I had my new Kodiak 450 on the trail this weekend. While out on the trail I dropped into a water hole that was deeper than I had anticipated and sunk the machine up to top of the tires. I was able to get out of the hole without killing the machine but shortly afterwards I lost the ability to move forward or backwards. With some help, we tipped the machine on end to drain the water and pulled the v-belt case plug to drain the case, let it dry for a bit and limped it back home. It's now a day later and I'm still not able to drive over 15 mph without the motor revving like it's stuck in low gear. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :frown2:
Kodiak 450 won't shift
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It doesn't feel like the chug of a belt slip. I'm getting the high rev of it not shifting gears.
What should I be looking for?
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Look for contamination or debris on the belt and sheaves. From a stand still the belt should be way down on the primary sheave and be sitting high on the secondary sheave . The sheave and belt need to be clean to operate properly.
With the CVT cover off you can Rev the bike in neutral and observe the CVT shifting threw out its ratio changes. I strongly suggest you keep the supportive cage properly secured over the primary sheave when doing this test.
With the CVT cover off you can Rev the bike in neutral and observe the CVT shifting threw out its ratio changes. I strongly suggest you keep the supportive cage properly secured over the primary sheave when doing this test.
Since my machine is still under warranty, would I be better off letting the dealer deal with the issue? Or is this a pretty common issue when you get into deeper water?
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1,087 Posts
Never swamped my CVT but have seen others do it. They simply drain it and drove on without issues like your describing. (Even without issues a CVT that has been flooded should be serviced)
I've also never owned a new machine, much less ever had a warranty so I can't comment on what is best for you.
You can try to have them cover it but don't expect them to pay for it. Warranty usually doesn't include self inflected problems.
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349 Posts
Sounds like things are clogged up with sand and mud.
Pull the sheave off and completely clean it out and clean the belt with warm soapy water and replace if req'd, and then re-grease the sheave and weights with both proper Yamaha greases (don't skimp on this!), and do the same thing to the secondary side as well, but with the secondary you'll only use the black stuff.
Use red locktite on the two main nuts.
Having air and a $10 tiny torque wrench from Harbor Freight will help.
Pull the sheave off and completely clean it out and clean the belt with warm soapy water and replace if req'd, and then re-grease the sheave and weights with both proper Yamaha greases (don't skimp on this!), and do the same thing to the secondary side as well, but with the secondary you'll only use the black stuff.
Use red locktite on the two main nuts.
Having air and a $10 tiny torque wrench from Harbor Freight will help.
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1,087 Posts
All excellent advice. But red locktight is never required . With a proper nut torquing, no locktight is needed. Blue locktight is more then enough for someone looking for the extra insurance.
UPDATE - I brought the Kodiak 450 to the dealer for first service and diagnostics on the shifting. As it turns out, the primary clutch was packed with dried mud and dirt, essentially turning it into concrete and preventing the clutch from operating correctly. Fortunately there was no damage to the clutch or belt (got lucky there). The dealer cleaned, adjusted and lubricated everything for $90. Not a warranty item but not terribly expensive to fix. Moving forward, they suggested a dry high-speed run after mudding to fully engage the clutch and force the mud out.
The mechanic noted that he had never seen a clutch so packed with mud on a machine that only had 9 hours on it. I'm glad I could be a good example of what not to do with your brand new wheeler 
In my defense, I didn't buy it so it could look pretty in the garage.
In my defense, I didn't buy it so it could look pretty in the garage.
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