# does your quad need to be moving to go into 4x4???



## smokin_6.0 (Jun 21, 2009)

mine will come out of 4x4 while standing still but will not engage unless its rolling. Then sometimes after riding a little while i get the 1 second blink. You think a dg-6 or relay mod will fix this?


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## Metal Man (Dec 17, 2008)

Not sure about the blinking but yes you bike has to be moving for the 4x4 to engage.


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## phreebsd (Dec 16, 2004)

It must always be rolling to engage. I've never seen it disengage without rolling either!
the DG-6 module (I THINK) will flip the display when u hit the switch unlike now the display flips once the actuator engages.


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## Masher (Jan 16, 2009)

Yes it needs to roll some. That's why before you go into a hole you think you will have trouble in you select 4wd then make sure it engages before you get in. If by some chance you get stuck in a hole on accident what I do is hit the 4wd and put it in reverse and slowly give it thumb till it engages. I've seen a few grenaded by putting in into 4wd then giving it thumb going forward plus it gives that nasty snap as well. Sounds bad for sure but in reverse it seems to ease into 4wd without the pop.


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## 08GreenBrute (Jul 13, 2009)

my 05 wouldn't go in in reverse, also it seems the 08 goes into 4x4 a lot faster


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## cheapthrills (Apr 7, 2009)

I have always hated the 4x4 activation, when you really need it and where not aware ahead of time it's so much time to get it going without destroying your quad. My other bike a Yamaha big bear 400 has 4x4 on the fly, it's sweet.


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## zacksbf (Sep 11, 2009)

The actual roll needed for engagement is 1.5 turns of the front tires before it will engage. I wish I remember where I read that but I have researched it because I heard the nasty pop of waiting to long in a hole to flip the 4x4 switch and thought I destroyed the diff but it was fine just sounded horrible so I make sure to go in every hole in 4x4 now.


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## hondarecoveryman (Feb 28, 2009)

All kawie 4x4 systems are setup for a rolling engage/disengage below 15 mph.


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## Masher (Jan 16, 2009)

I have heard that too but mine will engage rolling less than a foot forward and shorter than that in reverse just a few inches.


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## drtj (May 3, 2009)

Here lately mine won't go into 4wd no matter how far I roll. Gotta check on the actuator


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## NOLABear (Mar 23, 2009)

I can just hit the switch and mine engages. Sometimes I have to rock it a bit to get it engaged. I guess it has to do with gears/teeth lining up?


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## t-ravis (Oct 29, 2009)

08GreenBrute said:


> my 05 wouldn't go in in reverse, also it seems the 08 goes into 4x4 a lot faster



is that common for the 05 not to engage in reverse?

just got my bike and noticed that. 

i also did the bad thing like the other guy said i went into a hole in 2 wheel drive gave it hell but still needed some more so i switched in to 4 and kept my thumb in just a little and heard all kind of noises from bellow. 

but never heard it when i engage before going in.


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## drtj (May 3, 2009)

As a rule of thumb never be moving while shifting into 4wd. It can cause really bad things to happen. As for it not going into 4wd in reverse the early models won't. I think they changed it in 08


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## IBBruin (Feb 10, 2009)

If you find yourself stuck in 2WD it's best to let off the throttle, switch into 4WD and give it just enough throttle to let the back wheels turn VERY SLOWLY until you see your front wheels kick in. Even then I just give it enough throttle to watch the front's turn VERY SLOWLY. Once you know it's in 4WD, then give her hell.


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## 650Brute (Dec 18, 2008)

I too, have heard what sounded like a grenade exploding.... Ughhh, I was nervous


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## gpinjason (Nov 10, 2009)

sometimes I have to kinda turn the front wheels left and right a little bit to get mine to engage...


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## TampaBrute (Nov 23, 2009)

How about disengaging?? At what speed is it ok to flip back to 2wd or should you bring the bike to a complete stop before trying to pull out of 4wd? 
08 750i on 30" zillas by the way...


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## brutus750i (Nov 17, 2009)

yea better pratice that stop engagement before you run some backs or laws or BOOM!!!


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## drtj (May 3, 2009)

I always come to a complete stop


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## 08GreenBrute (Jul 13, 2009)

IBBruin said:


> If you find yourself stuck in 2WD it's best to let off the throttle, switch into 4WD and give it just enough throttle to let the back wheels turn VERY SLOWLY until you see your front wheels kick in. Even then I just give it enough throttle to watch the front's turn VERY SLOWLY. Once you know it's in 4WD, then give her hell.


thats what i do but remember just because the fronts start to turn its not fully in 4wd until the dash light switches to 4wd


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## hondarecoveryman (Feb 28, 2009)

TampaBrute said:


> How about disengaging?? At what speed is it ok to flip back to 2wd or should you bring the bike to a complete stop before trying to pull out of 4wd?
> 08 750i on 30" zillas by the way...


 All kawasaki 4x4 systems are desgned for a 15 mph or less( even if you are just pushing the quad by hand ) engage and disengage ,


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## IBBruin (Feb 10, 2009)

hondarecoveryman said:


> ( even if you are just pushing the quad by hand )


You'd have to be a bad azz to push a quad by hand at 15 MPH!!!!

But seriously, I don't stop to disengage, I will level my speed off and switch to 2WD, then left off the throttle slightly so it coasts for a second to allow the 4WD to disengage under a no load situation.


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## Josh (Nov 23, 2009)

I definitly learned my lesson on engaging the 4x4. I was in a hole stuck with silver backs.. 12 wide on all corners. Hit the 4x4 and it gave one hell of a pop. I got lucky it didnt grenade on me. Sounded horrible though. I Just coast to a stop when i turn 4x4 off with no problems


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## Guarino113 (Oct 3, 2009)

i dont stop to disengage either. or engage, on flat ground. but i dont hold it to it in a hole and switch to 4x4. i make sure its in before i give it ****


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## sweeper (Apr 10, 2009)

I switch on the fly to dis. and eng. at slow speeds and my 4x4 works in reverse on a 06 model,I think you have to hold the lever tho.


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## chevzr2 (Nov 25, 2009)

i have an 05, speedometer is not working, just bought the quad, would that cause the 4x4 to not turn on? stays in 2 wheel on the dash, but just flipping the switch in the shop gives me some noise from the front diff, like the actuator is moving or something? no blown fuses either?

looks like the speedo sensor was repaired with glue


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## 08GreenBrute (Jul 13, 2009)

yea if the speedo is not working neither will 4wd, get a new sensor and you should be fine


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## chevzr2 (Nov 25, 2009)

08GreenBrute said:


> yea if the speedo is not working neither will 4wd, get a new sensor and you should be fine


thanks, its my first kawi, bought it as a fixer upper with a blown top end.

sorry, back on topic, didn't mean to steal it.


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## jakedogg (Aug 14, 2009)

If I recall correctly I read where Mike Walker had clipped the Green wire going to the ECU, and the result was immediate engagement. 

I never tried this^ , but now that I did the relay fix for my dash, Mine does engage sooner than it did before. :thinking:


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## josh88 (Jun 23, 2009)

the dg-6 is a wonderful piece of hardware. you can choose to keep the engine braking or get rid of it so your not really losing anything. another good thing about it is that it changes the dash indicators in real time. basically it only reads 4wd when your in 4wd, no more lag in the display. worth all of the 100 dollars i paid for it.


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## mystical_ice (Nov 19, 2009)

> it changes the dash indicators in real time. basically it only reads 4wd when your in 4wd, no more lag in the display.


Is it really worth it? I mean, don't they do that stock? When i switch mine to 4wd, it takes a minute, then i'll hear the click, then the display will say 4wd. same when switching back to 2wd. didn't know there was any other way


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## josh88 (Jun 23, 2009)

i thought it was worth it. the engine brake robs you of some power so when you get rid of that your getting some power back. the reason i did it was to install a kfx 700 clutch cover which looks cleaner. but yea the dash does have some lag in telling you what mode the 4x4 is in. the dg-6 got rid of that and i noticed a difference in the dash time.

but it depends on what your buying it for. it wont fix any existing problems, its more for getting rid of the engine brake than fixing problems with your speedometer.

this is a picture of it with the 700 clutch cover.


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