[Artnale30]

Just bought a 2016 zforce 500 brand new.   Put 200 km on it and noticed it all of a sudden got really loud.    Turns out there are three springs that hold the muffler to the manifold pipe.   They are all missing and the muffler is basically disconnected.   In troubleshooting that I notice that the drain on my air box is soaked.   Open the air box and close to a liter of a gray, oil like substance pours out on the floor!   WTF???   I paid a lot of money for this side by side.   Are these common issues for this model?   What other issues should I expect to see?  Is there a fix for the oil in the air box?   Seems to be common from what I have been reading

[NMKawierider]

Exhaust springs are an issue all around sometimes but that's easy. The 500s had that problem with oil in the airbox but there is a factory fix that your dealer should have done.

[Artnale30]

As per the amount of oil that came out of the air box, I would say the dealer did not fix this issue before selling it to me

Do you know of any other problems that I should keep a look out for?

[NMKawierider]

As per the amount of oil that came out of the air box, I would say the dealer did not fix this issue before selling it to me

Do you know of any other problems that I should keep a look out for?

No..other then the common electrical component issues we all share the 500 is pretty solid. The air box oil-thing was the only real thing that stood out. Everyone else got theirs fixed by the dealer 

[Artnale30]

What are these common electrical issues you speak of?    Im going on a week long, 1250km ride accross NewFoundLand, Canada in September and I dont want to get stranded.   I need to work out the bugs before then!

[NMKawierider]

What are these common electrical issues you speak of?    Im going on a week long, 1250km ride accross NewFoundLand, Canada in September and I dont want to get stranded.   I need to work out the bugs before then!

Well...many are hit and miss but the #1 has been the fan switch or thermoswitch. Many have failed. Most of us have installed a bypass switch in the event it happens on the trail but it just takes a jumper at the connector. Other things are really just here and there..not everyday like relays, ECUs temp sensors, water pump seals...ect. One thing you want to check is bolts...especially suspension related..so do check all those. All these are known to have loose bolts and missing cotter pins. 

[Artnale30]

Thanks for the help.   I will post an update after taking it to the dealer for service.

[NMKawierider]

Thanks for the help.   I will post an update after taking it to the dealer for service.

Also check that the dealer didn't overfill it on oil. I remember that was an issue on one a while back.

[gfmoto]

Put a fan switch bypass in for sure. I would suggest a tire plug kit as well, as these are "ok" tires but are easily punctured. And if/when it stalls in reverse....don't worry it will start right back up. lol  Great machines, just have a couple bugs like any other brand.

[Artnale30]

How do you know when this fan switch fails?  Where is it located to install the bypass?   Anybody have a youtube vid on how to do it?

[zed42]

You do realize that this is the Cforce section of the forum not the Zforce.

[Artnale30]

Oops.  Sorry, my bad.   

[NMKawierider]

I'll move it to the ZForce section.  Also I have a How-To on the by-pass.

[Cosmosdan]

I just keep wire with me and some terminals. The thermal switch is screwed into the radiator. I look at the harness and see if it's blade or round terminal. Then just make a jumper that I can shove in there if the fan fails to come on if it gets too hot. With the key on, the fan will run the whole time but I still am out riding.