Bought my first new Quad! 2001 YFM400 Big Bear!

[Frank Angerano]

No brake light. I looked and double checked.  Even took the rear brake light apart and the bulb only has one element within the bulb. 
Also looked at the breaks and no switches are present.  

[erthsole]

Congrats on your new quad!

[Skhot K]

17 hours ago, Frank Angerano said:

No brake light. I looked and double checked.  Even took the rear brake light apart and the bulb only has one element within the bulb. 
Also looked at the breaks and no switches are present.  

Ahh ok! Thanks for checking, it's good to know my brake light switches aren't broken, but rather they don't exist! 

1 hour ago, erthsole said:

Congrats on your new quad!

Thanks @erthsole, I think it's a great machine, even with its age! 

[Frank Angerano]

They last a long time theses machines. Only thing that can truly destroy them aside from fire is salt water.  Other then that they can literally be brought back from the dead.  

[Skhot K]

That's pretty incredible. I remember riding a little bit in my teenage years with a high school friend, years ago. He was big into 4x4s and 3 wheelers. I remember he would love to fix them up. After getting down underneath and looking around, this particular 400 is very clean underneath. There is hardly any rust, and I thought that was pretty impressive for being 18 yrs old. The carburetor looks great too, not sure what the inside is like but since it runs good, I guess it's OK. It looks to be the original (like the tires, ugh) but the idle control seems really hard to twist. I may need to try and replace that, or at least give it a good oiling. 

[Frank Angerano]

They are a little tough to spin, as you turn that adjuster press the throttle a little bit. The  pressure of the spring/throttle pushing on that adjuster makes it tougher to turn. 

[pablo Blake]

Damn thats a great buy i got stuck with a tiny suzuki quadrunner 250 up near windsor area for 1000 i mean either way im happy with it for my first quad. I was looking for so long and just said fu** it and dove head in on one. Atleast its not something i'll kill my self on solid sturdy machine that could take a beating if it had to

Edited January 6, 2020 by pablo Blake

[Skhot K]

6 hours ago, Frank Angerano said:

They are a little tough to spin, as you turn that adjuster press the throttle a little bit. The  pressure of the spring/throttle pushing on that adjuster makes it tougher to turn. 

Thanks for the tip @Frank Angerano I think I have it dialed in now. 

I'm glad I have 2 props on the price of this @pablo Blake I was initially thinking it was a little high, and I definitely wanted it since the seller said it ran. I guess there is always some risk buying through a private seller. But some machines are worth what a buyer is willing to give. In my opinion, if it's what you want/need and it isn't junk, then it was worth it. 

We got another good 4 inches today and I really didn't want to struggle with poor tires. I pressed on the almost completely shot tires and it really felt like there wasn't any air pressure in them anyways. Since I plan on getting new tires, I decided to get 300 1/2 inch hex head sheet rock screws and drilled them all into the tires. This Big Bear and plow tore up the snow on the property! So happy with how it handled everything. All in all I've already saved $500 in having 'our guy' plow the property, so by seasons end I think this ATV will have paid for itself in the end. In the spring, I plan on a long overdue grading of the lot too, it's pothole city. 

[Frank Angerano]

Another satisfied customer!!! 
Very happy you like the bike, its too late now since you put sheetrock screws in the tires but they sell straps and or chains that go on the tires relatively cheap that would get you through the winter. Also pay attention to that driveway should you lose any screws !!!! You will wind up with them in your car or truck tires.  
 

[Skhot K]

Definitely a valid point. I checked the tires after and I didn't loose 1 screw! I thought I would, and I might still... But I'll grab chains with those new tires in a week or so. Needed something in a pinch before payday.