BlueJay

It is a rubber material and very flexible. About 3/16”. I wanted something thicker but the thicker mat that was in the store already was cracked as it was rolled up and would probably rip easily on the trail. I haven’t trail tested this hard yet so I will see how it holds up and report back after deer season starts in August.

How did you secure it to the rack? I picked one up today at HD and it seems to be pretty sturdy for the price. Thanks.

Yeah, that’s a silencer I made from an 8” piece of iron pipe. I threaded the inside of ten exhaust opening and it just screws in. Here are a couple more pics of the flares.

My old flares were crumbling and I didn’t want to pay the high price of new ones so I made my own from a Home Depot floor mat. It was $25 so if it doesn’t hold up no big loss. I may opt for some thicker material if I can find it. Overall I was pleased with the result for my hunting rig.

I had some an old Coke crate lying around the shop that I attached to mine for hunting season. If I can find another I am going to attach it to the front.

When I pulled the cover back in the Summer when I got the bike, the clutch looked good. It only had ~2400 hours on it. I think the PO boogered up the screw trying to adjust it incorrectly.

Getting closer. I adjusted the clutch for the third time and the slot on the screw is pretty galled up (thanks to the PO). I noticed today that when stopped in 1st gear it is trying to continue to move slightly. I followed the directions in the FSM but is there a little more in one direction or the other to alleviate the load on the clutch? The FSM says to move the screw 1/4 clockwise after resistance is felt CCW. Since the screw head is galled up it might be moving too far back when tightening the nut. Is there a particular direction that would “calibrate” it better? Also, how hard is it to replace the screw on the clutch adjuster? I should have looked at it closer when I had the cover off doing the ESP maintenance a while back. After deer season ends I plan on pulling the front case and redoing the ESP again. Thanks.

That’s exactly what I was thinking. I use mine for hunting and if I get into that much water I will have other issues to deal with. Thanks.

Since obtaining this 2000 Rancher I have been trying to put everything back into its original place. The question I have is what is the purpose of the hose going from the gas cap to hole in the steering assembly? The original hose on the bike was rotted so I replaced it but every time I look down it has pulled out from the cap so it doesn’t seem to make any difference. Can I just cap it off or does it have something to do with back pressure in the gas tank? Thanks.

I had already adjusted the clutch but since it is kinda like adjusting valves I will try to do it again. It is 2000 TRX350TE.

I have had an infrequent problem of not being able to shift back into neutral after a hard stop such as “bumping it home” in the trailer (not slamming) or braking hard to a stop. It doesn’t do it all the time and most times I can rock it or shift back up and the down and get it back into N. It shifts up & down fine while moving. Back during the summer I followed the ESM maintenance tutorial posted here and the only thing I did not do was take the shift motor apart and service the brushes. With a month left in deer season I don’t want to take it apart if I can help it but I was wondering what might be the culprit. Shift motor? Sensor? Love this forum BTW!

I have enjoyed the creative responses to my original question. I’m thinking a lagbolt drilled through the rims and screwed to the trailer bed should suffice. Seriously, I was more worried about the electronic shift mechanism taking all the stress from movement if it was in gear. I have been strapping the tires down to d-rings on the trailer bed while in neutral and I think that is good enough since I only transport about 10 miles to the hunting site. If I go any further then that it will definitely be lagbolts even though the original (2000) Honda owners manual says to use the frame. I just don’t trust that.

It’s amazing how much smarter people were back then that could figure out all that “engineering”. They were proportionally much smarter back then than someone today who just puts in electronics uses computers to do the same thing. Especially the guy (that lived) who figured out that you could squeeze gas inside a cylinder & ignite it to make power! Common sense is now a superpower.

This might be a crazy question but when you trailer your bikes do you leave it in neutral with the brake down or put it in gear? I am new to the electronic shift and it seems if I leave it in gear it is tricky to get it in back in neutral to start it. I always strap it down securely on the four corners regardless but I was just curious as to the best practice in regards to neutral versus in gear. Thanks.

One of the things I have done with mowers and now my ATV is to always disconnect the ground cable in between use's to eliminate parasitic drain. Up until Interstate Batteries went to crap the last couple of years I would have batteries last 5 years or more which is good for a mower battery.