On a 400EX with the clutch when you go to shift gears do you just hold in the clutch and shift with the accelerator still pinned?? Or do you let go of the accelerator squeeze the clutch,shift the gear,and then pin the accelorater again???
I know it sounds stupid but i need to know.

icav

 

If your going from the 250ex to the 400ex I would definately wait until I got used to the power of the 400 before trying something like that!

 

i don't use my clutch. but you should. take your finger off the throttle, pull in the clutch, shift, let out the clutch as you give it gas. good luck. i can tell this will be your first manual transmission. its gonna take a while to get used to it so don't get frustrated

 

What do you mean you don't "use" your clutch? I thought you had to use it to shift gears. When you pull in the clutch do you pull it in all the way?? Do you completely let go of the clutch before pushing the accelerator??? I really need to know EXACTLY what to do. I dont want to mess up my quad when I get it.


icav

 

Use your clutch when you shift. Don't nail the throttle either since you're gonna need to break it in first. Just putt around and you'll get the feel for how much gas you have to give it and how fast to let off the clutch, but it really isn't something you can completely explain... you can just feel it. Don't worry about it so much either, after a little while it'll be second nature. Just be carefull riding something with an auto clutch because you'll tend to grab the brake when you shift.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] Text First of all...I can't believe you are starting out with a 400!! Thats downright crazy. When I first learned how to use a clutch on a dirt bike I was riding on the back of a XR 600 with my friend and I watched him carefully. Sooo I figured it couldn't be that hard since I had drove manual vehicles before..and I tried it out. That is a very heavy bike and it has alot alot alot of power. Too much really, unless you weigh 500 pounds or you are going to climb Pikes Peak. Anyway.. I never crashed or anything. I would slowly let out the clutch until I could feel it grab and then I would give it gas. I eventually rode it almost every week and became pretty good going around my house and on our road. Of course my friend who owns this thing can ride a wheelie in the first 4 gears and is pretty damn slick at doing almost anything with it. Anyway...the moral of this story is...be nice to your bike, especially if it's new and has the potential of flipping you on your *** and getting away from you...as does the 400 ex. I hope you don't go around pinning it the first week you own it..and always use the clutch. WHAT do you think its for? Not using a clutch is damaging to the syncronizers in your transmission and will ultimately wear out your transmission prematurely.

 

If you don't back off the throttle before pulling the clutch lever then engine is going to rev way up once the load/tranmission is off the engine. This will cause the engine side of the clutch plate to rotate much faster and with heavy torque than the tranmission side. The end result is more clutch wear once the two come back together after you have shifted gears and released the lever.

Power shifting is the term given to a transmission's ability to change gears without the clutch being disengaged. It requires a solid transmission, some practice and a rider who either has money to maintain the transmission and/or the expertise to handle the job.

If Honda thought it important enough to build a clutch into the quad, chances are you should use it.

 

ICAV ,

HAVE SOMEONE SHOW YOU HOW TO "SPEED SHIFT" IT . I HAVE A 01 EX HERE TO PLAY WITH AND USE THE CLUTCH ONLY FOR 1 ST GEAR ITS A HONDA IT WILL BE FINE. I'M 43 YRS OLD AND HAVE RODE THEM FOR MANY YEARS, NOW I SELL THEM PART TIME-- NOT SOME 12 YR. OLD WITH A HAIR BRAIN IDEA .

 

If you are talking to me..I don't care if you are a HUNDRED AND THREE...my dad owns an AUTO PARTS store and has maintained it for almost 30 years and we have O'Reilly's (sp) and an Autozone in town to compete with...He must know what he is talking about. IM glad you are a part time dealer so you don't have far to go to fix your abused quad.. and Im not 12...

 

HONDAGRANT,

ADJUST YOUR GLASSES READ IT AGAIN AND GET OFF MY A$$ THAT RESPONSE WAS NOT DIRECTED AT <u>A N Y O N E</u> IN PARTICULAR ,JUST MY OPINION. TAKE A PROZAC AND SLOW DOWN CUZ YOUR RUNN'IN FASTER THAN YOUR QUAD!!!!