Dwight Williams

Ok, so I pulled the flywheel off of the 2006 bayou 250 and stuck it on the 1995 and it sparks! So, I guess the flywheel is bad, still don't understand why. Kawasaki lists different part numbers for the <95 and 96>. Any reason they wouldn't be compatible? All I know so far is that I have spark on the '95 with the '06 flywheel, haven't gone any farther than that. Thanks

I checked compression with throttle open, decompression lever is fine. I'm still not sure about the chain, it's weird that it's so loose. No marks on piston, cam and rockers look good. There are some fine scratches on the cylinder but nothing serious. I just got a puller for the flywheel and I'll take it off tonight to inspect the lower timing chain sprocket. Timing was out to lunch, I'm sure the valves hit the cylinder but if only pull rope starting (electric starter clutch is bad) maybe it wasn't enough to bend hurt anything. I know for sure the tensioner is correct, it wasn't when I started and that's why it jumped time. I measured the chain with an engineering metal ruler. I'm not sure what else to measure it with. I'm going to do the top end, order a new chain, inspect everything and put it back together. It's just weird to me that the chain was so loose but I suppose once it started jumping on the gear it could have really stretched it out. I have two other Bayou 220s and the chains are nice and tight, although I still can't get spark on one of them (see my other thread). Thanks

Ok, so I bought a 2006 bayou 250 for 200 bucks, kid couldn't start it and had no idea why it wouldn't run, I pulled the rope and felt what I thought was valve to piston contact, he wanted 500 and I talked him down to 200 and brought it home. Sure enough, timing was way far out, timing chain incredibly loose. So for fun I re-tensioned the timing chain and re timed it, got about 120lbs of compression, pretty low. I cannot get the chain very tight but the the tensioner seems to work fine, the chain guides don't look very worn. Also, when I took the head off the valves don't look bent and the piston has no discernible marks on it. Is this an interference engine? I sure thought I felt some contact with the pull rope but maybe no permanent damage was done? Anyway, I plan on doing a full top end job as well as timing chain tensioners and hopefully that'll cure it. Is there any reason other than chain stretch (I measured it and it's ok) or guide wear that would cause the chain to be so loose? Thanks!

Yes, the red and black/red coming from the stator have about 53vac while cranking. the red/yellow wire has no voltage from the kill switch, it's open in the run position and grounded in the stop position. I took the side cover off tonight to see if there was anything physically wrong, no issues found, the gap on the pickup is correct as well. thanks

No alternator, I have a stator and two wires come off of that to the rectifier/regulator for the charging circuit, two wires provide AC to the CDI box and two wires provide the pulse from the pickup to the CDI box. The later models have an alternator that provides DC to the charge circuit and the CDI I believe. I've attached the schematic I've been using that seems to match what I've got. Thanks

Thanks Frank, Mine must be an 'early 95' because that is not the wiring diagram for my quad. I don't have an alternator and I have a 4 wire ignition switch. Completely different CDI as well. My Y/R wire is grounded when either the kill switch is off or the key is off (or both) and open when in 'ready to run' mode. I don't see any constant 12v feed to my CDI, and as I see it there shouldn't be. I've swapped the good bike's CDI to the bad but I don't recall swapping the bad one to the good, I can try that tonight but I'm pretty sure it'll work. I get the same intermittent spark with both CDI's and both coils. Thanks!!

...Also, the way I read it, the CDI will function as long as it has a ground, AC from the stator and a pulse from the pickup, as long as the yellow/black wire is open. The kill switch and the key will both ground the yellow/black if in the off position. I've tested this and it all seems right. Also, now I'm getting a spark every now and then, usually when I just start the starter or when I just let off. Continuous cranking yields no spark. I swapped the coil and CDI from the good one again tonight, no luck. thanks

Ok thanks, Stator not shorted to ground, fuse is good, (starter works). I tested the ground side of the kill switch but not the hot side, but I don't think the starter turns with the switch off. Also, it's a 1995 model, I don't see where the CDI actually gets any power, I tested my good bike and I don't have 12V anywhere on the CDI with the key on. I'll keep probing.... thanks for the input!!

OK, I swapped the regulators and still no spark, so far I've swapped CDI, spark plug, coil, regulator. I've checked resistance on stator, and pickup. I have lights, starter, etc, it's just an ignition issue, not sure what I'm missing, I'd like to make sure I test everything I can before I start taking side covers off. Thanks!

I disconnected, also checked resistance on the two yellow wires, isn’t that just the charging circuit? I, maybe incorrectly, assumed it could run without it. I’ll swap it with the other one tonight when I get home from work. Thanks.

Hey everyone, I've been scratching my head over this for most of the day. I bought a couple of Bayou 220's, got them running (they've both been sitting), and started tweaking and fixing small things. One of them is mostly done, the other had an aftermarket carb on it and I've been trying to sort that out. Anyway, while adjusting the carb it died a few times, I restarted and moved on until it died and wouldn't restart. I figured maybe I'd flooded it or something - after further attempts I realized I had no spark. Since I have two identical machines I have many parts at my disposal. I've swapped the CDI, spark plug and coil with no luck. I have good resistance readings from the stator and pick up (135 and 110 respectively), I don't have a peak voltage meter but I measure around 53VAC on the stator when cranking. I have a 4 wire stator, not an alternator like the newer ones. Grounds look good, I've checked the kill switch by verifying that it and the ignition switch grounds the black/yellow wire to the CDI. I can turn the engine slowly and see the pickup short the meter as well, seems normal right? So far everything I've checked looks the same on both machines. I've got the service manual and wiring diagrams. Do these readings make any sense? I'm obviously missing something but I'm stumped. thanks!