Gwbarm

I got all my fluids changed, went and took it for a ride today, first real ride in who knows how long. It did really good ran flawlessly , good throttle response, powerful, no hesitation, thanks to the new Mikuni, shifted through all the gears good went into reverse perfectly, good front brakes, and surprisingly rear brakes still work, just need a little adjustment. The only problem I had was getting it back out of reverse it did not want to come back out easily, also finding neutral, I knew I had it in neutral but the light wasn't coming back on, came back a little later ,turned on the key and the neutral light was on. I may have to do a little shift linkage adjustment, im going to check it and see if it is in spec. Just curious, any of you with Big Bears have this problem or is this normal for an old machine.

I did that on mine it kind of works but their was no place to put the smaller vent lines, you can make something or tape them to it. Had to make an adapter to fit tight and glued it in , hose wasn't big enough to go over the connector It worked I ended up cutting it even with the gas tank mount. OEM for mine was not available and so far I haven't been willing to pay 70.00 for the muddy deteriorated one I found on Ebay.

I have been looking at the manual, this photo might help, it shows the wire routing along the frame but doesnt tell the colors only what they are for, sorry for the poor quality couldn't get it to download the page

Had to look that engine up. I have never worked on one , should be easy to get that one going, looks like a Briggs clone. Those engines are pretty easy to get going. I work on a lot of Briggs and Kholers. Hopefully the replacement carb works. 110cc that about 8 hp, compression is good.

Thanks Mech! I haven't seen too many of those, nice to have the manual.

Well, Deka is a battery name I haven't heard in a long time, they always made quality batteries, been around since the 40s. Wasn't sure they were still in business. Good choice!

Pretty bad illustration, but it does hook to the Airbox under the brace, like the photo shows, and just hangs out with all of the smaller hoses going through the underside grommet to hold them in place, there are several angles that are premade on the OEM one, are you trying to make one that will work , or what are your thoughts.

Just looked at a schematic , but not a very good one, don't know if it was exactly for your bike, but the B/Y and W both go to the ignition switch, and they also run throughout the harness with multiple connection points, it hard to determine exactly where the wires you are talking about are located. I will try to find a service manual with a better diagram.

It sounds like its running really rich have you tried adjusting the carburetor, or changing the air filter, those are the simple first try things.

Thanks Mech I have been collecting for about 25 yrs, back when you could get them cheap, Ebay kind of put a stop to that. The Allen was 6mm as you said, completely stripped, ended up using a chisel and 2 pd hammer and it still fought me but I got it out. I was going to just ignore it since the front was full, or so I thought. Drain plug 21mm This is what I drained out of the rear, it was low. Supposed to be double that. Color wasn't too bad maybe a little milky, the seal on the drain plug was bad. I pulled the plug on the front 10mm hex and got nothing but dribbles of water, then took the top plug completely out and the oil came it was fairly full but very black. Im really glad I went ahead and checked it. I know this is everyday work for a lot of you guys, I mainly post it to to help others who might want to do this this for themselves, and have never done it before.

That does make more sense as to what happened, CDI just couldn't take that much fluctuation of power, I think Mech explained it very well.

They were already there when I got it, this quad was really set up nice in its day, it also has an aftermarket 2w/4w disengage, cable operated made by Warn, and a very nice warn winch, haven't got to those yet to see if they are working, evidently this model didn't have a electronic 2w/4w disengage switch, it been a trip bringing it back but its almost there. Thanks!

I have been wondering how you were coming along with your project, glad you got it fixed. Might check to make sure it is fused correctly, it should not have burned up from unhooking and hooking up the battery. It looks really good! Hadn't seen a red one in a long time. I like it.

You might find a manual at manualslib.com

Finally got it all off. I determined that all the paint strippers I used did not affect this suzuki plastic, very impressed with the quality of this plastic. And none were supposedly safe for plastic. Even the Big Guns aircraft remover did not affect it.

Went out today to check the differential fluid, the front bolt came out, not without a fight, a normal ratchet wouldn't do it, had to get my 24 inch out, the rear one is an Allen or appears to have started out its life as an Allen, it is stripped, appears it might have been worked on with an SAE too small not metric. Im afraid im going to have to chisel it off. Front was 17mm bolt, this appears to have been a 5mm, I got a 6 in there but it wouldn't get it. Im going to try smoother things tomorrow,

I finally got it all off, it was kind of an ordeal, I ended up using a combination of different chemicals, this was not a standard rattle can paint it was on too good, I ended up wiping the surface with lacquer thinner, it would soften the paint a bit, then I brushed on a 2 minute paint stripper thick, thick, let it sit for maybe 10 minutes, when it started to dry out I would spray it with water, that took most of it off the few problem areas that were left I used Rustoleum Aircraft remover with 00 steel wool. After I wet sanded up to 2500 grit, and finished up with 0000 steel wool, very smooth, now ready for polish.

Thanks for the tip on the caliper never had one leak there like you said, but I have had them get stuck where you could not move them. Right about the tape it works, but I don't think its a long term solution, I will try the aluminum sheet. I have mostly Vintage Japanese bikes. All of the honda 305s from the 60s, two Kawasakis from the 60s, Samurai 250 and Roadrunner 120, 2 stroke, both Yamaha Big Bears from the 60s, 250 and 305, 2 stroke. I do have a triumph Trident 1973, my favorite year, Suzuki RE5 Rotary from 1976. Oh and 2 Black Bombers 450. I have been collecting for quite a few years and my plan was to restore all these when I retire, I got a few done, but I forgot to calculate into the equation, was the energy level decline as you get older.

If the throttle lever is not moving your cable is either stuck, or the butterfly valve is stuck at the carburetor.

I checked the schematic also and came up with the same conclusion as Mech , switch or fuse. You might double check just to make sure you are getting power to the switch

I just wanted to share this bit of information, about a year ago I bought a Milwaukee cordless cutoff tool, they had been out for a while and I always looked at it and just kind of ignored it, wasn't sure how it would work and what I really needed it for. Since I have had it its one of my favorite tools. I use it for everything. I used it fabricating my Granite countertop, it won't cut sheets of granite, but it perfect for doing little touch up areas, small cutouts etc. that you can't get to with a grinder. I have used it for cutting aluminum shed roofing it does a perfect job on that, no jagged edges like you get from tin snips. It's perfect light easy to handle and powerful. I work on a lot of vintage bikes and its perfect for cutting 40 year old rusted bolts, small, light, get in tight places etc. Im sure a lot of you guys already use one , I just wanted to share my experience with it.

The one I ordered was $55.00 it was 18 amp hr 270CCA 6 inches tall 6.8 inches long 3.4inches wide, it was shipped sealed ready to use no acid to add. Yusa is an old brand, they have been the standard in Japanese motorcycles since the 60s, im sure it's probably better than the one I bought. I didn't think about Yusa when I was looking, I would have probably bought one. I just was going to try something different, I don't have good luck with Wal Mart and Sams batteries, they last about 2 years.

Yusa are definitely top of the line battery.

That's a hard call, the Hondas of that era are pretty much bullet proof, but the 650 is newer probably less hrs on the engine, and I think can am is a good machine. You will definitely have more power and speed with the 650. Same price I would go with the 650 because in 14 years the ATV systems have improved. Another thing to think about is the 650 auto or manual, if its auto and the honda is manual do you want to shift or not.

I did notice on the 420 video the nuts were 27 wasn't really sure if yours were the same since you measured. Thought the video might help it was a descent video. I will take a look at wiring diagram and get back to you, does the starter work when you press the button.