Mech

Ok. Yeah heat shielding can make it hard to detect a leak. If there's no pressure build up though then there must be a leak somewhere. If you rev the engine slightly while it's blocked off it may make enough pressure to hear.

If it's only one wheel then it may be a piston sticking or it may be the hose to that wheel. Undo a brake bleeder and see if they free up, if they do, it's not the caliper pistons. If only one side frees up then the other side has a blocked hose going to it's wheel. If they both free up then pump the brakes till they start dragging again then undo the hose up at the master cylinder and see if that also releases them. If undoing the hose there doesn't release the brakes then you have a blocked hose going from the bars to the frame. The hoses can get blocked or get a flap of rubber that only lets fluid go one way. The master cylinder applies hundreds of pounds of pressure and forces fluid through a blockage, but the pistons only rely on the flexing of their rubber seals to push the piston and fluid back once you let the brakes off and it's not strong enough to fully return the pistons if the hose's partially blocked.

I thought they had a soft ride talking to the only two owners I know around here, but they both enthused about the long travel and how it soaked up the bumps, which on their farms would have been cattle ruts on the side of hills, if you know what they are like.. haha.. Pretty damn bumpy.

Yup, check the fuel flow from the tank, then at the drain screw on the carb. If that's ok then take the carb out and strip it entirely, clean it carefully, and it will probably come right. I doubt it is going to be spark, and if it is it's going to be tricky to diagnose. The fuel system is easier to work on, but you have to be thorough and when the carb goes back on you have to know it's right/clean. Otherwise, if you don't know it's all real clean, and been blown through every jet and drilling, you are going to be back to guessing whether it's fuel or electric.. Make certain the fuel system is operating first.

Bargain. You could part it out and make money. I'd check it all over real careful before I spent any money on it though. Lots of little things can cost more than an engine overhaul.. a lot more ! Steering, brakes and suspension, wheel bearings and rust are the killers around here that add up to more than the bike's worth if they have been neglected.

Oh ok. I'll keep that in mind. Perhaps not cussy... more like maaate.

Long travel...

The guys around here that like them, like them because of their suspension and ride.

Gidday Aus. Kiwi here.. Far north.. of NZ.

Fingers crossed...

If you want sporty, don't buy anything with a belt drive. They don't have the wide gear ratio range the manual five speeds have, and the centrifugal clutches are set up for flat land. If you get on a decent slope they struggle to get going. With the manual foot shifts, you can hold the shift lever up or down with your toe, rev the engine, then use the shift lever as a clutch lever to pop you over a log or get moving on a big hill.

Did it build up pressure ? Is it leaking ? An exhaust leak was only one possibility for fumes in the cab. Unless it has a leak that makes a hissing sound when you have a rag blocking the exhaust, it's not likely to leak any amount of fumes under normal driving, not at least, unless the muffler or exhaust is partially blocked.

Overall good condition is what you want. On quads the engines mostly go for years, but the suspension, brakes, wheel bearings and drive shafts get worn out and abused in water and mud, and if you start doing all that stuff up it can cost more than doing an engine up. Frames rust too some times and that can pretty much write the bike off. Advice is free.. If you get a bike Gw and I can probably talk you through repairs. There are service manuals in here for free download.

I don't know much about yamaha, they aren't real popular around here, not because there is anything wrong with them, but because farmers like suzuki on the hills, and honda on the dairy farms and beaches. I think yamaha are pretty good though. Their two wheelers are good. The only jap bike I wouldn't buy would be a kawasaki, based on their two wheelers, which are made far too cheap and disposable. I wouldn't know much about prices over there either, but a warrior sounds like a bit of fun for recreational riding. Gw probably has more experience with yamaha I think..

Yeah, I'd rather buy an original bike that was running bad and needed an overhaul, than buy something with a history of people modifying things and doing bad repairs. It's just a can of worms.

Well this bike, it sounds to me, has been owned by two "tutu" fellahs. Tutu is an indigenous word meaning "play around". I don't think either of them knew what they were doing, but did stuff anyway. Bikes like that can turn into a long run of frustration.

For that matter, the engines are designed to the umpteenth degree, and they are perfectly set up for the bikes design, it's intended use, and it's inherent limitations. People that try to improve on the design, mostly just compromise the machine. I think, that unless you are competent as a mechanic, it might be best to stay away from this bike. Just buy yourself a nice reliable quad, and if you think you need one that goes well, buy a sport quad, not a workhorse, they're too heavy to ever perform like a sport model, their transmissions aren't suited to sport use.

I'd be a bit worried about this " redid the wiring harness". I doubt that's the problem since it has spark, but I'd want to know what he'd done, and why he did that and whether it had actually fixed any problem. He might have made more problems that he cured. These wiring looms, like everything on the bike, are designed to the umpteenth degree. Every tiny detail and aspect of the wiring loom is critical to it's operation and the reliability of the bike.

Has it run since the engine work and the hot cam ? If it has run, when did they discover it wouldn't run, like, did it break down on a ride, or was it turned off and then not start after an hour, or did it get parked at home and then wouldn't start again the next day, or was it parked up for two years and now won't go ? If you want to get it going, you should make sure it has compression, fresh gas, a new sparkplug, and then try starting it. If it doesn't start you pull the spark plug and see whether it's wet or dry, and you go from there..

Haha.. It caught my eye.. It actually looks like I could edit it still.. Lots of sites you only get a short time to edit, like minutes sometimes. Good site this.

Yeah, or just take it off and go for a quick fang.. Well that's what I'd do.

Advice.. Not advise.. haha.

#7 Excellent advise Gw. Get it running and check the gears and as much of the running gear as you can, even if it is up on blocks. You can put a small load on it, and test the brakes and driveshafts at the same time... by applying the brakes. If it has no wheels don't try changing gears at speed, let it stop and then change up. Jury rig a fuel tank if need be.

Ha yeah well five minutes later it started raining.. So that was off. I have just bought a new rope, and I tie on not hold on. I've also just bought(concession to[old] age) two modern rope clamps that work like ratchets up the rope. So much better than my old sliding knots.. haha.

Yeah a blocked exhaust will cause power loss alright.