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Stuff to Take With You
What should you take with you when you are traveling into the deep woods? Here is a list to get you started. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any suggestions.
First aid kit - Slime - Tire plugs - Basic wrench kit - Cable ties
Jumper cables (both cig plug to plug, and plug to clamp) - Air compressor
Electrical tape - Duct tape - Handkerchief (or dust mask) - gloves
goggles - Probably the most important item: TOILET PAPER.
Zipper freezer bags - Dry socks - Gas & Oil
Coolant - Pliers - Tow strap - Tree saver strap - lighter
survival brownies - water ( in a bottle with a lid that is protected from mud I hate crunchy water)
Gas Siphon - Spare spark plug - Possibly a belt if you think you could change one on the trail
Small container of anti freeze - make sure to tape lids on, as they will rattle off - A dry bag with extra clothing
Waterproofing your rig
Always do the most you can to waterproof you ATV. First use lots of WD-40 on everything from plastic to electrical components. Not only does it protect against moisture, it also gives your wheeler a nice shine. Stock air filters should be changed to something waterproof such as a K&N with a prefilter. Also, put a generous amount of grease around the lid of your filter box to act as a seal against water. Always remember to place the rubber handle to the pull start firmly in place to prevent water from entering the recoil housing. A little grease around this area would also help. Water in your engine is no laughing matter (Jeff T. wouldn't you agree?) Ride Safe.
Arctic Cat
C'mon Jeff, lets hear some tips!
Kawasaki
Backfiring and hard starting is a common problem on the 360, and mine was hard to start for a over a year and a half. The 360's exhaust valve gets tight making the decompression for the pull start stick and making it stall and hard to start. Adjust the valves to the upper limit especially on the exhaust which is 8 thousands or .020 mm .
You can do this by jacking the front end up and going in from the left with your body between the wheels.
Also, I made the exhaust really loose, and pulled the starter a couple of times to "unhang" the decompression mechanism if it was stuck.
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A couple of do,s and donts I would suggest to 360 owners:
Dont run high test gas--Mine runs best on regular
Dont modify airbox
Do make some type of protection for your oil radiator--I rammed two sticks through mine before I got smart and made a shield out of perforated stainless--Cut it same width as stock screen but about 4" longer to but up to winch mount(great fit, too bad Kawi didnt do this)
Green Slime your tires. (saved me a couple of time, even though I carry an airpump and plugs in my toolbox"always"
I havent compared mine to a stock 360 yet, but I also did an advanced timing key, and I am pretty sure I can smoke a stock P360.
Do change main jet, and do not buy a dial a jet--I cannot seem to get any response from dial a jet and my plug was burning perfect on full throttle with stock jet, but downsizing jet from stock 155 to a 150 increased my top speed on an uphill pull.
Do raise your needle jet--with my mods, I was playing around with the carb and had a small plastic washer in my tool drawer that fit the needle--immediately improved my mid range. I took out the washer and experimented with brass washers and my ultimate performance is with the needle shimmed at .060. The needle shim was one of the easiest mods I have done yet and I highly recommend it
While your in the carb shimming the needle,- the bottom hole on the slide (not the one the needle goes through) get a drill bit, I used a bit for drilling pop rivet holes mic'd at .125, and enlarge this hole--Best free mod yet--improved throttle response tremendously
I got tired of backfiring through exhaust when decelerating so I bumped my pilot jet from the stock 35, to a 38. No more backfiring or backing off when letting off the throttle.
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Miscellaneous ATV stuff here
Polaris
Frank's fix for overheating.
A section of ridge vent material (Cobra vent, or similar plastic brillo-type material), cut to the same size as the radiator, will collect all that nasty mud. A quick rinse in some water will allow free airflow again, rather than another overheat session. He also cut one end off of a child's plastic toboggan, and covered the rear of the radiator, and fan, thus not allowing the mud to splash up on this portion of the radiator. Frank has had really good luck with this, and mud seems unable to build up on his radiator now. Seems this is a very worthwhile fix. Thanks, Frank!
If your Sportsman 700 wont charge correctly, check the connections up at the voltage regulator. This is just underneath the "hood" at the front. There are 4 weatherproof bullet connectors there, and one square, non-weatherproof connector. Cut this square connector, and replace it with something weather-tight. It should charge much better now.
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The Sportsman is prone to front-end sagging. This can be remedied with very inexpensive parts. A 2" rigid (steel electrical conduit) coupling fits perfectly under the stock springs. With some pvc pipes cut to space the spring and strut, this allows everything to function properly, and keep the front end from diving at every hole. Make sure you check your tie rod ends, and alignment.
Click here for some Sportsman parts
Click here for Polaris parts breakouts
Click here for common Polaris parts that are readily available
Good stuff here
Yamaha
I was going to write a bunch of stuff about the Grizz, but decided that a link would be easier. Click here :-)
Click here for OEM parts, and diagrams