Mech

And, if in that picture of the gauge, those are the big starter terminals you are reading over, then that's what we would expect you to get. That would be reading from a live battery lead, to the starter, and the starter as far as that gauge is concerned is a short to earth because the starter draws so much current. Savage was I think saying to test the two small solenoid wires. Is the starter working ? You hadn't mentioned a no start.. or did I miss it. Oh... mybad.. I see you did say the starter is working later on there..

So you are still having the problem it won't turn off right ? And it has a problem with the idling.. right ? And is there a problem starting too ? All of that could be caused by the key switch. That diagram I posted showing the switch for the 160, that's just showing what gets contacted where. It doesn't absolutely mean that there are two sliding contacts for the ignition and kill. It can be that there's one contact and it slides along from shorting the ignition to earth, then onto a live contact and then onto the acc feed contact. If it has lost motion in there it can be not always contacting the acc contact, or going far enough to contact the earth or kill.. I've seen it before with ignition switches. And kill switches. All the electrical problems can be the switch, and it might cause the erratic idle and then dying as well. The idleing things though might be bad mixture, either by adjustment of air leaks blocked jets etc, or wear on the butterfly shaft if it has one, or play in the slide.

Good one. I'm glad someone in here bothers to test and diagnose things before buying parts !

It sounds to like your carb needs some more work and then adjusting. I'd suspect the hard start is flooding and probably because the float needle isn't sealing perfectly. If you have a fuel tap I'd suggest turning that off for a few minutes before you turn the engine off and run it dry, then when you go to start it after an hour or so turn it on and let the carb fill and see if it starts easy. If it does, then the fuel tap or float needle needs checking better. Other than that it might just need the mixture adjusting.. If you try the run it dry test and let us know how that goes I'll suggest what next.

If there is a bleed screw it will be in the highest point on the engine's cooling passages. I looked for the thermo opening but in the several manuals I looked in they didn't quote a figure. I did notice the fan on temp is a bit lower than I suggested it will be. The manuals all said that there is a small bleed hole in the radiator filler neck and to check it's not blocked. There's a bigger hole going to the overflow pipe, and then straight below that, below where the cap seals, on a tube going down, there is a small hole.

Is that emulsion tube soldered up is it ? Is that what you are saying had been dropped or damaged.. I've got the bad eyes too..

Looking in the 160e manual it looks like an internal fault in the key switch could cause it.. but that's for the 160.. but it does link with the no turn off problem. Check the earths too, it could be a feed back through a non earth.

I would suspect that either the key switch or the wiring has a bad connection and the engine is running off the charging circuit, or rather the charging isn't getting to the battery and diverting into the ignition even if you turn the key off. Check the fuses, especially any charge fuse if it has one.

Yup.. Cleanliness is next to godliness.. Nice work. I suppose that should be Godliness....

I'm not familiar with polaris at all but it's possible there might be a bleed bung or something to get the air out.. The manual will say. Other than that you can often tell if the pump is working by giving the engine a rev and the fluid level in the radiator will drop a bit then come back up as the fluid starts to circulate. Then, it's possible the thermostat's stuck. It can and does happen that once a thermostat has been in use, in antifreeze, and then allowed to dry out, they get sticky. You know how antifreeze feels a bit claagy(is that a word?), sort of grippy on your finger, well that's the effect it has on the thermostat. Mostly after a bit they do open and then come right again.. but you have to be monitoring the temp very carefully waiting for it to open. Sometimes they get just slightly hotter than they should before opening that first time, and then after that they work as intended. If you are sitting watching it and it gets too hot turn it off and leave it and then try it again. Sometimes they come right on the second run. Most thermostats are fully open about 85-96 degrees C, and most, (car fans anyway), come on about 104-106 degrees C, and then turn off at about 4 degrees below starting temp.. That's your leeway. Don't let it get hotter than about 104 and it should be fine..

Ha.. They still make shellac ! I tell you mate, once I found loctite it's been the only thing I use except for gasketless sumps that need silicon. And serious, you can put it on oily metal after a quick wipe, it will even stick to oily surfaces, but a wipe is better, and after hundreds and hundreds, thousands probably, of applications, in high test situations, I've never had a leak.

Ok.. Glad that worked. I use loctite master gasket and that stuff just needs the surfaces wiped with a dry cloth and it sticks, and it never never leaks. It fills gaps up to .013", and doesn't block selves.

Ah.. Good thinking Gw. I was a bit confused.. Some closer photos and pointers/arrows/circles drawn on the part might help clarify.. The shifter might have stripped it's splines.. It might have to be taken off and inspecting if the end of the shaft can't be seen. If the end of the shaft can be seen, then move the shifter and watch to see it moves the shaft fully.. no lost motion.

I'd also consider using a thicker or two washers so the nut bears on a different part of the threads. There are things called thread files that are good for cleaning up damaged threads. Even if the threads have been bashed on the end so that a die nut wouldn't be able to start, with a thread file you can start a little way in and work your way out restoring the threads. Thread files are square and have two ends and four sides and so have eight different threads on each file.. You just have to choose a metric thread file, and it will do the job.

Does this bike have a clutch lever on the handlebar ?

Good for you mum/dad.. I was/am one of those too. If you can tell us a model, or engine size, I might be able to find a service manual. I see manuals for ATM50, pony 50, and quantum 150.. Any of those sound familiar ? I'll check them anyway, they might be similar. I see manuals for ATM50, pony 50, and quantum 150.. Any of those sound familiar ? I'll check them anyway, they might be similar.

The brakes will put a load on.. if you can't find a hill. That process working to settle the rings in though is far from guaranteed. I'd try it, and try just riding it with as much load as I could for a bit while I see if it gets better. Oil's cheap and it would be nice to not have to redo what had been an ok engine. Low to medium revs with a load is what you want, and avoid idling which can just let oi get under the rings while they are still floating on a layer of oil. I've saved motors people have done up and then bought to me after a hundred miles to ask about because they were smoking.. They'd started them up after the overhaul and let them sit idling while they were checking things, or, they'd been riding them like a nana(sorry and nanas out there). It's important when we overhaul motors that we start them and start driving withing minutes.. like two minutes. I make sure there's no water leaks and everything is right before I start them, then start them and have a quick check the oil pressure is there and no water or oil leaks are happening(as if), then get in and start driving as I suggest. I drive for at least five minutes then pull over and switch off and have another check on the side of the road, then get in and continue doing that settling in process. If we are paying attention, we can feel and hear overhauled engines start to run smoother, with less vibrations, and getting better compression over the3 course of the first five miles or ten-fifteen minutes.. It makes a huge difference to the condition and life of an engine doing it right, or wrong. The first five minutes of running are crucially important.

The zero reading is nothing to worry about, it's probably probably due to the accuracy tolerances of your meter. Too much resistance would be a worry. Some gauges are rated/guaranteed to be no more than 3% inaccurate.

It needs more work and perhaps a float needle and/or seat.

Agreed.. better to overhaul the original generally.. That way you know the jets are the right size.. Another carb, even though it's the same make and size and model, is seldom set up for the exact engine you are working on..

All good buddy. A lot of what I post in here is stuff that I think might be useful for the watchers.. For every post there's a hundred views.. Some of what you and I might think is pretty basic, is generic sort of practices or info and probably helpful to some.

I'm sure Gw will suss it but for the benefit of the onlookers that might not be familiar with strap wrenches, it's the leverage of the one inch that works to jamb the belt solid, but it only works one way. The webbing needs to be right at the end of the lever, and that end run of belt has to be on the tension side so it gets pulled in towards the flywheel and in the direction of rotation. If the belt keeps slipping it needs pulling off, turning over and sliding back on.

seat belt webbing, or tie-down if it's wide enough..

That is out of a lt160e manual. A quick browse of google and it seems like it might be similar in design (though not the same specs of course). If it's not in the manuals section I can upload it if you want.. oh.. It's 1998 onwards too..

You need to arrange the webbing onto the lever so it self tightens and jambs. You will be able to block the lever against the foot peg or something. No effort required once the belt tightens. With the diameter and area of a flywheel it will work.. Tie the webbing to the lever, wrap it around the flywheel and then attach it to the lever about an inch from the first knot.. If the slack is right it will start to pull the lever in as the belt tightens and the inch of leverage is what makes it jamb solid.. You'll figure it.