets swung through a longer arc than the other, which can also give toe in on turns. They compensate so as to not get excessive toe in on turns by attaching one rod from above and one rod from below. That works because the steering arms out on the wheels are at a different height to the centre plate, and one rod ends up at the same height as the plate and steering arm, and if it's attached so as to swing through the shorter arc, that is it's attached to the hole in the plate nearest the steering shaft it pushes straight and gets full travel, while the other rod being attached from below, and to the further from the steering shaft position on the plate, is pushing sideways but also upwards or downwards and loses some of it's travel. That lost travel compensates for the extra distance from the steering shaft. So, a long and complicated explanation, but in there somewhere is the answer to your problem. One wheel is getting turned more than the other wheel during turns. You need to check how those rods attach in the center, and then check for bent steering arms on the hubs, or wrong length suspension arms. I hope all my terminology is clear, but if you're not sure which bits I'm referring to at any point ask and I'll find a picture or something.

If you buy a battery the same size/dimensions, and with the terminals in the same positions, it will almost certainly be right for the bike. It is possible if you have a defective battery that that is causing your problem. You should fix that first. It is most commonly just a carby problem, or a fuel tap or filter problem. If you undo the drain screw at the bottom of the carb fuel should run out steadily. If it does, then the next thing is probably to clean the carby jets. You could try a new plug first, which is easier, but probably not under the circumstances the problem.. If it has an auto clutching belt drive, you might find that's playing up, engaging too soon before the revs have got up enough to pull away.. It's a bit hard to tell which often though and so best to eliminate one thing first. You might be able to make an educated guess which is most likely if you have been riding it before, and notice the changed takeoff.. If you take the carb off to clean it, you need to take all the fuel jets out, including a long brass tube that goes from the main jet in the bottom, up to the slide needle.. Clean/blow them and look through them all. Check the connection to the engine is sealing. If it's rubber look for splits, if it's solid metal then it will have a gasket or O ring or both. Metal manifolds, or carbs, can warp where they bolt together, so check for that too, If you do a careful job with the carb and manifold then you can hopefully assume it's not that afterwards, but only if you have been thorough. Then you can move on to the drive system, bad spark-plug or ignition system etc.

Move the plastics ?

Did you check the four wheel's alignment with one other? Did you check the caster and camber ? Alignment would be the number one and biggest contributor. Dragging brakes are rare and people notice mostly. How bad is this.. how far along the road could you go before it had drifted off by, oh say, five feet ? That's with you just barely constraining the bars.. Are you riding on a cambered road when this happens ..?

It's a possibility another cdi unit could effect the running, but I doubt it will be by much if those models are both utility work recreational models, not race, and they all have either belt drive, or multi speed gearboxes. They have to be similar models. Also though, there are dozens of different models, partzilla only claimed a few, about six or seven models, as it being interchangable for.. I take that to mean it's not suitable for other models. I'm no polaris guy but I think that if model specs are correct, and then the pictures of the bike in that parts list show up like your bike, (and you could explore other pictures like the drive system or the bodywork if you want to confirm it's the right model), then the other year and model can be taken to be right too. I've bought lots of parts like this and it's nearly always possible to cross reference things and check every thing agrees. You could find another outfit selling parts, and run the same two part checks and see if they tell you what other parts it fits.. Both sites should we hope agree.

I'm not familiar with polaris or partzilla so check it for yourself... I"d try to find a dealer site too if it was me to make really sure.. The part is quite expensive !! And nobody does refunds on electronic parts.

Ha at the surprisingly not cheap.. Hope the second hand one comes right then..

This is a good forum. Friendly, helpful, well resourced and active. Make ten posts and you can download manuals as you need them. (You are up to three so far).

Wheel alignment or dragging brakes could cause a bike to pull to one side.

Hello Shadow. Forums are a great source of knowledge. Most problems have been struck before and if they are common to a make or model searching the forum will often point us to the problem. This site also has a lot of service manuals too.

So the start button won't crank it over, but you can start it with the pull or kick start ? Most bikes have a safety feature where they won't start in gear, and I'm thinking that green light is to show it's in neutral.. It sounds like there is a problem with the neutral lights circuit, perhaps just a broken wire. Some bikes will start in gear if you apply the brakes. You could try putting the brakes on and seeing if it starts with the start button, that would confirm it's a neutral safety feature problem. It may not have that start in gear if the brakes are on feature though so don't get too sidetracked if it doesn't start. I think you need to check the wiring to the neutral switch, and the switch's operation. You should download a service manual and have a look at the wiring diagram and figure where and which wires are the neutral circuit and then inspect them real carefully. You could leave it idling and try wiggling the wires for the neutral circuit at their ends to see if you can get the light to come on steady. Mostly wires break at their ends where they connect to the metal terminal in the plug. The other fairly common thing is that the wires chafe through, you could inspect it all for wear, especially up near the steering head where the wires move with the steering. You could confirm the green light is to show it's in neutral by starting it then putting it into gear.. If the light goes out then it is a neutral light.

The regulators don't have any current regulation Randy, they just regulate on voltage alone. The original ones are fine till they get old, or, the wiring or battery deteriorates. You should check your charging system Buddy as the book suggests you do. Check the wiring for breaks or bad connections, on both the live wires and the earths. Check your battery has acid to the right level too if it's a servicable one. The regulator might be fine still. And if the choice is between a years old manifold and a new one I think I'd take the new aftermarket one. They normally only get damaged when people are taking the carb in and out. The damage happens because the old rubber has gone still and inflexible.

I'd better put a little disclaimer in here.. haha.. Check it's your model bike, and, I have no idea whether Partzilla is a reliable source of information or whether they know what they are talking about. I'd have preferred to find a genuine polaris dealer but I found partzilla and figured they should know. If you don't trust partzilla, try to find a dealer that supplies the cross reference feature. If the two different years and model parts can also fit some other model in common, they the parts are interchangeable.

Ok. Well the part numbers aren't the absolute full story. Depending on the make the part numbers can be different for different years or models but the parts still fit. That is real common. Looking online I see.. https://www.partzilla.com/product/polaris/3089613?ref=4f8a0516c6c0d49b80290ca402ca261857d174b7 and... https://www.partzilla.com/product/polaris/4011668?ref=24ab7c1ce421cbc1350a2766583a74ecc6c8e53e And both show other models the parts fit, and, they both fit a 2007 outlaw 525, which means the parts are the same even though they have different part numbers.

The cables don't stretch, but the outer cover does get compressed and shortened, (which gives much the same effect as a stretched cable). so there's normally an adjustment for that. What breaks them though, the cables, is if the end doesn't line up with the lever it's going onto nicely, and, line up nicely with no strain or bends right close by in the actual length of cable between mounts... then they break early. Every cable I've seen has been made to push and pull, but not bend or get flexed much at all. If the engine or gearbox mounts were worn and allowed the unit to move it could shorten the life of the cable dramatically. Or for that matter, if the cab was loose on it's mounts.. I'm pretty sure that six years will be a short life for that cable. I'd check the cable looked like it lay comfortably, I'd grab it mid length and move it and see it had a bit of movement in every direction, and I'd check the cab and engine/gearbox mounts. Then.. I don't live in the snow !! Perhaps cold really does make metal brittle. If I did live in the snow.. I'd want my machines reliable .. I don't like cold.

I don't know those vehicles at all but every shift cable I've ever seen has been a real tough thing that should last twenty years. You couldn't break one with muscles alone. I'd be looking for a problem somewhere before the new one broke.. Perhaps the cable's routed wrong so it has a sharp bend, or perhaps the engine mounts are loose or worn allowing the cable to be flexed constantly. Is it the cable that breaks, or the metal fitting on the end of the flexible cable. The shifting problem might be caused by one of those problems I mentioned, or it might be because the engine's idling too fast, or because the belt drive system needs a bit of work/setting up. The fast idling or badly adjusted belt drive though will not break the cable, they'll just make it hard to get into or out of gear. The breaking cables problem needs fixing first probably and then see if the shifting gets better. When it goes into gear, does the vehicle lurch forwards or graunch he gears ? Either of those are a sign the revs are too high or the belt's playing up. If neither of those things happen, then perhaps the hard shift is because the cable's misaligned.

This might be similar and cover most things.. https://www.quadcrazy.com/files/file/128-1983-1986-yamaha-yfm200-moto-4-200-service-manual/ And there's another manual in there for a trike with a 225 engine that might be the same engine.. Have a look and compare things with your bike. Mostly the service work is similar. If there are specific details that don't seem right someone in here might know why or what the differences are.. What year is your bike ?

Have you tried looking the part up online yet, and comparing part numbers, or, some sites will tell you what else any part number you look up also fits, what other models it does.. I'd try that first. You might need to try a few parts places and browse around clicking on things in their parts diagrams and price lists to find a site that does give that advice about options. Quite a few of them do it though.

Well g'day Kdog. I'm a now retired rural mech and I've worked on about everything too.. Not jetskis though.. not yet. One son bought a broken one a few weeks ago though so there's still time.

There's a 1986-1988 trx200 manual in the manuals section, that will be the one for you. There might be some small differences such as wire colours, and the engine bore, but everything else should be the same. Oh, and the carby jets might be different sizes..