BlueJay

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.

I wanted to start a thread about general stuff about Honda ATVs that I had wish I had known about. I have gleaned a lot of knowledge from this forum with my foray into the world of ATVs. I have worked on small engines (mowers, go carts, small tractors, etc) most of my life, and maybe it’s the teacher in me (I teach printing technology at a two year tech college), but there are general things that I didn’t realize before I started working on my 2000 “barn find” TRX350ES. Just some general /tips advice from the experienced that I have learned such as: -Don’t use conventional engine oil with a wet clutch - use wet clutch compatible oil only. -Don’t use RTV to seal up engine halves/covers - use Hondabond or Yamabond only. -Always clean out the crossover tubes when redoing the front brakes (that one I just forgot, dangit!). Please add some “aha” thoughts that are unique to Hondas that you wish you had known about or learned along the way that might not be “common knowledge”. Hopefully a good place for newbies like me to get a jump start. Thanks.

I do have some wet clutch oil now. Apparently engine oil has friction modifiers that cause wet clutches to slip. I plan on putting the good stuff in once I am sure I don’t need to pull the front cover again and take it on it’s maiden trail ride. So far I have been just running around the back yard while I have been working on it.

I am new to ATV engines but have been working on mower engines for years. I saw another post on here about oil sources and someone mentioned “wet clutch compatible only”. I have been working on a TRX350 barn find and have drained the oil about four times for various fixings but I think I have it ready to go for the long run. The last fill I put in 10w-40 ND as per the SM weight specs (it said Honda brand) but it was conventional oil. What is the significance of “wet clutch compatible oil”? Thanks.

Hopefully a wrap-up. I finally got it back together and it is shifting again and seems to be smoother than it was before the gear lockup. Besides giving everything a good cleaning and greasing I did not find anything broken. I did un-seize the rusted clutch adjustment and readjusted it so that may have been the problem all along. I need to take it on a prolonged ride to see if it is truly fixed. At least I know what the inside looks like and made a clutch holder for future use.

Too many times I have used the “redneck torque” setting: tighten it in until it lets go, then back it up a half turn.

I couldn’t find any specific torque values for the front crankcase cover in the FSM. Any suggestions? Thanks again.

I went ahead and put the basic parts back together and it is now shifting correctly with the manual shifter. I haven’t put the front case back on yet to try the electronic shift yet. I am still scratching my head about what was actually “fixed”. I took it apart and now it works again - the most frustrating repair is when I don’t know what I did to “fix” it. Should I apply sealant to the front case mating surfaces (as per FSM)? If so, what kind can I get locally rather than order Hondabond, etc.? Thanks.

Okay a status report: I loosened & pulled the change clutch up far enough to remove the gearshift plate and it was in perfect shape. I plan on putting it back together somewhat so I can check again the shifting manually before I pull the engine and check the rest of the shifting components on the back side. Questions I have at this point: 1) Is there a way to retorque the change clutch nut without buying the special “clutch center holder”? Just “burp” the impact wrench and leave it at that? 2) Should the shifting mechanism move easier when using the manual shift? I tried to move the gearshift cam by hand (tapping a wooden dowel) and it didn’t act like it wanted to move. 3) If I do have to pull the main clutch is it reverse threaded? 4) What should I do next? Thanks for all the replies so far, ya’ll have been very helpful. I’ve worked on mower engines most of my life but this ATV stuff is new to me.

That’s what I planned to do first (loosen change clutch) since it looked like it would move up far enough and wasn’t a “wedge fit” like the drive clutch. A couple of YouTube videos showed doing it that way but some of those aren’t exactly reliable. I priced the puller and it seems a bit pricey for something I don’t plan on using more than once. I appreciate the help!

Yeah I removed the pipe and the arms came off easily. The main shift mechanism in the back had some rough spots that I could feel which may indicate broken tabs but the only way to see it is to pull it. I was hoping to not have to mess with pulling the clutches but that looks inevitable. I am hoping a large gear puller will do the trick once I get the tabs “unstaked”. Thanks for the replies.

Any special trick to pulling the gearshift arm without pulling the clutches? There is a pin/shaft on the gear arm that is keeping it from swinging free and pulling free.