These are my favorite ones of videos, where Eric tackles something he’s never seen before, and we get to hear his thought process as to how he goes about finding the problem (without looking at any instructions….lol)

I was in auto shops for years before the imports took over so didn't have much exposure to non US vehicles. A very good friend who owned a motorsports shop had had to fire his service manager for theft. He was in a bind, I was taking a break from that career, and he asked me to help him out until he could find a new one. It was a Honda/Suzuki shop and I got my eyes opened about Japanese engineering. Yes, they made a few mistakes but 99% of the parts were simple, clever, reliable, and machined like jewelry. It was a pleasure to work there and see great engineering every time I ran across a model I'd never seen the guts of.

As a 20yr former power sports tech, it was fun to watch you just dive right in. I met many car techs that would never do that.

Finally eric o gets into my world..those are rock solid 4 wheelers..alot of ppl will wire the fan to a toggle due too it being oil cooled it has to get almost melting hot before the fan will kick on. It could have a bad oil temp sensor but highly unlikely. Go up 2 sizes on your pilot jet and it will run so much better. They leave the factory on the lean side.

@32:15 when Eric O fired it up, like a 10 year old he made that quick head jerk to the office door to see if mom was going to pop out and yell at him not to leave the yard. good video like his after hours stuff.

When you mentioned holding the shift lever to keep the clutch disengaged, it made me smile. About fifty years ago we had a Honda 50cc thing that we used to run around the local fields here in the UK. Holding the shift lever up and revving the bejesus out of the thing, we managed to get small 'wheelies' out of it. The bike had belonged to one of my friends dad, who had discarded it when he got enough money to buy a car. It was pretty knackered when we got hold of it, but survived much teen-age misuse at our hands - a testament to the toughness of Honda engineering of the time!

I have a Kodiak 400 with the exact same symptoms. It shifts perfectly now, thanks to you. I hope you keep filming the repairs and adjustments, as I am very new to the atv world.

Just bought a 2000 Big Bear....this video just saved me a ton of grief...thanks

Mrs' O is the master of the shaft information. Glad you have yourself an expert sir.

I am still laughing! My freakin belly is sore from laughing about that “how many times can we do that before we move the pan”? Oh my god that’s me. God I love ya Eric

Don't buy an aftermarket carb for your big bear, never be perfect. That oem carb is restorable. I am an aircraft mechanic and for cleaning brass jets Hoppes #9 is what we use. Bendix says soak for 4 hours but when I am bringing back a carb off an old Honda built back in the 60s/70s I soak the brass jets for 18-24 hours then a little blast with the blow gun and done. Seriously....you won't Believe your Eyes what that does. You can see all the numbers, and even the machining marks on the jets after. Good stuff.

Clymer makes some of the best powersports manuals I've ever used. I have one for each bike in my garage. Money WELL spent.

I love your main channel and all the knowledge you provide to us, but these type of videos are my favorite.

Eric - I absolute love this video! What I love best is how you track down the cause of the problem and how you perform a failure analysis. Your verbal process makes all the difference.

Those things are bulletproof and fairly simple to work on. Nice acquisition!

Mrs. O cracks me up with her double entendre. She's a keeper Mr. O.

Congrats Eric, looking forward to more videos on the Big Bear. Got one myself to tow a trailer around the property.

Pretty cool yo see you on here now I’ve used your videos countless times to help me diagnose a car when I was out of ideas I appreciate your time and support and videos 👍🏻👍🏻😃👍🏻🇺🇸👍🏻

Sitting on rainy Sunday, and we get a special look at what Eric O. does with his free time? Great video and thanks for the look at a new toy!

This brings back memories! I had a 2000 Kodiak which is the Big Bear's sibling. Looking forward to more videos :)

There's usually a small ball bearing at the other end of that clutch push rod, have a wee look and see if it's still there buddy

Great change of pace! Not that I'm complaining about the 'normal' topics, mind you. Can't wait for the rest of the videos on this beast! 👍 Oh, Mrs. O's wit is priceless. 😊

I would say that the "I know what I got" knuckle dragger cranked in on the adjuster, bending that bearing retainer thingy causing the issue which made them sell it....good deal for you though.

I've been doin' crotch rockets, dwarf car motors, and metric stuff for years and I gotta say, when it comes to 4 wheelers Yamaha's are bulletproof. I bought a "Moto 4" from my brother for my kids to ride back in the late 80's. It was well ridden when I got it but it still ran well. My kids pounded the snot out of that thing and I doubt they rarely, if ever, serviced the thing......just kept goin'. Later on I got a deal on a used early 90's 2x4 Timberwolf 250 and picked it up.....serviced regularly and still runs like a champ. When my younger boy recently went to buy a new machine he knew from past experience with the old Moto 4 what to buy.......Yamaha......a no brainer.

I've never owned a 4 wheeler but always wanted one. Can't wait to see the vids on it!

I actually do have the previous generation of one of these out in the yard with the same exact problem. It has other issues tho so i haven't been inclined to even look into this yet. Thanks for sharin' E.

Always nice to see Mrs. O.

Just popping in for engagement and to tell the young bucks that getting hold of a decent set of offset box end wrenches will make your life a whole bunch easier.

I have a 2001 I need to tear into this winter with the same issue. I havent seen a good diagram or video on this fix even though I know its a common issue on these. So your timing was impeccable. Looking forward to more videos on the big bear!!!.

I just bought a 01 big bear. These videos will be very helpful.

Love it! Me and you have kind of the same way in minf about learning mechanics in life. if I truly don't know something ill tell people I don't but ill check it out. I stumbled on your video because.. well I bought a bear this past sat and at this point with what mechanical knowledge I have I've got it completely figured out now. keep these videos coming brother because I'm now a subscriber!

Past career Powersports tech. This held my attention moreso, and you found the longstanding sticking clutch pack. TY Subscribed!

I love the look of this beast, those headlights are perfection

I'm just glad you didn't decapitate yourself on your garage door when you were backing out. It was closer than you thought.

I enjoyed and got a chuckle out of Mrs O's enthusiasm. Like why waste her time, she knew you were going to fix it.

Look forward to the next videos on this old Big Bear Quad @Eric O - After Hours

Wasn’t going to watch this, but glad I did … I learned your technique of drawing a template on cardboard and putting the bolts in their proper place … thanks!

Thank you, looking forward to this series.

Great video. I have the same machine in a 01. Looking forward to more.

Good video and congratulations on the new toy brother

Should be a good series. Love Yami's, had a Bruin 350 and a Kodiak 400 both pretty much bullet proof. Had to do very little maintenance except oil changes. Went with Full Synthetic 5w40 Rotella T6 which is wet clutch compatible and good for colder climates and K&N filters with the nut on top for easy changes and increased protection.👍

This is great I have the same machine cant wait to start digging in to the maintenance end

Love these vids Eric!!

WOW, a Big Bear. Good chance my hands were on that at the factory in Newnan, Ga. You are right That dot in the shifter shaft is what we used to install the shifter.

Look forward to the new videos, brilliant 👍

Looking forward to these Eric.

I have the exact 4wheeler. Its been rock solid.Other then normal battery and starter issues. (Because I buy the cheap ones) It has been very reliable. You get what you pay for. I paid 800 in 2013.

Love the banter between you and Mrs. O, always something.😂 I'm guessing the clutch pack was sticking (as suggested by a couple others as well) it's fairly common on rigs that sit for a while. Most likely someone just overtightened the adjustment screw not knowing it's only a contact point. Looks like you got yourself a good machine.🤙

The Bearing cam Mechanism reminds me of the Same Mechanism that Engages a Electric Differential Locker for 4x4s Eric O 15:48 @Eric O - After Hours

I still have my 2001 Yamaha Wolverine 350 and it still runs great. It is setup almost identical to that Big Bear. Other than maintenance the only necessary repair was a replacement stator about 4 years ago, which this video would have been really helpful for. Looking forward to more videos on this machine. Thanks Mr. O!

11:48 didn’t panic. Assessed the situation. Didn’t force it. Good mechanic.

Just out of adjustment. It doesn't take much to make it not work as intended. Seems fair to replace all of the brake fluid, oil, filters, etc. for its age and likely t have been sitting a while prior to going up for sale. Those 4x4 ATV's are a real convenience in outdoor activities.

It's always nice when there is a problem, to find a little chowder to point you in the right direction.

Gravy! It is waaay more fun wrenching on your own stuff and working it out at your own pace than doing it on somebody else's crap. In my experience, bikes and quads are much better engineered than cars and easier to fix. Looking forward to more videos on "The Bear". 😊

Looking like a @WatchWesWork video with the drawings. Nice work!

Awesome!! Love your diagnostic intelligence. Thank you mister O

Really enjoyed this one! Been wrenching my bikes since I was a kid. Still really enjoy it (not a kid anymore). Disclaimer: NOT a mechanic! Couple of things... wondering if the lever on the left handlebar controls is a hot start... A lot if my sons smaller dirt bikes were also really cold blooded. Had to leave the choke on for longer than seemed reasonable but once they warmed up - no issues. Trying to figure out why the clutch pack was so hard to move. I would want to pull the basket and give it a once over. I've had two bikes ( one street and one dirt) that the clutch hated synthetic oil. Even rated for wet clutches. Went back to conventional oil and voilà! Clutch issue solved. Also, sometimes the clutch baskets get wear from the tabs of the discs in the clutch pack that can interfere with the movement of the pack. My $.02 Looking forward to more on this!

Eric, In 1984 my father bought two Hondu 4 wheelers. They were 2 wheel drive. We always cleaned them up after every day of riding. In 2004 my father gave one to my brother and one to my sister to use on her farm. I don't know anything about the one he gave my brother. However, I do know the one my sister has is till running like it is brand new. All she uses it for is to haul manure from the barn to a compost pile in the woods. Pretty light duty stuff. Great machines! Good luck with yours. Alan from NC where we don't swing from the trees anymore, unlike South Carolina, where they do still swing from the trees. 😀😂

Eric, your a genius.✝️🇬🇧

I look forward to more videos on this. Thanks.

Long time follower of your main channel! I have a few of these bigbear 400s I can try to give you a few tips! If you have to touch those oil cooler lines at that oil cooler, the cooler itself is gonna break lol a new one is $400+ insane so few of mine have transmission coolers rigged up from them breaking. Another tip for the brakes, pretty much every single aftermarket replacement caliper ive seen has a square cut seal on the piston. Ends up making the piston return too far for such small brakes. Most factory seals are different, hard to explain but kind of ringed? Piston side kinda will look like 2 O rings stacked. Its one seal but just has that look to it. Basically no amount of bleeding or replacing the master fixes that incorrect seal problem in my experience but ive seen crazier stuff to so hopefully youll have better luck! Got tons of other tips but this is getting long winded so ill sprinkle them throughout more big bear videos lol

Great bargain and Mrs O likes it too ! Nice lookin unit should last for ever !!!!

Great to see another Video On this Channel Eric Not farm equipment this time ehhh Fun some Recreational Toy Videos Havent seen one of these big bear quads In ages entertaining Video as Always @Eric O - After Hours

I'm all for the Eric O version of Mustie1! It's cool when creators do things they enjoy vs their regular jobs.

I am constantly blown away at how Eric looks at a nut/bolt/whatever and grabs the right size socket (maybe not 100%, but DEFINITELY in the high 90's). Love the videos! This looks like it's gonna be a fun ride (see what I did there?).

Had a Honda ATC200M 3 wheeler back in the day. Ran perfect, but spark plugs didn't last long. Learned to always carry a spare after a long walk home once! 🤣. I do miss my kawasaki KLT200c 3 wheeler though. Full manual clutch. No automatic anything, and had a rear differential that could be unlocked when extra traction was not needed.

And folks with this video release, SMA Motorcycle and Off road Vehicle is BORN. Hey at a $120 an hour, why not??

Cool change up! Love it!

Exactly the same as the Slick Shift in my British 1959 650cc Triumph Thunderbird. Great fun at the lights, biker next to you, wants a race, sees you are not ready with the clutch (because the gear lever does the job with the clutch), then foot off the gear lever and you beat the biker as he has to use the clutch on the handlebar. Result!

I bought a nice Suzuki 500 Fun machine. Fun riding trails. I’m glad ya got one Eric O the kids will have fun. Mine did

Yea, hehehe, the clutch pack got stuck and they cranked the adjuster and hammered the shifter screwing it royally. Got lucky with that one and didn't have to replace parts. But it's a good indication the clutch pack is probably near the end of it's life. Good chance someone put regular motor oil in and almost screwed the clutches. Wet clutches need proper oil. If You see a black mark around the read hub to axel, tighten the axel nut. The hub is softer than the axel and it will spin out. Those were built like the early 90's Honda 300's which were excellent machines. It's funny, now-a-days people want the big powerful heavy machines, but in the real world they can't pull much more than the old Honda 300's. Tires are only so big and the riding surface allows only so much traction.

Something a little different great job 👍

This should be fun series of videos! I’m no engineer, but it appears to me that that 3 ball gizmo thingy (official term) is not up to the kind of pry bar force you had to apply to the clutch rod. At least not in a repeatable and reliable way. She’s bending a little with every shift. Hunch we’re going to see the workings on the other end of that rod in a future video. Keep em coming!

I hope Clymer is better than years ago. Every time you came to anything technical, they said to take the car to a dealer.

Thanks for this video, I was working on a 400 (or so) Honda that seemed to have the exact problem; however, I'm still wondering what caused the bending of components in the first place. I would think it would have to be that the clutch rod was so hard to move that it caused bending in the shifting components. (But what do I know). Eric diagnosed this much better than what I did on that Honda, that is for sure (I guess that is why he can make a living as a mechanic, and I don't seem to be able to do the same). I would have taken the clutch basket apart on the other side - probably, without realizing that it just needed the shifting components straightened, and the correct adjustment done on the shifting fork.

I had a somewhat similar setup on my 1976 Kawasaki KD 175 motorcycle. It had a standard hand-operated clutch but the same ramp-type system that pushed in a pin to engage/disengage the clutch. The movement of the pin was seemingly microscopic to disengage the clutch, and if it was out of adjustment caused headaches...

Merry Christmas.

Yup!! I’m in on these videos ❤

I'm gonna tell ya, if the spark plugs are like the one on my 2007 Kawasaki Mule, I had to go 4 heat ranges hotter to keep it from fouling out the plug every 2-3 months (since new) ! Tried trial and error 1 heat range at a time until I got it where I only had to change plugs every few years instead of a couple of months! I dont know what these companies problems are but they sure were racking up on the plugs until i decided to try raising the heat range, last plug has been in 3 years now!!

The older 4 wheelers have gone crazy over here as they changed the laws a few years ago so every new one that's sold has to have ROPS fitted so Farmers etc are buying up all the older ones.

Thanks for the video Eric.

Moving into the small engine repair line now woot!

You gotta love Mrs.O !

For someone who doesn’t work on ATV’s you really nailed it. I’d bet someone misasjusted it so it bound up upon attempting to shift and bent the ball retainer. Hondas, if you ever run into one, are kind of different. Lock nut and slotted shaft are an adjusting plate that acts on a cam plate- so you break the lock nut free and back the screw off clockwise, turn it counterclockwise until you feel resistance, then back off 1/4 turn clockwise and lock the nut.

Can believe I was unsubscribe from this channel. What did Mr O do say something true?? KZfaq’s don’t like true statements. Bravo sir. Mrs O is a one in a million for sure. Country tough no doubt. Mom and paps are proud for sure.

What I think happened is the same thing that used to happen to Trail 90's that were ridden hard - somebody did the Yogi Bear stomp on the shifter and bent that little doohickey.

You know it's a good day when Eric works on a 4-wheeler

Looks a nice machine 👍👍.and have some bedtime reading 👍👍

I'm getting ready to work on my Yamaha Bruin 350. Replacing the drive belt along with new cv axles and wheel bearings in the front

The upcoming videos look like they should be a lot of fun that one was pretty good kinda neat to see something other than a car now you gotta get up snowmobile and a boat preferably a hydroplane what about a 300 horse Merc on it yay

Very nice Eric

Eric fixed the guy's neutral dropper.

The 'enrichener' might just be a compression release... my SR500 thumper sure needed one. Great deal... was sure you'd have to open the wet side.

Great machines that one is clean, if it sat the clutches are probably just stuck pretty common when they sit for a while, I put a few cranks in these had a couple cdi issues and the intake flange for the carb on these years sometimes like to crack and leak air, otherwise with clean oil - air filter & checking the valve lash once a year they run great.

Dig it. I have a 01 wolverine I've had forever but don't know much about. It just works..

I have a 1989 Yamaha Pro hauler up at my cabin in Alaska. Kinda came with the place. Most people up there would have "sunk it" cuz it's so old. Thing works great. On my 1989 the auto chain tensioner was weak so I got a non auto chain tensioner. Aftermarket unit, like $20. Now I don't worry about skipping a tooth

In Oklahoma we can tag and use our UTV'S on state hwys and county and city roads. Sure makes it NICE going hunting

I hope your boss is ok with you doing stuff in the shop after work

Thanks for this! I have a Honda Foreman that I've found has way too much engine breaking to be able to shift smoothly. But maybe the real issue is the secondary clutch not releasing properly. Or maybe I'm not shifting properly.

4:47 Nailing it and you are not even wearing your glasses!