Hi i'm looking at a 04 king cat and I want to know what to look for to tell if it's a good sled. It has 800 miles I don't know much till I see it.
Need advice on buying king cat
- Thread starter freexj
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diggerdown
Well-known member
I guess the main thing to look at would be the compression and crank runout. The rest you can eyeball!
Watch this part of the bulkhead, the buffed silver part, this is where the force goes after the a-arms crumple and usually is cracked after impact. If its been in a bad wreck this will tell you.
King Cat
See if the speedometer works if it has one. Check the driveshaft bearing on the end under the driven clutch, they have a habit of not lasting very long. When it goes out it breaks the drive pin for the speedometer. Check that the wieghts in the drive clutch run straight, the bushing in those need to be replaced fairly often. Other than those and the other things mentioned, the King Cat is one of the best sleds ever in my opinion. Fun per dollar is better than a $12000 new sled.
See if the speedometer works if it has one. Check the driveshaft bearing on the end under the driven clutch, they have a habit of not lasting very long. When it goes out it breaks the drive pin for the speedometer. Check that the wieghts in the drive clutch run straight, the bushing in those need to be replaced fairly often. Other than those and the other things mentioned, the King Cat is one of the best sleds ever in my opinion. Fun per dollar is better than a $12000 new sled.
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diggerdown
Well-known member
Thats just because your wife rides it!
if thats the case rixster you got more problems than you think...my 04 carb would run down my ol man's 05 efi with ease. who ported it?
as far as what to look for, all you really need to look for is the price, to be honest with you if you can get a running sled for between 2-3k. There are enough parts runing around the swap to build your own right now. last time I checked there was a 990 complete top end ported by turbotater that will put the hurtin on virtually any naturally aspirated sled on the hill.
If there are problems with the sled, and you dont mind doing a little work, anything can be fixed/replaced. They are so much easier to work with and work on
as far as what to look for, all you really need to look for is the price, to be honest with you if you can get a running sled for between 2-3k. There are enough parts runing around the swap to build your own right now. last time I checked there was a 990 complete top end ported by turbotater that will put the hurtin on virtually any naturally aspirated sled on the hill.
If there are problems with the sled, and you dont mind doing a little work, anything can be fixed/replaced. They are so much easier to work with and work on
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76FOMOCO
Well-known member
LMAO>.....man just kick a guy right in the crank
Damn it, I was hoping no one would catch that !!
Look at front suspension upper/lower A arms a see if there is any rust at weld joints or cracking next to welds. Make sure upper A arm clearance is even side to side. Note A arm clearance is tight to spring on one side. Check steering shaft for excessive play by moving bars back and forth. Should be a little with 800 mi. Check rear rails for cracking around top edge. If it truly has 800 mi. it should be in good condition? Check running boards for sag in the middle front. Overall condition should be enough to tell maintenance. Did he ever grease all the zerks? Is it stock or slightly modded?
Good luck Mike
Good luck Mike
The guy said it is stock. I'm going to try to look at it this weekend. Thanks for all the imput! I'm excited to be on a king I have wanted one for a long time.
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diggerdown
Well-known member
Throw a high rise seat on and tip the bars forward with a good riser...best and first mod to be done!
KMMAC good question, But it is run out everyone is talking about which is circular motion. But I had a 650 Wildact that had .042 end play in the case, It is still running to this day but cannot be good! I know I have never heard of anyone doing the end play check with the crank, I sure would and still check my 900 a couple times a season just for the heck of it!
Mike
Mike
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diggerdown
Well-known member
Runout should be checked with the clutch off. You put a dial indicator on the side of the shaft and slowly turn the motor over. There should only be a couple thousands of wobble. If the fixed clutch sheave seems to be running true, the crank is probably fine. If the clutch wobbles, it should be pulled off and the crank checked for wobble. If a crank is knocked out of phase, you will see an excessive amount of runout. You can set a block with a screwdriver or any type of "pointer" in the belly pan and touch it against the crank and get a real close idea if it is true enough.
The cranks are heavy, No wonder they lightened them on the new 800's. If stopped suddenly the crank may twist due to interference problems being too loose, Or the journal itself may twist within itself? Usually coming to an abrupt hault. Or over revving from belt breakage or walking over the outer half of the front clutch. Usually after this the PTO side will run hot from twist and excessive timing advance beyond normal, and I bet the bearings will just love it! Bad orbit scenario!
Mike
Mike
