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...

 

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.

 

Let off throttle when shifting gears...

 

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.

 

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