Mech

You are right about the marine and luxury premiums Dave, but people do buy and re-market to make something on the difference. If there were agricultural and recreational versions of quad chains I dare say someone would be doing a re-market of the agricultural line... If the demand was great enough to justify their trouble. I'd think the trouble here is that the market just isn't big enough for a new competitor to start making, stocking, advertising and marketing an unusual size, and so the existing manufacturer, who has the advantage of already being in that business, can ask what they want.

Alright !! And don't forget... Taxes..

Well.. If you can make them cheaper, do it and you'll have the market.. If anyone could undercut them by a reasonable amount, they should still be making a killing according to you.. So why isn't anybody(or you), undercutting them ? I've been in business for a long time and I've heard so many people say that people in business are creaming the profit.. but those people aren't in business.. If they were they'd know that it's a competitive and time consuming way of making a living. I never complain about the price of things. I shop around and find thing as cheaply as I can and then, if I want it, i pay my money happily. As far as I know there are two options if you don't like their prices, do without, or figure a cheaper way of doing what they do.

Supply and demand. If there's not much market for a thing, then they always cost more..

It's a good idea Lester, when you are inspecting the brakes at the wheel, to use two screwdrivers or levers, one front and rear, tucked into the brake drum and levering on each brake shoe, and used to move the pistons in their cylinders left and right, to make sure they aren't seized. One lever is moving the pistons while the other one is stopping them moving too far.. Or use two levers while someone pulls on the brakes gently, to make sure the pistons move freely.

Well welcome along to the new ones. This is a good site. It's friendly, has the manuals, and is well (but not too much) moderated.

The terms people use to describe problems varies, and is always a source for confusion when trying to diagnose things remotely.. that and varying degrees of experience actually working on machinery make it tricky helping online. What might be obvious immediately to an experienced rider or repairer, can go right off track in here.. Good work Hagbard on fixing his bike, and posting the cure..a good lesson/reminder for all of us..

Dang ! Well anyone that checks vacuum must be pretty on to it, and probably doesn't need advice from me, but.. have you tried moving the needle in it's slide.. that's what controls the mixture through most of it's range. And aftermarket carbys are often not setup right, though I'd expect a mikuni to be set pretty good. I'd compare all it's jets, including the emulsion tube and air bleed jets, and the slide needle, are all the same as the original.. and if they aren't, I'd swap them all for the old jets.

So are you saying the starter and lights etc aren't working ? Then I'd suspect there's a problem with the wiring, or fuses.. If the lights and starter are working then I suggest you check it has plenty of fuel still, and that you check it has a spark at the spark plug to start with.. Let us know what you find there and I can suggest the next steps to take.

Is the shaft a bit tight in the housing ? Gear-shafts get bent sometimes... or it could be an end-float issue.. gasket missing or wrong shim. That would have changed when you pulled the cover and so could have been missed. If the shaft is free then you'd think the return spring for the shaft is not working..

Ha.. good one. You have dealt with cv s before then, and know the tricks, a gentle lever and then a light tap with a hammer on the opposite side, or a sharp wrench straight out after having turned it while pulling gently to centralize the circlip.. If the circlip is stuck or damaged though.. then it's all on. And I do believe I have seen a picture of diffs with the sides torn off... it does happen. Good luck with that one.

No trouble.. Glad to be of help.

Looking up the ball joint part number I see them on Amazon for $23. And the hub.. https://www.megazip.net/zapchasti-dlya/kawasaki/knuckle-lh-391867503?q=39186-7503

Ok... There's a 360 Prairie and there's a 360 Prairie Advantage Classic.. The 360 prairie has that other sort of suspension, and your's looks like the adantage classic. https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/owner-center/parts/145929/2003/KVF360-C1?cm_re=PARTSLISTING:2003Prairie3604X4AdvantageClassic-_-FINDDIAGRAM-_-PARTBUCKET

Doh... Ok, so I'd look at different markets, or years.

The 02 300cc looks like what you are talking about...

I don't like the sound of that advice Dave.. Transmission fluid is nothing like engine or gear oil.. Gear oils and engine oils are two totally different things too..

https://lucasoil.com/pdf/TDS_SXS_Transmission_Fluid.pdf

Oh no.. I see the starter tries to operate, but grinds.. so the solenoid is working. Starter cables, earths, or starter motor then... You could use jumpers and put an earth on the starter and straight to the battery's earth, and another jumper straight to the starter from the battery and see if it operates.

Does it have a neutral switch ? Most things won't operate the starter if they think they are in gear.

Ha.. good story Bro..

Yeah, if you can return the start lever by hand ok, and it works again, probably just the spring.

You could also try wriggling the wiring with the lights on and see if it causes the fuse to blow.. It may just be as simple as a worn/chafed wire.

Yeah good though Gwbarm.. Might be a good idea to check the current drain at the fuse. And yeah Clinej, it could be, and probably is, a coincident.. There are symptoms, and their are circumstances, and we need to take careful note of each when we are diagnosing problems. And, if we can, we should try and confirm what the one thing is that always causes the problem, eliminating the coincidences, and the contributing but not cause factors. Then we can carry out the certain to cause the problem routine, to confirm that the problem is definitely fixed. Might be a good idea to go for a longer faster ride sometime when it's not wet or snowing and see if it does it..

I'm not familiar with that bike but if you follow the oil lines from the oil tank down to the motor, you will I think find an oil pump, under a cover, but pretty easy to access for bleeding. Most of the pumps are controlled by a cable, and if you pull the cable a little it should increase the amount of oil going in, and make more smoke. There's also likely to be a scribe mark on the cable's wheel to be used to adjust the pump to the throttle setting. Best read the manual to check what that mark is meant to line up with, and whether it's at full throttle or idle.