Hello all, Bought my first Atv in the new year and love it!! Just have a few questions with some issues i have encountered that maybe some more experienced people can help me with. 1) What octane gas should i be running? the manual leads me to beleive that regular (anything above 86 octane) is fine and to not run anything higher unless i get detonation (which i have,nt but i do get an occasional backfire when getting off the gas)
2) Does anyone have any problems with thier 2500lb warn winches taking on water? i sunk my bike in a mud hole almost up to the head lights and tried to winch out (quite a messy operation fishing in the mud for a winch line and freespool ****) but the winch would'nt go, it turned out to be full of water, is this a problem on these winches? Lastly what effects do mild suspension lifts 1-2" and larger tires have on longevity of the bike with regards to the drivetrain?

Thanks,

 

#1 Just go with regular gas, that is fine.
#2 I've had my bike like that many times and never had a problem with the winch.
#3 A lift will put more strain on your CV joint, it makes the angle steeper and that is hard on the axles. You can go with bigger tires without hurting anything.

 

sounds like we have about the same set up. if you go bigger on tires you will lose some power and they will stick out further. you could go with some up grades on exaust, air breather and re-jetting the carb for more power though (you might have fuel injection) I'am looking into up grades like that. if the 07 kodiak is your first machine I would say that it was a good choise.