Coyote251

Yup that's the same as mine. I played around with it last night and determined that it really doesn't matter what the orientation of it is. The dial in the TPS only moves one direction, so resistance only moves in one direction. I've got it back in the bike now and it was all within the spec (was sitting at 4.96 Kohms after I locked it down) and was working properly when the throttle was depressed. I mounted it in the facing up orientation so it was easier to access the pins if I ever need to check it again in the future. Replaced the break-off bolts with allen heads as well. Thanks for the picture, much appreciated.

Thanks Retro for the explanation on how the decompression works. Makes a bit more sense to me now, the higher compression then is only be caused by the bike sucking in a larger volume of air when the throttle is open. Where as it has a smaller volume of air to compress when the throttle is closed. Good to know that it is centrifugal as well, eases my mind that it is not stuck open or something. I adjusted the valves on the first night, It was ticking like a clock. They were off quite a bit but are now set at 0.15. The exhaust valve tappet cover was all chewed up by a pipe wrench or vice grips though and broke coming off. I am waiting on a new one to get here now so I can take the bike out for a drive now that the carburetor is all rebuilt and back in the bike.

I am in the process of rebuilding the carburetor on my bike. I've only had the bike since Sunday and I am sure that someone has had it apart before and from what I am seeing probably had no clue what they were doing. While dismantling the carb so I could put it in the ultrasonic cleaner I noticed that the TPS is mounted 180° to the way that it is shown in the picture of the manual. The picture in the manual shows the connector of the TPS pointing upwards towards the vacuum side of the carburetor, mine was installed pointing down towards the bowl. I can't decide if this would make any difference as long as the resistance was changing as the throttle moved. If there is anyone with an 05 TRX500FE can you have a look at your carb and see which way the TPS is mounted on your bike?

Yup that's my plan right now. I only picked the bike up on Sunday and drove it for maybe an hour. I knew it wasn't working right after that so it went into the shop and started coming apart. So, no I haven't been able to monitor the oil level yet. That was my thought as well after I got into the carb. The shape that the carburetor was in could be causing the smoking and that could explain the high compression if it was causing excessive carbon buildup. If the carb is the problem, then some premium gas and a can of Seafoam should help clear it up. I'm hoping to start putting the carb back together tonight. I also just realized the tappet cover that I am waiting for, for the valve cover is the same part number as the gear oil plug on the rear diff of my son's Recon, so once its back together I'll be able to test drive it and should know pretty quickly if the problems are fixed. I'll update once a get a little farther along. I still think its very strange that the compression is tested with the throttle wide open and only expected to be 64psi. I would think that the decompression should be disengaged at wide open throttle. I'm going to look into how that all works when I have a bit of time.

Hi all, first post here on the forum, might be a bit long. I just picked up a TRX500FE and am going through resolving some issues from the previous 2 owners. I unfortunately didn't take it for a drive before I bought it as there was no place to go. It started fine, is in great shape, has 6000kms on it and it's a Honda so I figured its got to be good and bought it. Got it home and went for a drive with my son. Well he is driving a 01 250 Recon and I couldn't even keep up with him, the best I could get was 30km/h out of it. I am suspecting old gas and am in the process of rebuilding the carburetor at the moment. It was smoking a bit though, so I thought that maybe the rings were going and that I would need to do a top end. First step to confirm was to test compression, this is were things seem a little strange to me. Without reading the manual, I put the gauge on and start the bike, get a reading of 64psi. This seems very low to me so I go inside to look at the manual. Go back outside after finding out the proper procedure, repeat the test with the throttle wide open and I get 125psi. The manual says compression should be 64psi, which is what it was without following the procedure. So here's my confusion.... This lower compression reading than what I am used to seeing is caused by the "decompression" system on the bike. Decompression is used to reduce the starting torque required for the motor, but who would start there bike at WOT? I would expect that at WOT decompression would be off, and I would want all the compression I could get. Am I wrong in thinking that there is a mistake in the manual and that the compression reading is normal at 64psi without the throttle depressed? My main concern is that if I am running double the compression then there is excessive carbon build up and may need to take the top-end apart anyways. If my thinking is correct and the compression is fine, then finish the carb and I am off to the races (well once the tappet cap for the valve adjustment hole arrives that broke coming off when I was setting the valves) . I will probably dump a can of Seafoam and a tank of premium through it anyways just to try and clean it up. Thanks for any clarification that you can provide.

Hey all, new to this forum. I just picked up a 2005 TRX500FE5, and it seems to have a few minor issues. Looking forward to getting some good advice and suggestions from you guys. I have never owned a Honda before and now I own 2 (my son just picked up a TRX250 Recon). I have mostly owned Suzuki and Kawi quads in the past and like those bikes I'm sure these have there own quirks.