Hi All!!! I have a 1995 Polaris Xplorer 400 4x4, been a great machine, fires right up, idles smooth initially, runs good HOWEVER after riding for awhile and slowing down to a stop or driving along at low speeds it doesn't want to idle smooth, it just idles/bogs down really low and dies unless i keep tapping the throttle...once it dies it will usually start right back up, its getting annoying...any thoughts?  

hmmm...

thinking.....

it coud be as simple as the carburetor needing a good old fashioned cleaning and or readjusting.

or it could be a bad valve causing it to to do this.
as the steel valve warms up with the engine it could be moving out of adjustment a little.
although from memory i think the xplorer 400 1995 model is a 2 cycle so valve issues don't apply here.

certainly cheaper would be to clean the carburetor, see if runs a little better.
how long has it been since you changed the air filter?

i have seen alot of atv's idle fine at warm up, they are getting alittle more fuel with the choke so they run ok at cold start so it's not as finicky as it would be sometimes after warm up.

but however your' carb could be starting to clog up or you could even have a little water in the bowl caused by condensation, especially in a cooler climate.


the carburetor would be the first place i would start.
Clean it out, look in the bowl when you get it off the carb to see if there is any water there or fuel gum.
if there is water in the bowl from condensation then there is water in the tank as well, drain it and start with fresh fuel and a clean tank.
inspect the diaphram on top of the slide for wear or holes, check the needle for wear, check the float for holes,make sure your intake boot doesn't have any cracks in it.

unless there are other problems like backfiring after releasing the throttle, or sluggish take off.

check the compression as well, alot of times you can lose compression a little at a time and extra fuel at cold start (choke) will help it start and when it warms up it loses a little horsepower due to the fact that you have less fuel and oil on the rings with the choke off.  

hey i had a similar problem with my snowmobile. its most likely just carb adjustment needed take a look at your spark plugs if they look dark and wet thats what it is if they look white then its to lean. also adjust you idle adjust it ride it real quick and adjust as nessacary also clean your carb i hope this helps  

Yanked the air filter out, it was BLACK.  Replaced it and that seems to have taken care of it. Might also replace spark plugs once weather turns nicer.  

definately. i'd replace the plugs for sure. and i'd adjust the carb to cause you never know how much better it can run just from that.  

Yeah, i'll wait with the carb until i get a chance to REALLY put it through the paces again, then see if the problem went away, if not, i'll tear into the carb.  Pretty sure the air filter was the culprit though, during its brief test run with the fresh filter in it was like a whole new animal.