If any of the manufacturers wanted to build an ATV with an automatic transmission that was stupid fast, they could. Professional ATV racers will want manuals for the same reason professional race car drivers do, more control. I don't think anyone would want the liability if an amateur got hurt on a faster automatic of theirs, and won't likely build one anytime soon.

Automatic versus manual in utility ATVs like the thread was started about 10 years ago, automatics are much better IMO. They're always in the right gear and can fly up hills. Hill climbing with a manual you'll probably have to downshift. That's what a friend of mine was doing on a manual shift ATV when he broke his leg. He said he blew the shift and his quad flipped over on him on the way back down the hill. If he had an automatic that wouldn't have happened.

 

Automatic transmissions in cars and trucks used to be terrible. Really ate power and couldn't handle heavy towing. Now you literally have to special order a truck with a manual transmission because if you look at a dealer lot, you'll never find one. Nobody wants them. Ill admit, it would be hard for an auto atv to beat something like a 450 class sport quad without major mods to the engine. I'm sure the 1000cc Scrambler and Renegade would be stiff competition. Yes they weigh a lot more than a YFZ 450 for instance, almost twice as much. They also have about twice the power too. A lightweight cvt auto 4x4 atv is something that all of the manufacturers have seemingly given up on building. Lightweight would be relative, probably around 500 lbs would be about the minimum you could go. The Wolverine 450 4x4 weighed 516 lbs dry weight, I think it was the lightest cvt auto 4x4 atv ever built. It also had a swingarm rear axle and no low range or even any racks. I had one once, it was fun to ride but i wish it had more power. Yamaha could bring it back but put the 708cc single in it. They would have to make it a little bigger and it most likely would have to have irs. So it would still be a lot heavier than the 450. Still would be the lightest 4x4 auto atv available even at say 575 lbs. They would need to up the power to at least not completely get smoked by the competition. The Renegade and Scrambler are both much heavier than that at least.

 

If you pile sandbags on a sport quad until it weighs as much as a utility quad with the same horsepower, the sport quad should be faster. It would be like a sports car racing a 4x4 work truck. The car is geared for speed and the truck isn't.

 

I wish that my Arctic Cat 700 turbo diesel had a 10 speed Road Ranger, but the heavy duty CVT seems to work great. Pulls as hard in Hi range as Lo range, as far as I can tell. Lo range tops out at 31-32 mph and Hi only gets to 49-50 mph. I owned 2 Cats with manual transmissions, were fine, but I love the autos, even as good rock crawling down a steep mountain trail, especially the Diesel.

 

First, I have never heard anyone say Yamahamoto before, it sounds pretty funny since I came up with than name a while back and now I'm more of a Honda guy.

Second, that was kind of my point. Automatic quads are far heavier than sport quads, therefore, they are bettor at racing.

Third, no I've never seen a CVT in person or raced one. I do fast trails, some dunes, some track, and drag racing friends. Ive never been by a CVT and I'm not denying they can be fast. People can do anything to quads. Ive seen a 4x4 400ex that muds!

 

I gotta say, my best friend has a RZR Turbo, it weighs a lot! He has disabled the rev limiter. It will do darned close to 100 mph. It's huge. It scares the snot out of me. It's a friggin Polaris. It's an automatic. OK, he has grenaded the CVT already. Still I give that RZR mad respect. A fast automatic, still has my butt pucker on the passenger seat. I'm a Cat guy, would never buy a popo...

 

The Can Am Maverick X3 Turbo is pretty much just as fast as the Rzr Turbo as well. 85 mph bone stock. I'm sure with just a tune and maybe some bolt-ons, 100 mph is possible with it as well. I wish I had somewhere I could go that fast nearby. Not sure if I would. 67-68 mph is the fastest I've ever been on an atv. The Brute Force topped out at 67 mph and I got a Grizzly 660 up to 68 mph going downhill on pavement before. Had my King Quad up to 64 mph recently and it still had a little left but I didn't want to push it. I think every time I go that fast what if something goes wrong and I crash. That's why I only do it for a few seconds at a time and then wise up and slow down. I had a friend who hit a deer on his Grizzly at about 55 mph. He was actually pretty lucky that his injuries weren't more severe, broken shoulder and a lot of cuts and scrapes but he was fine in a couple months. No helmet either, if he had landed on his head, he'd probably be dead.

 

I'm pretty sure you started this...so please don't 1,2,3 me...

 

I would go with a manual I have had a bugbear. Those quads are pretty much indestructable. They're like tanks

 

I enjoyed reading this thread as I am a proud owner of a 2006 Eiger 400 manual. I actually like shifting because I feel more control!