mga

On 3/11/2024 at 11:34 PM, Mech said:

Difficulty getting them out of gear if they were in gear when you switched off is quite common, and rocking the bike is the usual procedure.

Most bikes will start in gear if you have the brakes on well enough to make the brake light go. It doesn't actually need the brake light, it just needs the brake light circuit to be energised to bypass the neutral safety feature.

true about rocking the bike. I've had a few times that i could not get it out of gear. bot, being a 24 year old bike, i don't expect it to run like new. These days i just use it to spray the yard, or to save me a long walk down and up the hill out back.

On 11/17/2023 at 11:30 AM, Gwbarm said:

That sounds exactly what mine is doing I remember your post about the hand shifter thought it was a good idea because of this problem.

also, after replacing the boots and lower ball joint, i backed the clutch off a little....that seemed to help. My theory (probably wrong) was that my clutch was still engaging making it hard to get out of that damn reverse...so, i loosened the nut and turned it CC. I might do a little more after i ride it.

maybe your cable isn't run correctly and putting stress on it? i believe it should be a relaxed cable without any sharp bends or curves (?)

by the way, i must have set the valves correctly....i just touch the start button and it fires up instantly.

On 2/8/2024 at 5:30 PM, Mech said:

It might have been a dud thread Mga, but if you think you over tightened it there is a way to learn the right torques, and what they feel like with different length spanners.

If you have a torque wrench you put a socket with a locked up bolt and nut in it on the wrench and mount the torque wrench in a vice, then use a spanner to get the feel of several different torques you might use for bolts that size. Then use some bigger and smaller spanners, with their sized bolts and nuts, to get a feel for various different torques that might be used with those spanners and bolts. An hour or so of testing, and a refresher after a while, and you will get good at estimating what different  torques feel like with the different length spanners.

i have a couple of different torque wrenches....one digital...but, i was too lazy to get it out....lol....my bad.  i should get into the practice of using them again. But, all done!! 

12 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

Thats great, sometimes it just a matter of jumping in there and doing it, sometimes i plan on doing the job longer than it actually takes me to do it,  I try to figure every aspect of what might go wrong, because usually if it can go wrong it will. Glad yours went smoothly.

well.....not exactly smoothly....lol....i found out i stripped the threads on the lower ball joint on the left side....damn thing would not tighten until i realized why. so, ordered a new one and it'll be on this saturday.

these 4 wheelers sure keep you busy.

piece of cake....well, kinda....maybe a messy cake with that black grease....but, they're in!

thanks for the help!!

good information guys.  then i'm going to say mine is a YFM400FM...since it's 4x4 and manual shift.

VIN: 5Y4AH06WXYA008015

So, checking VIN look up sites, one says mine is a YFM400 and another says it's a YFM400FWN

is there a sticker or something that tells me which one i have? I believe its a YFM400F

what's the difference between YFM400FMC or,YFM400FM, or YFM400FHRC?

thanx!!!!!

I just want to clarify that i was doing the timing correct. I wanted to adjust the valves, so, I removed the spark plug, I removed that little black plastic cap on the side, then, i turned the engine counterclockwise until the "T" lined up with the small groove on the threads where that black cap screws in. Then i checked the valve clearances.

So, what is the "F" mark for?

I hope the "T" was the right mark to use.  lol

i'm game....like i said in about two weeks i'll get into it. I'll let you guys know how it went.

thanks again!!!!

i'm going to hate this job......but, what's the worse that can happen?  LOL

On 11/30/2023 at 1:59 PM, Mech said:

Tell us what year and model and I'll check the parts book and see if I can tell what version you have and give some more advice..

2000 Big Bear 400 4x4

so, what you guys are saying the axles should pull out of the front yoke with maybe a little tugging?

The axle is just held in there with that ring clip? My next question is will it go back in ok and how will i know if it went all the way in and locked?

I'll be doing that in about 2 weeks. I have to finish yet another remodeling job for the old lady  I appreciate all the feed back!!!!

I see a pair of them, right and left, on ebay for $98.  should i take the risk and buy them?  It's the axles with the boots, clips, washer and nuts.

On 11/30/2023 at 1:59 PM, Mech said:

If it's enough to get the inner cv out of the diff t

you mean they can just pull out of the front differential? Nothing holds them in there except the wheel hub?

I have to replace all 4, how much is involved?  Will they slide out of the front yoke? Or, do the boots just slide over the wheel end?

this is the one i bought. since it works so good. i'll probable buy the more sturdy one:

https://www.amazon.com/Control-Shifter-Lever-Universal-Motorcycle/dp/B09R979Z8L/ref=sr_1_3?crid=31NQJ5OCRPWSL&keywords=yamaha+hand+shifter&qid=1700919147&sprefix=yamaha+hand+%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-3

17 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

So yours will just go in reverse without turning the switch. I always turn my reverse knob switch but have never tried it without turning it so it may not be doing anything either. Last time i rode it i had trouble with the neutral light not coming on, maybe im just not getting it to neutral, but it will roll like its in neutral, neutral has always been hard to find, pull up too hard and it goes to 1st just pull up gently to find neutral,. I think whatever is happeninng might be related.

no...i have to turn the switch for reverse.  just sometimes if i push it into that position, it's still in reverse (light on) i replaced the foot pedal with an arm, so i just go back and forth and it comes out of reverse. doesn't happen all the time...just once in a while. maybe it needs more spring pressure to release the reverse cable.?  I'm going to play around with it this weekend. ( the foot linkage had a lot of wear/play in it, making it hard to find gears, so i went with the side shifter instead of replacing the foot linkage...my cheap way out lol )

right now, i've been using it to drag logs out of the woods that i cut a couple of years ago. gotta say, that thing has the power to pull them out and some were big logs.

mine does that sometimes. i just kinda rock it a little and get it back in neutral.

but....it also will go into reverse by itself if i accidentally push past neutral into reverse mode, so maybe it's not going out of reverse?  I'm thinking i need to adjust the cable tension looser. (?) 

just out of curiosity, how is the shift linkage on the foot shifter? is it tight or is there any play in it? Mine was always hard to find or shift gears because the linkage from the foot shifter to the shaft was real sloppy. Once i put a hand shifter on it, it shifts perfectly. just my 2 cents worth.

no follow up on this?

it's definitely not slipping. could i have adjusted it too tight? then again, i don't want it slipping either....maybe i should just leave well enough alone.  lol

i gotta say, that side hand shifter is great...man, i love that thing, it shifts so much better now. I think the problem was the foot shifter linkage was just worn too much and had too much play in it.

anyways, back to the clutch adjustment....i noticed when going up a hill, it bogs down unless i keep downshifting...not sure how normal this is. I felt for a 400 it would have a little more balls. It doesn't sound like the clutch is slipping, it just really bogs down. would that be normal for an atv?