Hey all and thanks for the welcome.
I bought a Suzuki King Quad 300 new in 1995 for use on the farm.
We used it several years without it hardly missing a beat. Then about twelve years or so ago it started acting like a loaded up two-stroke, blubbering and spitting.
At that time I had owned motorcycles for about thirty-six years. I had worked for pretty good sized dealer, raced bikes and later I had two bike shops so I had a little mechanical experience.
First thing I did was disassemble and clean the carb, which made no difference at all. After trying everything in my bag of tricks I broke down and took it to a “professional” who assured me that it was a worn needle and seat. I doubted that to be the case but approved the $125 or so “repairs”. It was of little consolation to me that the “professional” couldn’t figure it out either for his “repairs” made absolutely no difference whatsoever.
Reluctantly I carried it to another shop. As soon as I started it to unload it off the truck the mechanic said, “That’s an electrical problem.” Well this “professional” knew what he was talking about and after replacing an electrical part it ran great again for another five or six years before it started doing the same thing.
I discovered that if I turned on the light that it would smooth right out run normal.
By that time we had bought a Kawasaki 610 Mule and the Suzuki didn’t get used much. A few years ago the blubbering and spitting came back even with the lights on. I kept meaning to track down its electrical issue and fix it but other things took precedence. It has been a year or more I suppose since I even started it.
I tried to find the paperwork from the original repair to see what was replaced but couldn’t.
Although I can hold my own on mechanical issues I have never been very proficient at electrical issues (if they were very complex).
I have had the Clymer’s repair manual for any years and I’m sure there is an electrical trouble shooting section I just need to take time to check it out.
My thoughts are that it is the rectifier regulator but before I spring for $100 or so I need to do some checking.
I have a fencing project through the woods coming up and the Mule is just too big to go through some areas so I need to get the Quad back in service.
I have rebuilt the starter a couple of times over the years and will do that again and get a new battery for it.
I noticed that in another recent post a King Quad owner had a similar issue.
I welcome any thoughts.
Thanks again
FJ