Sounds like possibly a decompression release failure. My 2011 sportsman 500 failed last week and blew through the cam cover on the output side of the engine. Mine was showing symptoms of a bad starter or solinoid leading up to this. I would pull the valve cover and cam holder cover and have a look.

 

That's way beyond my skill set and tool box unfortunately, was hoping to hear better news than that, ugh....

 

I did notice that while trying to start the quad with the key,I can pull out the cord slowly, not sure if that makes a difference or not?

 

With the plug out, can you spin the engine over using either the starter or pull start ?

 

I can't account for your pull start being finicky. Just yesterday on my 07 scrambler I changed the starter. It was just clicking and I tried changing it out. The old starter had a bad bearing and it was grinding and I think it ruined the brushes. I got one from an aftermarket company for 40 dollars. I researched changing it and most say you have to take the clutches off to do it. I found a thread where someone said he took the airbox out to do it. So that's what I did. Good luck

 

@tekrsq: I couldn't pull start, the cord still felt stuck, I admittedly didn't try with the starter.

@JohnHenry1978: When I took off the bendix and tried starting, it appeared that the starter was spinning free, but I still couldn't pull start.

 

I'm worried that you have a mechanical failure with your motor in general. I'd make sure the Bendix is disengaged. With pull start side of the engine apart and nothing in interfering see if you can turn that motor over by any means with the plug out. Socket, big screwdriver any thing that works. If u can, maybe take the starter out and see if you can pull it over and check compression. If that works go after the starter/bendix and connections.

 

I'm worried about it too at this point...

So I pulled the bendix all the way out, put a 22mm socket wrench to the flywheel and I was able to move it, it's pretty tough to move, but I was able to make it go either way with some effort.

Trying to crank it over without the bendix in, the starter motor seems to spin freely.

 

So I pulled the bendix all the way out, put a 22mm socket wrench to the flywheel and I was able to move it, it's pretty tough to move, but I was able to make it go either way with some effort.

Is that with the plug out or in ? If it is that hard to turn over with the plug out, you have bigger problems.

 

It's with it out unfortunately...

 

Was it making any new noises before it died? Clicking or wrapping? I worry it it's piston or bearing failure. Maybe you could get lucky and and it's a little seized from being flooded with too much gas. You could try spraying a bunch lubricant into the cylinder and seeing if it frees up some

 

On the last pull start attempt before the pull start locked up it backfired... But no noises of any kind before that while riding it. In it's end state, it was sunny and difficult to see, but it appeared the the engine overheat light was possibly on momentarily as well...

 

I guess it's possible you overheated it and it locked up. If it's that hard to turn without a plug in it, it sounds locked up..regardless of reason. I would pull the engine, and start tearing it down. I found a rebuild kit for ours about 2 yrs ago for about $500 (without a crank).

 

Unfortunately I agree with tekrsq. I hope you get it up and running

 

Thanks guys, what does a rebuild kit consist of?

Admittedly like I said earlier, this is out of my wheelhouse/skillset/whatever you want to call it at the moment, so I'm taking it in to a local dealer when I get back to it this weekend. I will let you know what they find out, hopefully it isn't too painful. I'll start doing some research on a rebuild kit and if it's indeed that, maybe I can find someone to help me do it cheaper than a shop would. Any links you have would be awesome...

 

A rebuild kit usually consists of main bearings, cam bearings, engine seals, all engine gaskets, a piston, piston rings, and wristpin. The crankshaft/ connecting rod, camshaft, and valves are extra if they are needed. It's not hard to dump $1,000 in parts in rebuilding an engine. The good part is that typically you don't need a crank, cam and valve work. HOWEVER, you should have a quality shop look at them, check specs, etc if you don't know what you're looking at. Other than that, it's not hard to rebuild.

Hopefully the dealer will treat you right. Who knows, you might get lucky and it's something stupid and easy to fix. I hope you get it running. These are VERY fun machines.

 

Ok, thanks for the explanation! Any thoughts if it comes to that point on simply buying a top/bottom end or a whole motor if the price is right? I assume like everything else there is a risk, just wondered if ebay or elsewhere was a decent spot to find something like that reliably.

My hope is that this is something stupid and simple and won't cost me a mint, I just want to get back to riding. The Saturday I had it running, I had a blast, what a fun machine to ride, it did everything I wanted it do.

 

I hate to say it, but you really don't know until you tear into it. Top ends are fairly cheap and easy to fix, but you take the risk of still having bad crank or connecting rod bearings after you're done. I've seen used engines on ebay in the $1,000-1500 range, bottom ends in the $300-500 range, etc. For that kind of money, I'd just buy new parts and rebuild mine. BUT, I can do the work, so it's more cost effective for me. If you have to have a shop do it for you, it might not be. I think if you do a little digging, you can probably find some other riders in your area that can help get you running for less than 1/2 what a shop will charge you. Good luck !!!! Tell us what the shop says.

 

Roger that, I will update when I know more... fingers crossed.

 

Just a quick update, got my quad back yesterday... The cam bolt had worked its way out and cause the motor to stop working. The guy in the shop had never seen it before and tehn saw another one the same day as mine on a sportsman with the same engine. Mine just cost me the labor to tear it apart and put it back together and the gaskets... the other guys apparently had warped his piston and destroyed the motor. Looks like I lucked out. I rode it all yesterday and it was great, today I started hitting the issue where it would backfire and then stall out again.... Frustrated as hell with this thing at the moment...

 

Wow. Never seen that either. At least it was a fairly simple fix. Glad to hear it, though. I posted on your other thread about the backfiring. I agree with another poster that mentioned replace the battery and check the charging system. They don't run well with low voltage. Good luck !!!