I’ve got a buddy who is looking to buy a TRX400EX from his neighbor… it’s a 2007 and cosmetically in great shape.
So… it’s all sounding great, but then he tells us that the shifter is broken and needs to be welded. Over the phone, I’m thinking it’s just the lever.. easy to fix, just replace it. When I got there, I found the lever was already off the quad, and that the splined shaft was actually broken… sheared off where it necks down between the inside and outside splines. The seller (not too mechanically inclined) thought the end that was broken off could be welded back onto the shaft.
We verified that it seems to shift just fine by gripping what’s left of the spindle with vice grips, so hopefully all the damage is external and limited to the shaft end.
We called a local Honda dealer and they said the labor to replace the shift spindle would be about $900… part not included.
At this point, we’re evaluating whether to move forward with this or not. My buddy and I have both done engine work on bikes and cars, but not so far as cracking the case and having a go at the insides… mostly just top-end work and external maintenance/repairs.
Given time, is this something could be handled by non-pros like us? I’ve been looking over the service manual, but it’s not precisely clear how much disassembly needs to happen to get to this part. Pretty sure the engine needs to come out, but can that part of the case be split without removing the head?
Regardless… his neighbor seems motivated to sell. It’s just been parked in his garage for a number of years since it broke. I suggested to my buddy to offer him $1000 under going rate ($2200-2700 around here)… at that price, he could always just pay to have it fixed, though maybe for less that what a dealer would charge. If he decides to do the repair work himself, then he got a great quad at an amazing price.
Thoughts?
Dave (2005 TRX400EX)
