my 2001 honda foreman 450 es 4x4 sometimes gets stuck in 2nd gear and wont downshift to N or R and upper gears shift fine. It will only make the clicking sound while trying to downshift. Rigorous rocking rarely gets it to move. I have to cut it off to reset it then down shift. There are no flashing codes, just the occasional flat line. sometimes while im trying to get it downshifted it will jump from 2 to 5 and get stuck in five. This scenerio only happens after i rode it a little while and happens more often when my lights are on. I cleaned terminals, put a new battery in incase that was the problem. Took it to the honda shop to get checked. They said my valves were really loose and thats what caused it. So after $150 later with tight valves, it still does it. Still no code. i dont want to drop it off and let these people keep it for two weeks and charge my hundreds to mis dianose and tell me sometimes these ES systems do this. i know it could be a hundred things but can anyone suggest a fix for my sitiution?

 

Im not sure whats up with the jump from 2 to 5...cant help on that one.

But the occasional difficult to shift with out any codes...(not that youd get any, its only 2002 and up that flash codes) Id try the clutch adjustment, and check the battery voltage, and the cleaniness of the contacts on the battery terminals.

 

the battery voltage is good, would the clutch being out of adjustment cause this to happen constantly?-this shifting problem gives me trouble after ive rode for about an 30 minutes. or would a clutch misalignment cause it do it constantly?

 

Its listed second in the service manual, in priority of things to do. Its the cause of alot of shifting problems.
Its called the clutch adjustment, but it actually is the adjustment for the slop, or clearance in the linkage going to the clutch pack.
Its an easy and quick adjustment, thats supposed to be done every 6 months. It certainly cant hurt to do it. If it goes away, then its fixed, and youll know what to do next time.
If it doesnt work, then theres other stuff to do.
If you can, do this on a warm motor, key off. Theres a locknut and slotted screw on the forward side of the engine case. Go at it from the left footwell side. Loosen the nut a turn or two. Turn the slotted screw, ccw, until you feel resistance...you may have to try this a few times, to get the feel for what im talking about..but itll get more resistant to turning..stop here, now go back, cw, 1/4 turn. Hold the slotted screw stationary, and snug up the locknut. Done.
Let us know how that goes.