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I was thinking it was probably supposed to be attached to the housing. It looks basically the same as that diagram. I'll probably cut a slot with the Dremel and see if a screwdriver can hold it enough to unscrew it, then cut it right off if it doesn't. I want to at least get the cover back on for safety if I can't fix it. Long term, if the quad runs OK, I'll buy a new housing anyway because this one has a hole in the top where dirt gets in.

Update on my progress... I had a play with the rope rewinder unit the other night. Still not sure how it comes apart, and is not mentioned in the service manual (not in the one posted above anyway). The nut on the centre spins freely, so I can't undo that. There's some sort of spring clip thing under the plastic that I pulled out, but that didn't release anything (it was already loose - not even sure what it's for). If anyone has any tips or guidance or anything for this part.... Next up was some fiddling with the electrical side. I hooked a dead (sitting at 5V out of 12) old lead acid battery up just to try and chase out voltages on the indicator lights and such. Quickly discovered the voltage was dropping off fast, even with everything turned off. Managed to trace that to the voltage regulator. That has been my mystery resistance the whole time... Unplugged it, and I now have an open circuit with everything switched off, and if press the engine start button, I get a resistance again (the coil in the relay, I assume). With limited access to any 12V batteries, I grabbed one of my 3S RC packs... just to see if the neutral/reverse indicators would light. Nope. For shots and goggles, I pressed the start button very briefly... And we have starter... Or at least the relay clicks. I didn't want to kill the battery so it was an extremely short press. And right now I've just solved the mystery of the indicator lights... They're both blown bulbs. Doh! This whole time I've assumed it's something worse, but it's just bulbs. Dang it. Oh, well... I already had down to replace those with LEDs at some stage anyway.

Well it's been a few weeks... It's been flooding on and off here since I last posted, so didn't get much time for side projects. Weekend before last I took a trailer out to where the bike was sitting, loaded it up, and brought it to town to work on in my garage. Much nicer than under a tree at someone else's house with only the tools I thought to grab and take with me. Since getting it home, I've spent some time trying to check the wiring... Discovered what looks like some DIY wiring repairs. Lots of crimp on generic single wire connectors.... Including a batch that are jammed into one of the factory connectors. Also found theres a busted wire on the key switch - the switch is fine, but one wire doesn't conduct. It's on the kill side not the run side, so I'm not that worried just yet. And tonight I removed the stuck screws on the rope starter cover and got that off. Lots of dirt inside, which I've scraped out. But the spring seems to have completely let go. Not sure how or even if that piece comes apart. Leaving it off for now, but definitely want to try and repair it for the inevitable flat battery while stopped at the far side of the farm. Planning to hook up a random 12v battery next and check through the wiring around the neutral and reverse switches and indicators. I feel like having those known working is going to be a big help in testing the starter circuit.

Probably.... But for now, just not having to walk a kilometre or so with all the fence posts and tools will make me very happy. 🤣

Yeah. I'm in Australia.

Has the manuals is what got me here 🤣 I'm in the same boat of having lots of small projects I just can't get done because bigger/more important stuff gets in the way. Or lately just bad weather holding up every single outdoor project on my list.

I don't do motorbike riding on trails, but I always use an app when I go walking or ride a pedal power bike... Mainly for tracking my exercise more than where I went, but it's definitely been handy a few times for both getting an idea of where I'd been, and for getting unlost more than once. Motorbike riding for me will be work related not for fun (once I get one running). Might still use something to get an idea of how far we run around though. Could be interesting to calculate fuel consumption compared to a car doing the same job I guess.

I'm not exactly young... I'm older than the bike 🤣 The plan for it is mostly to do with weed control, fence maintenance and eventually stock movement. We may still buy a newer one aswell, but I want to get this one going anyway. Unfortunately I've had no chance to look at it any further because it's been so wet here lately. Can't even drive down the driveway at the place it's at, and we had to make a rush trip to a different property the other day to feed chickens before the road got cut off from flooding.

The photo is just the thumb lever full of ants.... I'm not that worried about that part at this stage. I cleaned the ants out and sprayed the inside of the lever with plenty of WD40, so hopefully by the time I get to look at it next it'll have come free. They did have it covered with a tarp for most of the 25 years, so it's not too bad.

A few weeks ago, I foolishly asked my girlfriend about a quad that's been sitting under a tree at her parents' place for 25 years... This thread will be a sort of log of my attempt to resurrect it. I'm actually a computer guy, not a mechanic, so this will be quite conical for some of you, I'm fairly sure 🤣 So far I've found out it's likely a 200. Not sure what year yet... The frame has a serial of 53J-001343 (I think). Engine appears to have the same number. We inflated the tyres on Saturday, which were still up today, so that seems a win. This also confirmed that the wheels do turn, as it rolled back into its 25 year old indentations as the 4th tyre started coming up. Oil looks used but otherwise OK. I'll change it if I actually get it running, but looks good enough for attempting to start it up again. Fuel tank had.... something in it. It smelt more like old stagnant water than fuel of any sort. Drained that out and flushed some clean fuel through to be sure. Fuel tap was jammed in the off position. WD40 and some force got it free. Did that after the fuel hose was off, so hopefully the carb isn't full of whatever it was in the ttank. Engine turns fairly easily with the rope start. Made typical exhaust puffing sounds. Unfortunately the rope mechanism was not fully rewinding, so I was limited to about half its length... And today it jammed fully pulled out. I attempted to remove the rusty screws, but one stripped it's head out. So for now the rope rewind is jammed. Spark plug connector seems possibly burnt inside. Black crap on both the plug and up in the connector, and the connector doesn't seem to actually stay on. Throttle lever is stuck fast. See photo for possible reason... Cable also feels jammed. I assume the throttle itself is jammed. That'll be fun given my skill level. Electrical stuff all seems dead. No headlights. No starter. No indicator lights. Could be a fuse. Could be bad connection. Not something I'm too worried about at this point. Front brake handle works. Parking brake clip thing was bent out of shape, but that's now fixed and working. Front brake only works on one wheel. Other one seemed rusted in place (off). WD40 and hammer got it free, although still stiff. Cable might be broken as it doesn't move at all when the handle is pulled. Rear foot brake works but needs adjusting. Other handlebar lever doesn't budge. Not sure if that's a clutch lever or rear brake... If this is the 200 version, I gather it's got a centrifugal clutch so it would be a brake lever... But I'm not yet sure exactly which model I'm working with. And the cables all disappear under the plastics and fuel tank and I didn't bother trying to trace where it goes yet. Thats probably about it for this post.

Well I'm obviously new to the forums. And I'm also new to quads. And new to doing pretty much anything mechanical.... And I'm embarking on a project to attempt to get an old Yamaha Moto 4 going again.