2008 EFI Touring 500 Hand Brake

[bigelf]

Very new to ATV's but I bought one 2 weeks ago and rode it for the first time this past weekend. Because of the regulations for riding on the trails that I am using, I needed to find a 5x Helmet before riding. I found one. Anyway, the first time I went to use the ATV, the hand brake was lifeless, it didn't work. I looked in the manual and it said to look in the clear hole right next to the brake and if it was clear then it needed brake fluid. From what I can tell it needs brake fluid. 1, where do you put the brake fluid and 2, why would this happen if it had never been ridden before? Was it because the hand brake was in a locked position? My other question is that although I was only riding for about 1 hour, I was getting a flashing warning on the odomter, WARNING - HOT ENGINE - CHECK ENGINE (something like that, the words weren't exactly the same) Only 1 hour, why was I getting this message and what would I check when it says to check engine? To give you an idea of the area I was riding in, there was a lot of water and alot of mud.

[GhostRider DJ]

I would go back to the Dealer ASAP. If it said "Check Engine" I'd start will checking my oil & anti-freeze

[duane]

they are known to have an electrical fault with the engine temp.gauge. check electricals b4 any thing else. brake fluid goese in the resevoir that is on the handle bar with the clear window u were looking in. just unscrew the 2 screws and pour in. if its completly empty u may have to bleed the breaks.

[Dirty Dawg Dale]

This falls back on the dealer as they failed to set it up properly. Check your new machine out if it was properly set up it should have 1/2 to 1 hour run time and should have 1 to 2 miles on it. The dealer should have checked all fluids then run the motor enough to break in the camshaft and here the fan kick off and on at least twice. Next they should test drive to make sure all brakes are working and everything is functioning properly. Test all switches for proper operation. They should also check the air pressure and make sure the wheels are aligned. This is most of the stuff that should be checked and only takes about a half an hour. If they do all these things they will never have a new machine come back for lack of service.

[Race-Driven]

2nd that!!! If you just bought this from the dealer it sounds like they didn't properly set up the machine and check it over. The master cylinder should be filled from the factory but either way they should have caught this so I would be calling them immediately and get it back in for proper pre sale set up.

[bigelf]

Dealer took it back and fixed the brakes. As for the overheating he said that although I was only riding for 1 hour, I had managed to cake the radiator in Mud which dried. They cleaned it out and it was fine, any tips as to how to keep the radiator clean when riding and if I can't, how can I clean off the mud when I am out in the boonies?

[Dirty Dawg Dale]

I like blasting mud holes as much as the next guy but keep in mind if the mud is thick and heavy it will clog the radiator. So after blasting through a mud hole then blast through a water hole and send a tidal wave of water in to the radiator to wash it out, and who knows maybe you will soak your buddy in the process.