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1994 bravo 250....no power....will barely move!

11K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  VmaxSteve 
#1 ·
When I bought this bravo it started and idled fine but barely had enough power to move! I checked the compression and had 125, also checked all the windings on the stator.....(pulser coil - 20 ohms, charger coil - 385 which is a little low & lighting coil .3ohms)....next I swapped the carburetor ,fuel pump, secondary clutch and spark plug and even checked the airbox for blockage and still no go! Next I split the engine and found both bearings were really bad and crank seal was in rough shape too! Thinking this was the problem I rebuilt the engine with new bearings and crank seals, gaskets and piston! I also replaced all the fuel lines, cleaned up the electrical harness and connectors! After putting everything back together I had high hopes that this machine was gonna be fixed! Just a couple primes and one pull and she starts and idles really good with just a small adjustment on the carb! So I press the throttle and still the same as when I first bought it!! ? I know I had a combination of problems and fixed all of them as far as I can tell but now I'm hitting a wall of frustration with this and not sure where to turn next! Can anyone out there in the bravo skidoo world help me out with this?? Where do I go next!?
Thanks in advance!
 
#2 ·
Welcome!
Are you from Canada?
OK first congrats I have a pair of bravos, everyone loves them! They are sooo much fun to ride!
Sounds like a chain case/track problem!
What does it do with the track in the air on a stand?
Mine with a 200 lb man on it will run 55!
 
#3 ·
Thks for the welcome and yes I'm Canadian...lol...The skidoo won't move at all when I'm sitting on it and I'm 200lbs....it will barely move when I pin the throttle standing next to it......at full throttle just bogs down!
I can Jack the rear end up off the ground and the track does spin at what I would call maybe 1/4 speed and that's with full throttle and engine still bogs down almost like it's under load......
 
#6 ·
Is your track tension correct?? Too tight or loose can cause issues like that, when I got my little 250 Citation it acted like that but still worked pretty good. I checked the chaincase and it turns out the previous owner packed it with grease a couple times a year and it was so full it was actually making things worse, I took the cover off and scrubbed the whole chaincase out. Filled it with the correct gear oil and it worked a lot better...Just a couple things you might look at :thumbsup:
 
#8 ·
You should also check to see if the brakes are on! See how hard it is to rotate the secondary clutch with your hands. You should be able to spin the track with the back end jacked up.
 
#9 ·
Just an update on my bravo issues! So the most recent things I've tried are bypassing the gas tank and fuel pump by gravity feeding gas directly into the carburetor.....still no difference! So that eliminates the fuel pump, gas tank/filter and any bad fuel lines! I then replaced the charging coil and it did make a little difference but not much! After noticing the coil was dragging things down a bit...I removed the belt and I could get full rpm and would rev up without bogging! Checked secondary clutch and seemed a little seized and 1 of 3 shoes were missing! I then pulled off the clutch and cleaned it up and replaced all 3 shoes.....then put back together and put belt on and still no difference! Can anyone out there help me or point me in the right direction? I don't know what else to do!?

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#14 ·
Sounds like you need to look at the primary clutch. If things spin out on the stand, but with you on it not so much, you have a sticky primary, wrong belt, or you didnt pre-wind the secondary when you replaced the buttons. Belt deflection, research that a bit. Post #9 really sounds like you need to look at the primary clutch.
 
#15 ·
I bet I know. I was a snowmobile mechanic for many years and the most common problem I found it what you are describing.
You see, people use snowmobiles for a couple months out of the year and then it sits the rest of the year in storage.
I am betting you have a mouse nest in the muffler.
I used to have to open up the mufflers with a torch, clean it all out, and then weld it shut again.
I can't tell you how many times I've done it and the lack of power has baffled many people.
It will run okay at idle, but when it needs to push out a lot of exhaust, the restriction hinders power to the point it doesn't move. Yet, everything sounds and looks okay.
Just for the heck of it, take off the muffler from the cylinder and run it for a short time. See if it revs up and has some power. Don't run it a long time, but just long enough to see if it makes a difference.
If it does, you know the problem. Either cut the muffler open and remove the restriction, or find a used one.
 
#16 ·
My uncle left his sleds over at my house for about a year, and when they tried so start it up the next year he couldn't get it to start. Eventually the exhaust pipe loaded up with gas so much that it exploded like a mushroom while he was trying to start it. It turns out that the mice made a nest in it so bad that it couldn't even run. So I find that a very high possibility that mice could have a nest in your exhaust.
 
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