Best cold starting atv

[DRH1175]

I am looking at buying a new atv. Looking at a honda 450 es or 450 kodiak from yammaha. I was told honda's were the best starters, best cause of heated carb and beltless operation. I will be using mostly for ice fishing so cold starting is a must. Along with some hunting. I like the locking diff on the yamaha for deep snow and pulling but was told to stay away from dealer cause of belts. What do you all who have these think?

[ironranger420]

I know from experience that the Yamaha's (500cc and under)start great in the cold. My 2002 Yamaha 400 Big Bear has a heated carb which definetly helps. Opening deer season this year was very cold and my machine started with one press of the starter. My brother has the 02 660 Grizzly and his is very hard starting in the cold. But his 660 didn't come with the carb heater, go figure. That locking diff is awesome. The 450 Kodiak is my next machine. Honda's are great macines too, I've never heard anthing bad about them. I myself am a Yamaha man, and wouldn't drive anything else, but that's just my stubborness.

[mnrstrider]

My Polaris Expedition 425 starts perfect in winter, I think a utility machine that come with a pull cord, is a good bet to have just in case.

[sledhead]

I would have to side with Ironranger, I don't ride anything but yamaha ATV's, The 450 kodiak would be my choice. Yes you have to warm the belt a little, but you do on a sled to. The locking differtial is a great feature but do not use it on tar for it is hard on the drive train.

Ironranger Got to admit though the 660 grizzly starts way easier than the 600 griz.

Ride safe, wear a helmut, Stupid hurts.

If you got to have them serviced, wash them first.

[Fisher Dave]

DRH .. look closely to the forum and read about all the comments on hard starting honda's(cold). Dont get me wrong, I grew up with Honda's .. and I wont bad mouth them too much.. but there not friendly in the cold.

The 450 Kodiak is a great machine .. it may cost more than many others in its class, but its worth more than the difference in price. The differential lock is worth its weight in gold.

How do I know? I own a 03' 450 Kodiak.

BTW .. the Kodiak fires immediately and keeps running in the cold weather(even below zero).

[Dave]

I've seen hard starters in every brand of ATV.

[sledhead]

Yeah, i've seen more than my share of problems with the trx450. They don't like dirt!!

[Guest]

the 650 ac has an electric fuel pump and the 500's have an auto choke both start well in the cold. If you wait until next year AC is going to be offering Fuel injection on some of their rides. If you cant wait Polaris has FI on one of their machines. FI is the way to go for cold starting. I have a honda and have had problems with it starting in real cold -25 below. But if you prime the carbs first with the button it starts well. also AC has the primer button on the carb.

[sledhead]

Forget about gettinga 700 polaris, they can't even fix the coolant leaking problems right why would you put out another machine with something new on it when you can't even fix an exsisting problem with it. By the way where did Polaris steal the EFI from this time?

Direct from a POLARIS TECH and I quote "Polaris really does not worry about engine noises, as all engines make noise."

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ride safe, wear a helmut, stupid hurts

If you get'em serviced, wash'em first.

[Guest]

my .02
bought my honda 300trx 4x4 new in 1993. and yes it has gotten a work out, plowing 150'
long driveway, backfilling trenches, kids,ice fishing, etc. etc. etc. , 12/22/03 had my f250 4x4 stuck at the graves lake landing (itasca co) about a 8% grade for 60'with bad tires and a 14' trailer loaded
with a sle skidoo & the wheeler, yes what a mess but unloaded the wheeler (had chains on rear wheels ) and hooked up to the truck, nephew running the wheeler, me in the truck and made it out . was drowneding a minnow tonight alone, got ready to leave (7pm burrrrrrrr) battery was to cold to turn over fast enough (only thing i have had to do or replace 2yrs ago) 1 mile walk to truck into the wind and lots of clear ice NO WAY so did a makeshift wind block with the fishtrap and put the sunflower heater to it trying to warm up the battery, helped some but would not spin fast enough, so hit the primer and set the decompression lever and was able to kick&kick&kick&kick and finally it started (Thank You LORD Thank You) oh and all this for one eye. so there you have it i'm happy with my honda but ?? some of my ventures

[IceHawk]

I have a polaris 400 sportsman and it has started most times. I have run into situations when the battery gets so cold it wont turn over with the electric start. You may want to consider a machine with a backup recoil rope. I have had to use this as a alternate way of starting in certain situations. Like someone said I dont know if any machine is totaly start-worthy when its extremely cold out.

[Kodiak]

2004 kodiak 450 and starts everytime in the cold. plus it has a killer suspension way better than the hondas, and more power and lockers to boot.

[spearchucker]

I have a friend with a 450ES honda and it is pretty cold blooded, but is a great machine once it is running. I have a Sportsman 400 and it starts very well.

As the initial post stated that a belt machine would be hard to start, I don't don't know what a transmission would have to do with starting?

[BT3]

I bought a 04' sportsman 400 this year and and was running the 89 octane gas in it to start with and it was hard starting. Now i treat each tank with seafoam and run the 92 octane and it starts up everytime even in the cold week we just had.

[spearchucker]

In theory higher octane gas is harder starting becasue it burns slower. Mine runs fine on either, but I tend to use premium here because it doesn't contain ethanol. I don't have a problem using ethanol if I am going to use the tank up right away, but I have had problems with ethanol gas not lasting more than a month or two.
The seafoam works great as a cleaner and stabilizer.

[Swamp Scooter]

I have the Kaw 650 V-twin. it starts fine in all sorts of weather and I do let it warm up as it is going to have to last for while. Deer opener at -12 haed no trouble starting. This one also has the manual pull start if anything goes wrong. Never used that yet but nice to know it is there. mine states to only use premium gas and I have not had a problem yet.

[Raven]

Have a 96 Honda Foreman. There is a push button primer up under the left side of the seat. Give it 2 or 3 pushes and that cold blooded thing will fire off quick. Just have to let it warm up good before heading out. Had to turn it over a long time to start before a mechanic showed me where to find the primer

[ice banger]

dont go with the honda es if your gonna get the formann go with the honda s....i have one its a 2001 and my buddy has 2003es it will not move when the batt is not charged all the way unless you buy the shifter....the hondas do start in cold weather better than some...but trail riding on the formann is a challange look around i know that the griz is a hell of a ride.....ice banger out

[Fisher Dave]

Well guys .. I think I just set the record.

My machine hasnt been run in more than a week and it just started this morning at -36 degrees(actual temp).

Is it spring yet??? I have had about all the winter I can handle.

[bklimek]

Just bought a '03 Honda Rubi. I was [PoorWordUsage]ed because the **** thing wouldn't start for me in the cold. Talked to the dealer and told me of the primer underneath the set. Never had a problem since. Started in sub zero temps with no problem. Push it 2-3 times and it will fire right up. Just like any other vehicle you should give it a chance to warm up.

Butch

[bubbaNcolo]

I'm new to the list and own a Kaw 400 Prairie and a 360 Praire. By far the most reliable and better starting in cold weather is the 400. I had her out in -15 degrees all night here in Colorado on a hunting trip and it started right up. Not even a hesitation. Idled with choke for about a min and then turned off choke and set idle speed up just a hair.
Now the 360, wow what a cold hearted son of a black hearted jackle. The 360 wouldn't start until I cranked her over for about 10 min in short bursts to keep from frying the battery. In fact I had to hold the starter button on when she was sputtering along. Finally she would run. I had this problem with the 360 last winter also in 15+ degrees. Again she started at home but when I got it up in the mountains to ride it was very hard to start.
Had some trouble with the belt (noisy) when I first bought the 360 but after several trips to dealer and finally a new belt design from Kaw ( which the Kaw factory won't confirm but the dealer admitted to ) no more problems with the belt! Dealer drilled out he choke jet and I'm waiting for real cold weather to test it out. Seems to need less choke now in our average cold temps, but really need to test her in 20 degrees or below. I should go back to running Premium gas as well.

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[BT3]

My 04' 400 Sportsman fired right up this morning after sitting for a few days and the temp was -29.

[coolbreeze]

I gotta go along with ice banger on the honda info . I've got the 2000 foreman es450 and at least his is a good starter in the cold, mine isn't.But I still like it tho.

[vaneeck]

i've got a new 330 magnum polaris and it starts well, but you really have to let it idle before it will take off well. Anyone ever do any other tweaking to improve the cold weather running(other than gas)? I know the manual has a section on using different jets for cold weather.

Greg

[bubbaNcolo]

My dealer drilled out the choke jet to give it more gas when I'm using the choke. Down side may be this summer since the jet isn't replaceable. Hopefully it will not be too rich. Also he gave me a richer idle jet.
I went up this weekend in 20 degrees and she fired right up and ran very well in cold weather. We will have to see how it fairs this summer.

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