1994 Suzuki King Quad 300 in 2023 - A good buy?

[DarkRider]

Hey everybody,

Just curious on some opinions on my recent buy. I'm a big fan of the drivetrain and transmission in the Suzuki King Quad 300 and QuadRunner 250 4wd models. I've been wanting one of either model for quite some time, and recently picked up a really nice shape one for 1500. I just wanted to get some opinions on whether you'd be more hesitant to get something this old, if there are newer options that are comparable.

Also just keep in mind this is coming from someone not super mechanical.

Key factors:

• Engine doesn't appear to have any leaks
• Had to replace the battery for $100, no biggie
• Front left CV boot is torn (not yet sure if the axle has damage)
• Starts right up with the tap of the button every time (so far)
• Idle was a bit low and was shutting off when warm. Adjusted the idle. Now it will only shut off occasionally on a hill if I'm not rolling or giving it gas.
• Has a Harbor Freight Badland winch with a wireless remote (brand new, tested and working)
• Has brand new shocks and brakes
• Shifting gears and changing between 2wd/4wd/diff lock/high/low/super low all seem fine.
• Rides pretty good, tight steering, takes the bumps pretty good as I have pretty rough trails.
• Brand new tires
• Over 2000 miles, that's quite a bit, but it seems well cared for.
• Plastics are almost all there. It's really only missing a small bit of the black mud flap in the rear. Has minimal stitching in the front, and it's got the usual scuffs.
• All of the lights work just fine (Neutral, Reverse, high and low beams)
• Tested the charging system and that works

 

And I think that's just about all I can think of at the moment. It mostly seems to be complete and all there. I was a little hesitant about getting something that old, as parts are always a concern. Looks like most parts are available, but axles seem to be hard to get if you want something brand new. I really wanted a 2000's model but I couldn't pass up the price.

[Gwbarm]

Sounds to be in good shape.

[lenoxc]

I will have to look into this. But sounds ok?

[DarkRider]

Yes it seems to run fine, sounds fine as far as I can tell. We had to turn the idle up which seems too high at first. But once it's warm, it normalizes. I'm trying not to bite of more than I can chew at once. I still need to get the torn boot replaced. These are fun little quads though. 

[Gwbarm]

According to JD power value of 94 Quadrunner 4x4 in excellent condition is 3000 and in very good condition 1800, King Quad was not on their list. Sounds like you did good.

[DarkRider]

On 9/3/2023 at 1:27 AM, Gwbarm said:

According to JD power value of 94 Quadrunner 4x4 in excellent condition is 3000 and in very good condition 1800, King Quad was not on their list. Sounds like you did good.

Thanks for that info! I'll have to check out that site. Although I'm running into a possible potential big problem.  IT seems to have a lot of trouble going uphill in reverse with certain gear configurations. I wonder if this is going to foreshadow transmission problems in the near future. I don't have an owner's manual at the moment, so I don't have a way to check proper use of reverse.  But this is what I've noticed so far:

High - 2wd - It tries to move in reverse and just stops. It will move just a hair and stop.

Low - 4wd - Does just about the same as above.

Low - 2wd - It will go up the hill but I do hear/feel what seems like slippage or hesitation.

 

I didn't test Super Low yet. If I could get some insight from anyone that owns one of these, that would be great. It does seem like possible trans issues to me, since out of all the quads I've owned in the past, none of the 4WD ones ever required me to take it out of 4WD just to get it to move in reverse.

[Dan Kroes]

I would have tried to get a better price because of age and miles, but around here people are still putting around on 3 wheelers.

[DarkRider]

Quick update on the slippage. Turns out there is a clutch adjustment that's really easy to do. A help full YouTube video How To: Suzuki King Quad 300 Clutch Adjustment by Schneids15 describes and shows the process.  Only issue we ran into is that the screw had resistance at any depth. In the video, it's supposed to be easy to turn with your fingers.  It wouldn't turn by hand even after backing it out quite a bit.

 

After testing a few times and putting it in gear, we removed the cover again and it was turning much more freely by hand. Not sure if the wheels had to turn a bit or what, but after that it was smooth sailing. Turned the screw just until it met resistance, turned back 1/8th of a turn. Tightened up, reassembled, and I'm having no more issues. Reverse works regardless of 4WD or 2WD, and High, Low, Super Low. Tested it over the same rock I used as a test before, which it couldn't get over.

 

Just wanted to share that in case anyone else has a problem. I think I've read that this usually doesn't fix this issue. Glad I got lucky! We'll see how long it holds up...

[Gwbarm]

Good the clutch adjustment worked, sounds like it had never been adjusted.

[DarkRider]

2 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

Good the clutch adjustment worked, sounds like it had never been adjusted.

Thanks! With that fixed and not seeing any major issues, I think I definitely god a good price on it.

[Gwbarm]

As far as did you get a good deal! There are a lot of things to consider. The number 1 is you got exactly what you wanted and it was in running condition and in good shape. Plus, to find one in this good a shape, the previous owner cared about his machine and kept it running and looking good, and that takes money to replace worn and deteriorated parts especially tires. Sure you might could have found one cheaper but 9 times out of 10 it has been abused neglected probably needs engine, carb and suspension work. So if that was the case you would have to buy the parts and put them on yourself and time is money.  

[DarkRider]

1 hour ago, Gwbarm said:

As far as did you get a good deal! There are a lot of things to consider. The number 1 is you got exactly what you wanted and it was in running condition and in good shape. Plus, to find one in this good a shape, the previous owner cared about his machine and kept it running and looking good, and that takes money to replace worn and deteriorated parts especially tires. Sure you might could have found one cheaper but 9 times out of 10 it has been abused neglected probably needs engine, carb and suspension work. So if that was the case you would have to buy the parts and put them on yourself and time is money.  

Yes I agree. A lot of the ones I've seen in this price range are usually pretty beat up, missing the battery cover, etc. This one definitely isn't perfect, but everything works and the new shocks really help. It does have quite a few miles on it, but the frame seems to be in great shape. Still a couple pending issues too. The front left CV boot is torn, and needs replacement. No clue if it's going to result in replacing the entire axle which is a problem. They don't make axles for it anymore and so they're pricey on Ebay.

 

And the idle is still a bit of an issue. It wouldn't idle when warm, so I turned it up and that seemed to help, but still seems to not want to idle at times once it's warm. It seems irregular, sometimes it will be fine for a little bit, and then I'll hear it get really low. If it doesn't shut off, it will take a second and go back up. So not too sure what's going on there, but one thing at a time!

[dlgg7]

Just to let you know, I have the same bike, 94 Quadrunner LT 4WD 250. 6654 miles. It's sat for about the last 4 years because couldn't get it started back then, and gave up with everything else going on. Back on it the last few days and starting and running, but falling on it's nose when in gear trying to move and dying. The fun starts.

 

[dlgg7]

Got mine straightened out, have to say their REALLY fun pulling the carb in and out as many times as I had to! My vacuum hoses were messed up, I think that was my fault when it quit running years ago on me and I pulled the carb to rebuild, replaced the fuel petwock, and fuel pump. It runs perfect now and now that you have one too, you'll have to do the shifter mod!

 

[Mech]

The carbs are easier to get out if you unbolt the aircleaner with the two bolts at it's rear and drop the rear down, then it moves backwards enough to get the carb out.

Darkrider, if it's the outer cv boot, you put it in 4x4 and then try driving it slowly on a hard surface and with full lock the front axle will click and clack and grab and misbehave if the cv is worn out. If it's the inner you grab them and try to move them up and down or front and rear feeling for any play, and try rotating the shaft and the housing by hand feeling for play.. If they feel smooth and have only minimum play I'd strip it and clean it and regrease it and fit a new boot.

The bolts that hold the A frames in seize into the rubber bushes and wear out in the frame quite often so check all those carefully and grease the bolts when you put it back together.

[DarkRider]

38 minutes ago, Mech said:

The carbs are easier to get out if you unbolt the aircleaner with the two bolts at it's rear and drop the rear down, then it moves backwards enough to get the carb out.

Darkrider, if it's the outer cv boot, you put it in 4x4 and then try driving it slowly on a hard surface and with full lock the front axle will click and clack and grab and misbehave if the cv is worn out. If it's the inner you grab them and try to move them up and down or front and rear feeling for any play, and try rotating the shaft and the housing by hand feeling for play.. If they feel smooth and have only minimum play I'd strip it and clean it and regrease it and fit a new boot.

The bolts that hold the A frames in seize into the rubber bushes and wear out in the frame quite often so check all those carefully and grease the bolts when you put it back together.

Hey thanks so much for this info. It's going to be quite a while before I can get around to this, with all my other stuff going on. I'm going to come back to this info when I get a chance to work on it. Thanks again for this good info! 

[dlgg7]

I'll HAVE to remember that one Mech!

 

[Gwbarm]

Great information! Thanks for that Mech.

[megaminx]

My grandpa had a Quad Runner 250 and we've been meaning to get it fired back up and put into service again. Some really good information here, thank you!

[Gwbarm]

Sounds like a fun project probably wont take much to get it running again, they are resiliant but dont like to sit around not being used for any length of time.

[DarkRider]

Well I thought I'd post an update on this, as I had some idling issues and the torn boot. The past two Saturdays, I got some help and we got all the issues sorted out. And there really wasn't much wrong to begin with, but here's what I tackled:

• Torn Boot: Turns out all the front boots were torn. Both my dad and I were so excited to get this thing that we really didn't look certain things over too well. I don't seem to be having any problems with the axles acting up, so I got both inner and outer boots and we replaced those. Went pretty smoothly!
• Idling Issues: One thing that threw me off with this is that the service manual shows a picture of a thumb screw in a very accessible place on the quad, which I couldn't find anywhere on mine. It turns out mine doesn't have an idle cable, but instead has some kind of hex screw. I'm not sure if this is a replacement carb and that's what it came with, or someone just decided to replace the cable with a screw. It is EXTREMELY difficult to get in there, there's no room at all for your hands to do anything in there. Finding a tool to get in there and on the screw by itself... it's a pain. However, we did eventually get in there with a 1/4" ratchet, extension, and universal. I believe the socket size is a 5.5mm.  We couldn't get the socket on perfectly, but it was enough to catch and turn the screw. Got the quad warm, made sure the choke was off, and adjusted the idle to a good spot.
• Clutch adjustment: Now i know I already mentioned this one being taken care of. We haven't had to do anything with this since the first time, but I'm just nothing it in here as the third main issue

Now I say past TWO Saturdays because I'm a dummy. The first Saturday we set out to fix these issues, I only thought I had one measly boot to replace. We got to the garage and saw that all the front  boots needed replacement, so we didn't even bother with it, and I had to order the others.

Secondly, I bought an idle cable for the carb, so we worked on that after realizing we had to delay the boot replacement. After taking out the carb, replacing the screw with the cable, and completely wrestling the stupid thing back in there.....the quad wouldn't start. Turned over fine. We triple checked the carb connections and it was pretty obvious, the cable was the only major change. So we had to take the carb back out, put the screw back in, wrestle it back in there, quad started fine.

SO... since this is way too much work for what I was trying to accomplish, I figured the easiest thing to do was figure out a tool to get in there and adjust it properly. If I was dying to have an idle cable, I could have bought a brand new carb off ebay that includes one, which I think the cable I bought will probably work with an aftermarket carb. But this thing runs great and I wanted to stick with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". So no new carb.

So anyway, that's when we got down there the second Saturday and got everything done right. Boots replaced, and the idle adjustment with the right tool. and now we know the socket size required. Took it out the following day and the idle is great. When I first got the quad, it was shutting off on me a bit, more so on declines with the nose pointing downward. Now... no issues at all, even on major hills. Clutch seems to be fine, I was able to back up some very steep hills as a test.

 

Now I can finally enjoy this thing, and it really is a blast to ride. Small and agile, yet it'll go nearly anywhere. Barring any unforeseen major mechanical problems popping up (engine, clutch, trans), I am definitely feeling this is worth it despite the age.

[Mech]

Good one. Glad to hear it's all come out right.

There's an oil filter on it you should probably change. They don't cost much. They don't need changing every oil change but it's a good idea to change things like it when you first get a new machine and then you know when it was done.

 

[DarkRider]

54 minutes ago, Mech said:

Good one. Glad to hear it's all come out right.

There's an oil filter on it you should probably change. They don't cost much. They don't need changing every oil change but it's a good idea to change things like it when you first get a new machine and then you know when it was done.

 

Thank you. I actually bought the oil and filter to change it, but it appears to have been changed quite recently. The previous owner also did brakes and shocks as well, so I'm pretty sure it's good for now. If anything, I might check up on it in the spring and see how it's holding up.

[Gwbarm]

You have been busy. Glad you got it going.

[DarkRider]

21 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

You have been busy. Glad you got it going.

Thank you! Been busy with other life stuff too and just a lot going on. Can't wait to go on my first real ride with it now

[Gwbarm]

I understand completely, im working on 2 and havent been able to touch either one in a couple of weeks, seems like there is always something more pressing to do.