Why is My Kawasaki ATV Bogging?

What could be the problem when a Kawasaki ATV engine starts bogging after the air filter has been changed and carburetor has been cleaned?

Partzilla’s Kawasaki ATV expert John Talley hosts live Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked what could be causing a 2015 Kawasaki Brute Force ATV to bog after some fuel and air maintenance was done.

Why is my Kawasaki ATV bogging?

Kawasaki Brute Force ATV Bogging Q&A

Hey John, I have a 2005 Kawasaki Brute Force 650. After a weekend of riding, I was having a problem with the idling, so I pulled the carburetors apart and cleaned out all the jets to fix the idling problem, but now I’m having a bog right off idle. It runs good about 3/4th to wide open. If you choke it, it makes runs well in the mid-range but not idle. I also changed from a K&N air filter to a twin air filter in the process. Any idea what could be causing the bogging?

John Talley: I know from experience with how the cylinders of the 650 sit that you’ve got the intake boots that you have to wriggle in the carburetors to get them in there. And more often than not you can get one to engage and you think you’ve got the other side, but you don’t. So I’m wondering if you don’t have it fully seated and it’s pulling air in there. I’ve had that happen to me before, so that would be the first thing I’d want to look at. The second thing, if memory serves, the jetting from the front cylinder to the rear cylinder is different to compensate for heat of the rear cylinders. When you’re putting that back together, if you swap those, it can also do what you’re describing. So go back … go ahead and pop it out and I wonder if you should flip those two pilot jets. I’ve also seen that happen before. Easy to make that mistake because they pretty much look the same.