[kickstart]

I've owned quite a few infernal combustion engines, but this Kawie is by far the weirdest.
So I decided to tear the whole engine down again today, but figured oh what the hell, let's do another leakdown test first. The engines only got 15 minutes of run time on it since the last one, but whatever. Very surprised to see the rear cylinder has 3% leakdown, and the air coming out the intakes is less than half what it was.
The front cylinder has about 2% leakdown, and about 5% as much air coming out the intakes as before.
Now you'd think an engine with that awesome of leakdown would have a little better than mediocre compression wouldn't you? Maybe my compression tester bit the dust?
Anyway, I'm going to go run it on a good long ride and re test. It looks like it just needed to be broken in.

 

[NMKAWIERIDER]

I've owned quite a few infernal combustion engines, but this Kawie is by far the weirdest.
So I decided to tear the whole engine down again today, but figured oh what the hell, let's do another leakdown test first. The engines only got 15 minutes of run time on it since the last one, but whatever. Very surprised to see the rear cylinder has 3% leakdown, and the air coming out the intakes is less than half what it was.
The front cylinder has about 2% leakdown, and about 5% as much air coming out the intakes as before.
Now you'd think an engine with that awesome of leakdown would have a little better than mediocre compression wouldn't you? Maybe my compression tester bit the dust?
Anyway, I'm going to go run it on a good long ride and re test. It looks like it just needed to be broken in.

Yeah..let those valves and seats beat on each other a bit. Knock down the high spots...lol. Give it at least 50 miles. You know that lash will deplete as they fit better together so keep an eye on them. Might go to the high end of the range while this is going on. Yeah, I think your compression tester may be...tired. Maybe it's leaking!

 

[kickstart]

Three rides and 200 miles later....

The new Die Hard battery I just bought is junk. It won't start the engine unless it's 40 degrees or warmer. I've had to use the pullstart if it was colder than that, even if the engine was hot.

So....

Excellent leak downs, dismal compression tests....

Yeah, I think I know what's going on now.

 

[dman66]

Three rides and 200 miles later....

The new Die Hard battery I just bought is junk. It won't start the engine unless it's 40 degrees or warmer. I've had to use the pullstart if it was colder than that, even if the engine was hot.

So....

Excellent leak downs, dismal compresion tests....

Yeah, I think I know what's going on now.

My Deka ETX14 AGM battery struggles when it is 20 and below temps. Even with a battery tender.
Once the engine warms up, then all is good.

 

[rubiranch]

dismal compresion tests....

So how is it running?? Good? Bad? How's the power??



This is the battery that I have in mine right now. I installed it in June 2019.



I replaced this battery that was only one year old when I replaced my stator for the second time.
ONLY BUY A FACTORY KAWASAKI STATOR!
I had run the battery dead a few times so I didn't trust it and wanted a new battery to go with the new stator.

Checking old pictures I think the coldest temp my ATV sat in over night was mid 20s and it fired right up.
It sits inside a heated garage every night unless I'm out camping somewhere.

 

[kickstart]

My Deka ETX14 AGM battery struggles when it is 20 and below temps. Even with a battery tender.
Once the engine warms up, then all is good.

I haven't had a great battery in the Prairie for 5 or 6 years now, but this Die Hard is by far the worst. It's going back to Advance Auto Parts today. I don't know yet if I'm going to get another one, or just get my money back and go get a Yuasa.

 

[kickstart]

So how is it running?? Good? Bad? How's the power??

Once I get it started, it runs great!😄

I'm not going to run another compression test until I get a battery that has enough power to actually run the test properly.

 

[kickstart]

So how is it running?? Good? Bad? How's the power??



This is the battery that I have in mine right now. I installed it in June 2019.



I replaced this battery that was only one year old when I replaced my stator for the second time.
ONLY BUY A FACTORY KAWASAKI STATOR!
I had run the battery dead a few times so I didn't trust it and wanted a new battery to go with the new stator.

Checking old pictures I think the coldest temp my ATV sat in over night was mid 20s and it fired right up.
It sits inside a heated garage every night unless I'm out camping somewhere.

How are you liking that Renegade? They are claiming 300 cold cranking amps. That's huge. Even the high output Yuasa I just replaced only had 240.

 

[rubiranch]

How are you liking that Renegade? They are claiming 300 cold cranking amps. That's huge. Even the high output Yuasa I just replaced only had 240.

So far I'm happy with it. The 300 CCA is why I bought it.

That RMSTATOR after market stator left me with a dead battery almost every time I used my winch. It had a hard time keeping up with the EPS too.

Everything is back to normal with the new OEM stator and the Renegade battery. The trust is back.

 

[rubiranch]

I'm sure that you know a compression test should be done on a warm engine, throttle held wide open and read on the forth bump.

 

[kickstart]

So far I'm happy with it. The 300 CCA is why I bought it.

That RMSTATOR after market stator left me with a dead battery almost every time I used my winch. It had a hard time keeping up with the EPS too.

Everything is back to normal with the new OEM stator and the Renegade battery. The trust is back.

300 CCA sounds good to me too. And $60 shipped to my door is amazing! How are they getting the price so low?

 

[kickstart]

I'm sure that you know a compression test should be done on a warm engine, throttle held wide open and read on the forth bump.

That's the whole problem.....this battery couldn't even get to a third bump before it got winded. The gauge pod actually goes blank! It's a total pile of $#it.😡

 

[rubiranch]

That's not good. I hate battery problems. Actually, I hate all problems.

I can't remember how much I paid for my Renegade battery.
I'll see if I can find it. That will give me something to do.

That was easy. I paid $54.50 for Renegade from Amazon June 13, 2019.
I paid $72.04 for the Yuasa November 3, 2018. Also from Amazon.

 

[rubiranch]

Not so sure I could start mine with a rope if it had one but it saved me on my Honda on more than one occasion.

 

[kickstart]

That's not good. I hate battery problems. Actually, I hate all problems.

I can't remember how much I paid for my Renegade battery.
I'll see if I can find it. That will give me something to do.

That was easy. I paid $54.50 for Renegade from Amazon June 13, 2019.
I paid $72.04 for the Yuasa November 3, 2018. Also from Amazon.

Well I couldn't find it on Amazon, so I just ordered it direct from Renegade. They're in Arizona, so hopefully it won't take too long to get here.
Thanks Kenny!🙂👍

 

[NovaKaw650]

I used the factory original Yuasa until last year, and even then it would still start the engine. It was 18 years old.

 

[rubiranch]

I used the factory original Yuasa until last year, and even then it would still start the engine. It was 18 years old.

The factory battery in my Honda lasted 9 years.
The one in my BF only lasted 2--3 years, can't remember.
I'm on my 3rd replacement. 2nd replacement was killed by my bad stators.

 

[kickstart]

I used the factory original Yuasa until last year, and even then it would still start the engine. It was 18 years old.

I had a Sears Die Hard in one of my trucks that went 16 years.
The original Yuasa in my Prairie went 9 years, and 8 of those years it sat most of the time and no tender.