Beginner's question
 

I know this is going to be a dumb question, but I have never ridden atvs or motorcycles.....I am about to get a used Honda 125 atv from a friend of mine. Can someone tell me how to change gears on this (or any other atv-I assume most are the same) so I'll atleast know half-way what I'm doing when I get it and won't look completely clueless? Help!!!

Beginner's question
 

Im not to sure what quad you have, but Im going to assume it is a automatic clutch with manual shifting. Basically Neutral will be all the way down, and all the rest of the gears will be up. Probably 4-5 of them.


On ATV's that have a manual clutch(Im pretty sure there isn't one on the 125 your describing), Neutral is in between 1st and 2nd, and all the rest of the gears go up from 2nd.

Beginner's question
 

I think I would forget the ego and forget about trying not to look clueless, and just ask your buddy to show you how to operate the machine...

Beginner's question
 

Hey, thanks for the response. It is called a Fourtrax, by the way, if that helps. The only thing I know about the gears is that neutral is one tap down. Reverse is 2 taps down.....So would this mean all other "forward gears" are up (in order, up once to 1st, up twice to 2nd and so on???.... If so, is that all there is to it?...Do I hold the throttle where it is while changing gears?....Sorry for the stupid questions.

Beginner's question
 

Let off throttle when shifting gears...

Beginner's question
 

Many Hondas also have some sort of safety lock-out for reverse.

Often there will be a red button by the rear (left) brake lever, and if so, you have to push in the button and squeeze the brake, then tap the shifter down from Neutral to engage Reverse. Let go of the brake, and good to go.

You probably got the idea for forward gears, just let off the throttle and tap up or down to keep the engine from over reving or bogging down.

Most manual transmission ATV's also don't shift well when completely stopped, so people shift down through the gears as they slow down.

If you do find yourself stopped in a high gear, on some machines you may have to rock the machine back and forth a little to get it back into first or neutral.

Beginner's question
 

Thanks guys...I really appreciate it.....If anyone else has any other info. for a newby rider (especially for Hondas), I would appreciate it..