New to the forum. I just bought a 97 440 ZR for 500 bucks this spring. I plan on using it for a trail sled, but needs some TLC first. Only rode it maybe a mile and put sea foam in gas and parked for the summer. The speedo does not work (milage?), The shock damper adjustment near the handle bars does not work (is this neede, or can i take it off?), other than that the hood, track, chassis all looks good and clean. The guy just put a brand new clutch (comet, is this the original?) so he claims and all he wanted was his money back from the clutch so i could not talk him down at all. I compression tested it at 125 both cylinders is that ok?. When i rode it as little as i did, the clutch does not ingage till 5000 rpm and had one hell of a terrible low end bog, i never did open it up. This fall i am going to rebuild and clean the carbs. Is this low end bog typical? how can i get rid of it? clutch kit?, which kit? any ideas appreciated. I Read through the zr/zl bogging post above, should i try this on my carburated machine, or is this for EFI only? Any help or wisdom on these 440 ZR's would be greatly appreciated.

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Since the speedo doesn't work, I'd check the cable first. Pull it apart where the cable meets the driveshaft and be sure the keyway is not missing or broken.

The shock adjuster does not work...how so?

I believe stock, it should have a Cat 9 tower primary clutch and a Cat roller secondary. Not sure why he'd go with a Comet...

The clutch engaging at 5000rpm is relatively typical. Setup for racing, they engage fast and hard for getting the holeshot. Even my ZR 600 that is clutched engages at around 4800rpm.

As far as the bog goes...is/was it jetted properly? Fat jetting could lead to a low end bog. You could also try the suggest method you read about. Shouldn't matter carb vs. efi.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

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Thanks Quinlan. If i turn the shock adjuster in or out, it does'nt do anything. The guy said it was the same clutch that was on it previously, but im pretty sure when i looked at it, it said Comet on it, i will check again when i get to where it is stored. I did notice that the front (left side as im sitting on the machine) motor mount is loose, and the clutch does not line up to the secondary very good, need to fix that. I dont know about the jets yet, i will check when i rebuild the carbs this fall. I also forgot to mention that he blew the right cylinder 2 years ago, said he sucked in snow dust and that carb had an ice clump all around it, is this common, i find it hard to believe. He did replace the jug, because it is silver in color compared to the other one which is black. After going through and reading the past forums on this sled, it sounds like its a finicky pile of crap (run great when they want to), im not to familiar with snowmobile mechanics, but got the feeling i will learn with this one. well i guess i have my work cut out for me next fall. Get ready for lots of questions, HaHaHaHa

Mike
Tomahawk, WI

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When you turn the adjuster, you won't actually feel it do anything, incase you didn't realize it. All it does, is put more/less oil into the front skid shock, creating more/less ski pressure when riding. My ZR had one when I bought it, and the change when riding was ever so slight.

If you had a bad carb boot, he easily could have sucked air into it. The boots are rubber, which lose their elasticity over time and weather, thus making them easily crackable. Once cracked, they may suck in snow dust, which can obviously cause problems.

If your clutches do not line up, you may have problems in the long run. I'd certainly look into that...

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For 500 bucks you did not go wrong. You could make that and more back in parts.

The snodust thing is sorta common. Read about it alot and it actually happened to me.



What is the sled idling at?
Low end bogs can be clutching, carbs, chokes, or something else. If you have a chance to record a video of it doing it, upload it.

Quinlan got everything else.

Welcome to the forum and don't hesitate to ask questions! No question is stupid. We enjoy it actually.

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also do not forget about the secondary clutch if it needs new bushings it will bind up and cause a horrible bog ,but do as the other members say first

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