Some of the semi-auto utility quads are easier to shift than others. Honda's foot shift models had a fairly stiff shifter, or at least the Recon did. The Suzuki Ozark was too. I had an old Yamaha Timberwolf and it was easy to shift, you barely had to push the shifter to upshift or downshift. Shifting with your thumb is a lot easier. The electric shift is just as fast as shifting with your foot too. It comes down to what you like. Some like shifting, its fun for them. Some prefer an auto, just put it in gear and go. Depends on terrain too. I think on slower speed trails, a semi-auto is better. If the speeds are greater say above 25 mph, a cvt auto is better because you maintain your power at higher speeds. To get to those speeds in a semi-auto you're probably going to have to be in at least 3rd or 4th gear. When you slow down, you have to downshift or you don't have enough power to take off again. At least in 4th gear or above. My Rancher would take off ok in 3rd gear and I'm sure something with more power like a Foreman 500 would be even better.

 

That is true, my friend has a 500 Foreman and on trails he can just leave it in 3rd and drive it like a auto. It takes off from a stop in 3rd no problem because all though they may not have the HP of most 500 they sure seem to have a lot of low end torque.

 

I think that happens a lot on the semi-auto quads. Pick a gear to lug around in and downshift when you have to. They get better fuel mileage that way as you keep the rpms down. 3rd gear seems to work great for that in most of them. It gives them enough power to take off from a dead stop and enough speed to keep up on tight trails. Enough power to climb smaller hills too. Steeper hills might require downshifting to 2nd. 2nd was enough in my Rancher to climb most anything that I would attempt, 1st was used very little on the trail.

 

Yamaha's still at the mysterious trailer game but at least there latest clip starts to reveal a little more- a release date, some quick glimpses of the vehicle and even a detailed look of its tracks:

Yamaha Reveals a Little More in Latest SxS Video - ATVConnection.com

 

Yamaha, just tell everyone what it is. Quit screwing around trying to be cute. While you're doing this, hundreds of people are going ahead and putting a deposit on a RZR 1000 turbo because they already know it exists and what it is. You just lost those customers because someone thought this was good marketing. Vague and mysterious doesn't cut it in the real world. Specifications sell machines.

 

The new YXZ is a 3 cylinder out of either the Nytro/Viper snowmachine or one of their streetbikes. My dealer told me it uses paddle shifters because there is too much of a power loss with a CVT transmission. For a high performance sport vehicle, shifting is not a big deal and preferred by most people. Who's to say that it doesn't also offer an automatic setting like the Honda dual clutch tranny? I bet it does.

I'm just wondering how expensive it will be.... $20,000 or $25,000? We will all know on September 1st.

 

Its about time Yamaha put a real high performance engine in any offroad vehicle. They could have built this 5 years ago. Snowmobiles have cvt transmissions so they can and are used for high hp applications. Yes there is power loss but if you have enough power, it can still perform well. Give it 140 hp and you won't notice.

 

Yes, there are sleds producing 170 hp that use CVT's, like the Arctic Cat Z1100 turbo for example. That sled also has a reputation as a belt eater. There is a ton of power loss with a CVT. It sounds like Yamaha will avoid that inefficiency by using a different style transmission. That decision will likely result in a higher performance UTV with a naturally aspirated motor that gets more power to the ground than a turbo charged RZR or Maverick.

High performance motorcycles, rally cars, sports cars and stock cars in NASCAR all use manual transmissions.

 

All snowmobiles use CVT only. My 2012 Ski-doo 800R Regagade E-Tec makes 165hp stock without a turbo but it is a 2-stroke.

 

Yes, they all use CVT's. It's completely dictated by the environment in which they travel and how they are made. There is a ton of resistance when going through deep snow. A CVT works better in keeping the motor in its sweet spot by always being in the right "gear". Same thing can be said when going through a mud bog on a quad, its easier to just mash the throttle and go than have to shift a manual tranny. But you lose power and efficiency with a CVT and if the primary purpose of the rig is to bash big bumps at high speed in a hot desert environment, than a rubber band transmission isn't the best choice. Belts don't like heat but a manual tranny can easily deal with it.

It's sounding to me like there will be some upset people that will bash the yxz-ss since they won't be able to drive with one hand, hold their beer in the other while slogging around in their favorite bog with their cooler strapped down in the back. Maybe Yamaha doesn't want to market to those folks as they are the same ones who sued them when they flipped their Rhino and got hurt. Seems like almost every mud bogging youtube video features a couple of drunk rednecks flipping their side by side, falling out while the beer cooler spills beer and ice everywhere.