94 Kodiak 400- new owner, new member

[Kodiakquad]

Hi guys, looking for information for my new to me Kodiak 400. I found the vin on the frame to know its a 1994.

[Mech]

Online parts places(babbits or partzilla) will show you the model options it could be, and there are probably service manuals in this site for free download.

It's generally a good idea first to look your bike up in some online parts place and check what exactly your model is known as. They are generally YFM400, then two or three letters. The suffix letters are important if you want the very specific information about your bike. The general YFM400 will do for some things, but the specific suffix lets you know things like the carby model and jetting, the ignition system it uses(because they vary a lot), and any spare parts you might want to buy.

Getting the right service manual is important if you want to diagnose or work on the ignition system, the charging, or the carby.

[Kodiakquad]

Wow, that's good information.  I do have the Vin. OK, I will look it up on those sites. 

[Kodiakquad]

I do need parts but I want to do a thorough inspection before I buy any.

[Kodiakquad]

I did download a manual for a 2002 but there seems to be many differences. But that's the only manual I could find. 

[Mech]

If you let us know the suffix I might be able to find you the right manual.. I don't post links because it's good of this site to host the manuals, so I'll grab one and upload it if I can find one.

And yeah, when you first get a new old bike it's always a good idea to get it going as cheap as possible and then try it before spending too much on what might be not worth it, or need something more urgently.

[Kodiakquad]

Hi Mech, looks like I have 400FWF? I just opened the service manual to see if that fits what I have. The vin is with JY44GBA09RA------

Thanks for your help.
 

[Mech]

Ok, closest I've found is for a FW, which it says is a FWE, and it has a supplement for 2006, so it must be close. I'll upload it and you can have a look

[Mech]

FWE is 1993.. 

[Mech]

For some reason it starts with the supplement for 1996, then about a third of the way down it goes to the 1993..  I think your bike will be a 93 design sold in 94..

[Kodiakquad]

93 sold in 94, ok. That narrows it down. Thanks for your help.

I opened the service manual and found the location for the model tag. I will get that later today. I was just going off of the Vin Info that I found to match up with a model.

[Mech]

If you keep an eye on the home page it will turn up there once the mods have approved it.

[Kodiakquad]

Ok, thanks another. I appreciate your help