Hey, I'm new to sport quads, I've only ridden utilities so far. I just want to know the exact times i need to clutch. I know its the most simple thing i can imagine, but I still wanna make sure I have it perfect, and don't mess up my tranny. Is it like a manual car? I can drive those. Will someone explain? Sorry if this is a waste of space, but thanks for the help.

 

Yep...the details are different, but basicly pulling the lever disengages the clutch, letting it out engages it. Youll notice it drags a bit, when cold, because its a multi plate wet clutch, where as a car has a single dry plate clutch.

You definetly need to pull the clutch for stopping in gear, and for most of the downshifts. Upshifts(once you get used to it), can be done clutchless. If its done right , nothing will be harmed, but wait til you get used to it before trying that.

 

So basically, pull it in all the way and let off the gas to shift down....and up before i can do it clutchless? do you use it to throw out the back end to? or is that all body weight position? I think thats all i need to know. And thanks a lot for the info hondabuster.

 

And see, I'm just the opposite of hondabuster, I always use the clutch when up shifting, but not so much downshifting. Different theory's there, but to be safe, you should probably use it all the time. That's the habit I'm trying to get into.

As far as throwing the back end around, depending on your quad, you shouldn't need the clutch too much there. Just put your *** into it a little bit and blip the throttle and she should slide pretty easy.

 

Hey thanks for the info you guys, I can't wait to ride. I might get flamed for this, but i bought a 450r before i had ridden a manual clutch quad...that was a week ago, but i won't get to ride it until next week[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] thanks a ton though.

 

No flamming...just go easy for a while. It is different and you should give yourself some time to get used to it.

 

I'll be giving myself plenty of time to get used to it. I've wanted a quad since i was about 6 and now, two weeks before my 16th brithday I finally get one. Its the most amazing thing. I've ridden a lot of utility at the hatfield mcCoy traisl already, but I've never had one of my own. I'm proud.

 

I rode dirtbikes for a few years and eventually got to the point to where I only used the clutch for starting and stopping, but that's a dirtbike. I learned not to do that on a quad... It's easier to bend a shift-fork on a quad than a dirtbike, mainly because it has more tires grabbing the dirt and it's a heavier machine, thus putting more load into the transmission. This isn't to say that shifting without using the clutch can't be done successfully, I still do it occasionally, but not a main practice. When you get jammin' sometimes don't have the time to pull in the cutch, turn, put on the front and back brakes, roll your body forward and to the inside of the corner and accelerate out... a lot happening at once. But it can get expensive if you have to split the cases for repairs.

In general I unload the tranny just enough to make the shift by slightly pulling in the clutch. Everybody has their preference, you'll have yours.

 

make sure you take it very easy for awhile getting used to a 450r compared to utilities, i went from a 91 honda 250x (300ex with kickstart) to a z400 about 2 months ago and it still took a few weeks to get used to. Going from utilities to the high end of sport machines is a major jump, all i'm saying is keep safe.

 

rippn- I think I'll be taking it realll easy for a while. Actually my first ride on it will be this saturday, because my parents won't let me bring it up here to the city. We have another house about two hours away with 54 acres surrounded by 15000 acres of public hunting/wildlife land. The public land prohibits atv use though...anyway, I can't wait any more to ride it, and thanks for the tips