To Snorkel or not to Snorkel, that is my question...

STYKO

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Hi all, is there any value added to my ATV if I snorkel it or not.....

I dont ride through lakes.....sometimes drive through small shallow rivers and hit puddles on the trails.......My dealer told me they dont belive in it and that there is no need for me to snorkel it.....they also said its hard on the bike....

I guess I am wondering, " what does snorkeling your bike do "

Thanks, any info is much appreciated! :beer:
 

tex78

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is it for ur 650 brute..... well either way if u spash or do lots of mud at all just do it....

i did my brute. realy easy to do and works awsome now.... water wheelies are the best... and u never have to 2nd gess how deep the hole is..... as long as u don't roll it with it running its good to go.... plus u can hear the belt start to squeel, and smell the belt berfore it blows now
 

Brute Force Boy

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Not sure why your dealer thinks it would hurt your bike, they'd probably rather you swamped it and had to bring it in for repair.
As said, easy to do and well worth it IMO.
 

crisscross1

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I feel it is the best insurance you can get. I have a Suzuki king 700 and should of done it from day one, the cost would have been cheap, just a few plumbing fittings , about $40. But no I learned the hard expensive way, cost me new sheaves, belt, piston and rings and a headache, and a lost of play time, just do it and thank yourself in the near future, good luck.
 

DaveB

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Do it. Hurts nothing and is good insurance. Even my wifes 400 is snorked....
 

ackid

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id say do it as well. did my 650 prowler xt right after i got stuck in a water hole. acctually didnt get stuck. the water steamed on the muffler and caused the motor to quit. i could not get it started and we had to use another quad to winch it out and use the winch on my sxs to get out as well(wide open pipeline right of way with no trees within 500 ft). by the time i was out my unit was almost dead and the two winches were lets say not as new as they were when we started. i was pissed! cat draws the air for the engine,belts clutches from behind the seats between the box and cab area. just about as soon as i was back to the shop i started to rip things apart to make my own snorkel kit. i have since re done the snorkels after putting on a full cage to extend the pipes. and i think version 3.0 is comming this spring when i do my spring pre check over.

there fairly easy to make just a few hand tools and some abs pipe and fittings and glue. take your time and pre fit everything before you glue. dont rush and it will work out fine. will post so pics as soon as the snow all melts in front of the sea can to dig out the summer toys.
 

kingkris06

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snorkels can take away from the resale value, if i see snorkels i know that the bike has been at least seat deep in water/ mud hole, which means
1) most all electrical connections get very wet and corroded if not taken careof
2) usually most people don't learn that they need snorkels untill after the first dunking.
3) couple of big holes in your plastics


depending on how you snorkel your air box you might have to rejet (i think most kawis were fine but i dont know that for sure ). also make sure you die electric grease all connections, including the spark plug boots. oh and just because you have snorkels doesn't make it invincible, i you hit a deep spot and the back tires start floating its imposable to keep them air filled tires down.

but for the most part the benefits out weigh the cons and most people buying a used kawi understand the need for snorkels.
 

modmanmike

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is it for ur 650 brute..... well either way if u spash or do lots of mud at all just do it....

i did my brute. realy easy to do and works awsome now.... water wheelies are the best... and u never have to 2nd gess how deep the hole is..... as long as u don't roll it with it running its good to go.... plus u can hear the belt start to squeel, and smell the belt berfore it blows now

Totally agree. It's peice of mind to know you'll keep things dry
 

RaineMaker

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Went out with a buddy back in the cadomin area way back in the mountains and he went across a creek a little to fast and caused a LITTLE splash. And is took us till 9:00 the next morning to get back to camp. He took it to the dealer where he bought it and they said his engine was done cause we couldn't get it started. So he took it to a private mech to get a second opinion and that mech said nothing wrong with your engine. Since he had it apart he put in some performance pistons but spent almost $2000 after all was said and done and all could have been avoided with $40-$70 worth of snorkeling parts. So you tell me which you'd rather do. The kit I bought only comes through a $25 piece of plastic so if you ever want to sell remove Snorkel replace plastic piece and sell as stock. I'm doing my brute 750i for the insurance factor I don't ride through lakes but it only takes a puddle to cost big bucks. Just my two bits.
 

byronkentgraham

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If not your engine,.. do your CVT intake and exhaust anyway.

why would you do your exhaust and not your engine? your exhaust pipe is more than likely at or above you intake anyways.... and you can run deep water without a exhaust snorkel anyways as long as you dont turn it off or let it die
 

Snohog

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i would snorkel my next quad, the way i'm going i need to be able to go through deeper water
 

crisscross1

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I only snorkeled my CVT, because I don't go quadding through lakes. But you have herd the pro's an con's of it, the choice is yours. I have gone through 3' of water not on purpose but could not turn around once you are in those tight spots, and had no problem. Now the cvt was done. It can be a sick feeling if you don't, and you will kick your ass for not doing it, hope to see you out and about, good luck.
 

Snowdin

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I'm going to snork my next machine just for piece of mind. I would never intentionally submarine a machine but some times you get in a little deep not on purpose. I do a lot of solo riding and I think snorking would be real cheap insurance.

Question: Does snorking the air box reduce air flow which would rob HP?
 

STYKO

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Thanks everyone for your opinions.....

I am not much worried about re-sale value....my wife has made it very clear to me there wont be another ATV purchase for some time.....LOL:rant:...I am more worried about spending $$$$ when $100 or less in parts can save all that trouble.

Thanks for the tips on electrical connections, I will keep an eye on them over the years.

anyway.....I think I will snorkel my bike next month...I can start reading on the web sites how do to it.....and take my time and do a good job. I got a buddy from Manitoba coming in next month who snorkeled his brute.....should be easy with two people.

Thanks again. :beer:
 
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