Hey i was just wondering how the electric shifting is working for all you guys with the honda utility quads with ES. How does it work? Can it get jammed by downshifting quickly or anything like that? Are you happy with it? Thanks and hopefully i can get some replys.

 

I have a 01 Foreman 450 es.I've hit the downshift button by mistake before and never had it stick in gear. The only problem that i've had was when the idle was a little high, it wouldn't go into gear very easily.Turn the idle down and haven't had a problem since. If you turn the engine off while the atv is in gear,it's difficult to get it in netural.I think the electric shift is great.

 

even the shift 450 is hard to get in gear, just rock the quad and it'll go right into neutral. my cousin had a rancher ES and it was nothing but trouble, not saying they all are but his sure was!

 

our recon's angle sensor(only on electric shift units) was out so it it was nothing but problems. we got it replace 2 months ago and haven't had a problem since

 

The ES models are more prone to problems than the S models.

The percentage of electrical problems on the ES models while under the standard 6 month warranty is far greater than that of the S models.

Like someone else here said, the Rancher does seem to have more problems than the rest.

Water contamination causes most of these problems.

Another problem is that the angle sensor is located in a place where a stick can easily break off the sensor. This is another common problem with the Rancher and Foreman models. The Recon ES is still fairly new, and I haven't seen any in the shop yet for repair.

 

i would rather rely on my left foot to do the shifting.

 

I have a 98 450ES with 2200 miles and could't be happier with it. After four years I would hate to go back to using my foot again.

 

I have been a shifter of Hondas since 1969 and will remain so until I lose my left leg.

I plan on keeping all 3 legs a long time.

Chet

 

I'm on my second 450 ES and I highly recommend the ES. My first one had 11,000 before it got stolen and it stayed in gear only about 5 times and all you have to do is turn it off and then on resets the computer. That's no big deal. My new 2002 (which is almost 1.5 months old and has 3700km on it) speed sensor went that controls the 2x4 as well but it was still drivable in any gear. It would work fine until you hit a certain throttle and then the gear and 4x4 light would start flashing. Not once did I use the backup shifter in the tool box. I think the running boards are great. Only thing I have done to mine is bypass the reverse button thus you don't need to press the red button down. It won't shift into neutral if your going any speed anyways.

 

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