<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: tripleR

I sure know what you mean, I have an old Kawasaki Mule like that and my son's Kawasaki Prairie was that way though I think the newer ones may be different. My brother just bought one, but I haven't ridden it and he only rides the flatlands. I am too attached to the Mule to get rid of it though I rarely use it since I got my Rhino. I wish the Rhino would come out with power steering.



I rode dirt bikes for so many years, I just can't live without a separate front and rear brake, just old fashioned I guess. I can't ride them anymore, but can't stand to get rid of them.



1975 Ossa Explorer

1978 Suzuki

1987 YFM 225 Moto 4

1990 Kawasaki Mule

2006 Rhino with guards, winch, front and rear bumpers and top.

2008 Yamaha Grizzly 700 EPS, winch, rack extension, Richochet undercarriage proetction.



No locks or chains, Glock 23 with laser sights and a Sig 556.</end quote></div>

I know exactly what you mean. I was having major problems trying to test ride the quads the the other day. I kept pulling the brakes because I am so used to having a clutch. Instead of going faster the damn thing would skid out..........LOL

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: tripleR

Hacktorious,



Enjoy your new ATV; wise move on the winch. I would also recommend A Arm and underbelly guards as what comes on most of them will be torn off before long exposing you cv joints to sticks and such.</end quote></div>

Yea, the guards are on my list. However, I am going to wait until the fall sale when everything is 20% off. I would also like to get a chest guard, and camo cover.

 

Foot-shift or not, without a hand-operated clutch it's still an automatic as far as I'm concerned. I searched and searched for a utility quad with a manual clutch, but they just don't exist. I went with a CVT because a semi-auto equates to the hassle of shifting without the benefit of control.

 

BradW,

Interesting observation. With a background of riding dirt and street for over thirty years before getting an ATV with "manual" transmission and riding one for eighteen or so, I really never did get use to shifting without a clutch and never got very smooth with it, especially downshifting. I also missed the ability to skip gears and feather the clutch. I was much more comfortable with the CVT on my Polaris and now my Grizzly. I never use the brake on the left handlebar except to lock the brakes.

Hacktourius,

I know what you mean, it took me seemingly forever to keep myself from "slapping the clutch" when I began riding ATV's in 1988, very confusing and it does interefere with smooth forward motion.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: tripleR

BradW,



Interesting observation. With a background of riding dirt and street for over thirty years before getting an ATV with "manual" transmission and riding one for eighteen or so, I really never did get use to shifting without a clutch and never got very smooth with it, especially downshifting. I also missed the ability to skip gears and feather the clutch. I was much more comfortable with the CVT on my Polaris and now my Grizzly. I never use the brake on the left handlebar except to lock the brakes.



Hacktourius,



I know what you mean, it took me seemingly forever to keep myself from "slapping the clutch" when I began riding ATV's in 1988, very confusing and it does interefere with smooth forward motion.</end quote></div>


I think I will adjust after a few days.

 

I'm sure you will, some people adapt better than others; old dogs, new tricks and all.

 

Hello I was just browsing through. I have owned a lot of manual shift atvs. I never owned a racing style quad. I've rode a lot but I do a lot of farm work and like mud and 4x4 so I need a utility. That being said I bought a 2013 Yamaha grizzly 450. CVT trans. At first I kind of liked it. But you need to snorkel if you plan to hit any mud or 2ft or more of water. The trans has two vents. One in front and one in back. They are right below racks if you get water to the racks then the belts get wet and slip. Now all you have to do it tilt grizzly over to left side and pull plug to drain belt case. Me I prefer manual and will be buying one this year. Also make sure your brake system is sealed. Honda rancher 2013 wasn't and back brakes are fucked after just a few times in mud. Sorry to ramble just giving input.

 

Sometimes I like seeing a good old thread like this one get resurrected. I still have the Sportsman 500 HO EFI I bought when I posted here in 2008. There is one thing I'm going to add. The ADC which I only used a couple of times in 9 years to see if it worked broke. 4x2 worked great. 4x4 worked great too. But when I accidentally turned on the ADC one day it made a horrible grinding noise until I turned it off. The dealer fixed it, it broke again, and they fixed it again at no charge. AFAIK it still works but I never use it. There's no need to. A manual shift quad doesn't have ADC so that's one thing it couldn't break. I still love everything else about automatics.

One more thing. My friend who switched from a 400 manual to a 660 automatic now has a Sportsman 1000. So far the belt has been able to handle all 88 HP without any trouble. That seems to disprove the idea of weak "rubber band drives".

 

There pretty much are very few options anymore if you want a utility machine that isn't automatic. Honda is pretty much the only one that builds one anymore other than the YXZ 1000 utv. And don't buy one of those unless you live near dunes or desert, they're only good if you want to go fast. If you try to putt around at slow trail speeds you will destroy the clutch. There is a gear reduction kit for it that helps somewhat. The cvt system on pretty much every quad and utv built now is pretty solid. Unless you try to use it for a submarine and constantly submerge it, the belts last for several thousand miles. A clutch kit helps if you go with a lift and much larger tires, that's another thing that will kill a belt. Keep them stock and they will last for years. Under extreme load(like plowing or towing and hauling heavy) and at slow speeds, make use of low range. I see people on youtube and facebook all the time making fun of people for owning a cvt auto machine. I guess at times it might be fun to shift but cvt autos is what everyone builds now because that's what most people want. I guess the belt wastes a little power but even on smaller displacement machines like the new Brute Force 300(actually only 271cc), its still plenty peppy enough compared to other quads of similar displacement.

 

It's funny, after owning manual shift Arctic Cat 400 and a 500 for years with manual shift, I bought an Arctic Cat 700 Diesel recently with auto trans. It still has a manual transmission, though. It has so much torque that you can easily take off in Hi range and even plow snow in Hi. I did end up modifying the clutch for better response, added weights on the primary and reclocked the secondary to B4. Still, I'm curious how it would perform with a wet clutch and a 10 speed Road Ranger, hehe. Also the 1996 Polaris 400 Sportsman that I owned once had a separate transmission with a CVT.