Bayou 300 carb problems

[shadowdog5]

Hi all, I'm new to the boards but have been following the bayou 300 carb problem thread. I have the same problems as the rest of you with my 88 bayou 2x4 kawa and would like to replace the carb with the TRX. Would anyone have a honda part number for that carb? A friend in another state says he may have what I need but wants a number. Thanks for any help you can supply.
Great board by the way, lots of information here.

[shadowdog5]

Maybe if I state this in a differnt way would be better.
Would someone that has made the change from a Kawa 300 carb to the TRX carb with success please supply a carb part number for the TRX CARB. Thank you, David

[CA-outdoorsman]

Another option is a Mikuni round-slide carb. Thats what I did.

[shadowdog5]

Thank you for your answer. I guess I have to buy one of each to see which one fits properly and works correctly.

[antiqucycle]

This carb switch is getting to be a major hassle. Beware, the Honda TRX carb has two sizes of the nut that holds the ckoke plunger in. I got 92 honda carb which has a large hole, so I buy a 1990 choke cable with plunger and its the size of the kaw bayou, aka smaller hole.
so how am I to know which part number is which? be cautious on the aftermarket kits because they dont show the size, and I suspect they are older aka smaller.

[shadowdog5]

I think I fixed the darn thing. For the fifth time I disassembled the carb and again found nothing apparent so I soaked it in white vinegar for three days. Ended up with a bunch of small brass particles and a tiny, tiny spider. Blew it out with air, reassembled it and it works great, for now.

[antiqucycle]

on the hond trx 300 carbs.
there are carbs with an 11mm threaded hole for the choke plunger, same size hole as the original kaw keihin carb. I think these are 1988 to 1993. I got a newer carb, that has a 12mm threaded hole for the choke plunger.
to get that little plunger nut, Honda Has a LIST PRICE of $43.95. plus the parts diagrams dont tell you which is 11mm or 12mm.

I just got an ebay seller called themotosource to measure an aftermarket replacement. the correct 12mm one is part number AT-07126. only $15.90.
he also sells the 11mm one as part number AT-07125.
Lets hope this setup will work. I will never buy any kaw after the headaches with this bayou and horrendous expense getting parts.

[dallas77]

I would like to know what year model of Honda TRX to get the carb off of I have a 1995 klf300B8?

[antiqucycle]

I think any one from 1988 to about 2000 should work. the kaw carb is a 34 mm, so the honda either 34mm or 36 will fit and clamp on. but be carefull about the size of the choke plunger. the kaws are 11mm, some of the hondas 12mm, some 11mm.

[ripslam]

I have a 99 prairie 300 that needs a carb. will the trx carb work on the prairie also?

[whfh99]

Hi everyone. I just found this forum this morning and have been reading up on the Bayou 300 carb issues. Before I get too deep into my 3 new toys, looking for some 'been there, done that advice' on how to best proceed.

I have a 91 and 95 Bayou 300 4x4 and a 99 Prairie 300. Right now the Prairie seems to run fine. The 91 Bayou started but didn't run very well. I noticed the choke cable was frozen so I've pulled the carb and will replace the cable.

The 1995 has bad fuel in it and wouldn't run. Simply changing the fuel with fresh didn't do it either. (never that easy huh?) I'm about to pull the carb on this one and clean it up.

Question #1: Knowing all the problems with these carbs and the fact that I have a 14 year old carb that is gummed up, should I try to clean/fix it or just buy a Honda 300 carb and be done with it? If so, what model/year/number should I look for for the easiest install with the least amount of modifications? Can I use the Kawasaki choke and thumb throttle?

Question #2: BTW, a little off topic but what flavor/weight oil would someone recommend? I don't have to have the best oil but something mid-range would be sufficient with me.

UPDATE: Just cleaned the carb, top to bottom on the 95, put it back together and it it fires and may idle for a few seconds with choke on full but the moment you hit the gas or back off the choke, it dies. I got the carb clean so like many others before me, an starting to get a little frustrated. I expect the 91 to offer similar problems, huh?

Thanks again,

Link

[86klf300guy]

UPDATE: Just cleaned the carb, top to bottom on the 95, put it back together and it it fires and may idle for a few seconds with choke on full but the moment you hit the gas or back off the choke, it dies. I got the carb clean so like many others before me, an starting to get a little frustrated. I expect the 91 to offer similar problems, huh?
on this topic have you ?adjusted air fuel mix screw correctly?
and also did you by a aftermarket rebuild kit for this carb?if not you should have.the orings etc wear out and rott.its best to replace orings.needle,jets.air mix screw etc when the machine is this old.things where out after time.

but when you clean the carb did you use air to clean the pilot circuit out after a good over nite soak with seafoam or gunk remover?and did you pull all the jets and air screw out to clean em?

these carbs are finiky but ounce you get it its all good,my bayou is an 86 and still original carb and electronics except the battery of coarse lol.
i just took my carb and had it boiled out by a engine shop and put all new parts in it.and i drain the fuel out of the carb if its goin to set longer for a week and put sea foam in the bowl so it keeps the jets from crudin up etc.-

hope this may help out -corey-

[whfh99]

86klf300guy, thanks for the reply. No, I suppose I didn't do all these things. Spotted lots of rebuilt kits on eBay and think I should try those and the soak n' SeaFoam before trying the Honda carb. What about the vacuum diaphragm slide? It looked fine when I removed it but I can see it's a pricey part if it needs to be replaced. - link

[antiqucycle]

my first guess, is the carb is not tightly clamped to the manifold if you take the choke off and it dies when you crack the throttle. the manifold itself could have an air leak. thats just a possiblility, it could be something else.
my main problems have been the float needle and non replaceable seat. either no gas or overflowing gas. so I went and spent a bunch of money on the Trx carb and getting the choke parts to make it work and guess what, No SPark all of a sudden. I gave up to gather some more patience. it could just be a bad plug, it could be a number of electrical problems. I hope running the new choke cable under the tank, knocked some wire connector apart. I have to pull all the plastic off.

[shadowdog5]

These carbs are a royal pain, took mine apart for the sixth time, soaked it two days, blew out all the circuts, did a close inspection of parts including the vaccum slide and found nothing obviously wrong. Put it back together and it ran perfect, for ten minutes then started the same stuff again, not taking fuel, won't run without choke, backfire, etc.
Getting really frustrated with this thing. It's an 88 with no more than 500 miles on it and it sits in the garage cause of the carb issues that no one can seem to cure without a total replacement, thats sick.

[chevymn75]

did it matter what year honda 300 carburetor you used.

[KLF300_PGH]

I apologize for the long post, but title of my post says it all if you want to cut to the chase and fix your carb problems once and for all - just take my honest advice and purchase the TRX carb everyone is talking about off Ebay from a seller called WINCYCLES. Find it by searching "KLF300 carb" and look for the seller's name in the results, currently posted for $139 as the buy it now I believe - otherwise, if you want the finer details on how it went please read on. I thank everyone who contributed on this thread because it was all great advice by the way.

I believe I originally found the solution to my quad's problems here about a year ago - I was having the same thing I've read a hundred times with fuel pouring out of the overflow line, not running, etc. I picked up these two quads for $400 from a friend who said they ran fine when parked but have sat for years. Got them home and started playing, found the carbs did not like sitting that long. First I tried the Moose rebuild kits and let me tell you, they are junk in my opinion. The bowl gaskets aren't the right size so I wasn't shocked when installing the rest of the components in the kit did not fix matters or at least help them. Upon removing the bowl several times to try to adjust the float level, the gasket grew in size once fuel hit it so it was almost impossible to cram back in after the initial assembly. After a dozen attempts I got tired of smelling gas and threw in the towel.

I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH GREAT THINGS ABOUT WINCYCLES ON EBAY. I'm from PA, they're in FL I believe, and I am in no way affiliated with them so please remember this as you read on.

Sometime this early spring I finally purchased a carb listed similar to the one posted currently on ebay (search KLF300 carb and look for seller wincycles - should see one for something like $139 at a buy it now price). I run my own business and have zero free time as a result so this thing sat for a few months in the box. I think somewhere around a month or two later I installed the carb on the quad and as promised, it fires right up with a few pokes of the primer plunger - no choke cable swap or anything at this point, just the carb swap and no choke as a result. My quad had sat for years before I received it and I'm not going to blame the carb for the issue because I suspect it has others yet to repair, but on my particular quad I sort of have to standby for the first few minutes and gently push the primer every 30-45 seconds to keep the idle from going too low and the quad dying out - did it in 75 degree weather, and again today in 40 degree weather. Anyhow, the short answer is it was a direct swap. The rubber coupler that acts as the intake on the motor is a tight squeeze but you want a good seal so its worth the struggle and so is the air box tube connection but again, it could be because my quad is 23 years old too and simply a tight squeeze - but it does fit as promised.

So, I ran the quad the first time for 15 minutes or so and parked it realizing I have a 23 year old gas tank full of god knows what sloshing around even though I drained it and refilled it before I did anything else on day 1. I then purchased a fuel filter and installed it inline just to be safe, went for a long test ride for a good hour and everything was good. The next time i went to pull the quad out, I did the old "prime it to keep running" as it warmed up and must have hit it a little hard because I busted the boot on the plunger device - I guess its not intended for such use, but it was all i could do to keep it running without a choke on my quad. It was now at least 1-2 months after the purchase, but I contacted WINCYCLES and asked if they sold just the plunger boot explaining what happened. Without asking for anything free, it was shipped to me the next day - the entire plunger part free of charge. What a great company I thought.

New plunger installed, thought I'd be back in business, but the quad refused to run on anything but starting fluid - it was getting fuel so I took it apart to make sure a busted part of the plunger boot didn't find its way into somewhere it shouldn't have but found nothing. Put it together, still wouldn't run on fuel. Frustrated, I walked away again for a good month or two. Finally, over 6 months after I purchased the quad I started to realize I'll need it soon to drag deer up my hill so I contacted WINCYCLES again and told them my problems asking for advice. They told me to ship the carb back and they'd replace it - free of charge. I don't know any business anywhere that will let you buy a carb and exchange it for another one with basically no questions asked 6+ months later, but they listened to my story and trusted me apparently. Perhaps it was upon receiving the carb they realized it was used for possibly an hour and did it for that reason, I don't know their exact policy but I'll just say they were very reasonable in my opinion - I thought I lost $140 because I was too slow to make sure my new purchase worked.

Last night, a good month after receiving the new carb, I installed the new it straight out of the box, not even adjusting the idle. The throttle cable slides right in and I didn't have to modify either unit as they mention possibly having to do on the ebay posting. Hit the plunger once or twice and it fired right up. Again, I have to sort of delicately prime it to keep running with no choke but that could just be my quad showing a weakness in the electrical system or who knows what.

I took it out for a short test ride last night at 10:30 up the road and it passed. This morning I ran it in the woods for a solid hour and it performed flawlessly. I'm happy to say it is perfect and I wish I wouldn't have wasted so much time on the old or delayed installing the new / dealing with the problems of the new. I guess I expected the seller to tell me there was nothing they could do, but even in the world of Ebay where scams and junk are sold daily - they really restored my faith in Ebay shopping and I'd recommend them to everyone here for anything you need.

Sorry for the long post - but for you guys out there fighting similar problems, if you have the means to spend $140 on your quad just go for it and I suggest using WINCYLES.

Thanks for the help everyone
Greg

[KLF300_PGH]

By the way - if anyone wants a box of carb parts that if you'd like I'll put back together before shipping to make sure I still have everything i think I have in those boxes i will, but I have two disassembled OEM KLF300 carbs sitting in my garage right now that I'm basically offering to give away. I have two quads both with the same carb problem and after the fix was made simple on the first one, I'm done playing around on and will eventually but the new carb for my second one.

Please make me a offer for whatever its worth to you via a PM before Monday 11/9/09 and Tuesday I'll get moving to whoever truly needs these if interested. I'm not asking for the highest bidder or trying to make money off these, but instead of tossing them in the trash I'd like to help someone if I can because I realize not everyone has an extra $140 laying around to invest in a new carb these days. Don't be afraid to insult me with a price too low. I'd toss them and almost have several times, but every time I'm ready to I think that there is someone here who may have more time and patience than me and if i can help someone who can't afford a new one like I was fortunate enough to be able to do, I'd rather help you out over trashing them. So, make me an offer, tell me a quick tale as to why you want them / I should send them to you over someone else and I'll make the decision. Remember though, there are no guarantees and no promises they'll fix anything as is because they're off my quads for a reason after all. I don't have time and consider them a lost cause without a good rebuild kit that is more than i wanted to invest in them because it meant more time I didn't have and want to "almost give" them to someone who feels they can get them functioning or at least wants to try. I'll never use them for anything again but if you want them they're cheap, all I need is incentive to dry the soaking carb off, gather up the pieces to do a quick assembly, and put everything in a box before going to the post office to ship them to you - if needed I can photo copy the manual that has the rebuild instruction pages and include it as well. I'm talking worst case being something under $10 to cover shipping, offer me a few dollars to drive the 6 miles to the post office instead of taking 10 paces to the trash can, and if you want throw in a $5 bonus for a shot and a beer if you'd like once you receive them. No money exchanged until you receive the goods, and upon receiving them if you decide you didn't get such a good deal, mail them back to me so i can give them away to someone else or skip me and just offer them back up on here the same way I am - someone out there has the time and patience to breathe life back into these carbs, I simply don't.

Greg

[shadowdog5]

Hi Greg, thanks for that information, seems like a very reasonable price to remedy this problem.
I have one question, you imply that you did not hook up the choke. Does the choke convert or do you have to do some modification to make it work. I'm going to buy one of them if the choke will work.
Thanks for any info you can supply. Dave

[KLF300_PGH]

Dave,

The choke portion is the only thing that stops this from being a direct swap with the carb. A different cable end goes into the Honda carb apparently, I simply plugged the access point to keep dirt out of mine.

I too would like the choke so I don't have to mess around with priming the carb to keep it running for the first two minutes, but other people have said here that they did it without ever missing the choke so it may be my quad. Still, I suspect that in 15 degree weather - I'm going to want a choke, so I sent the seller the same question asking if he knew of a cable that had both ends we'd need or if i have to swap out the choke lever on the bars for another alternative.

If i find anything more I'll keep you posted, maybe someone here knows as well and can help us. I'm sure a custom cable could be made, but I imagine that option costs more than swapping the use of the stock lever for a different one which I'm willing to accept myself to save money.

Greg