90, Recons, Ranchers, Foremans, older 250EX's, and other older autoclutch machines.....

One of the magazines dissed the Rancher 420 for having "notchy" shifting. When I read that, I thought to myself that they should have tried a clutch adjustment. Also made a mental note to adjust all my clutches, which I hadn't done in a very long time.

I have to say that I also felt my 420 was a bit notchy. I adjusted it this morning, and now it buttery smooth!!! If this is something you have neglected, don't keep putting it off!

The procedure is in the owner's manual. It's real simple.....

 

Thanks Reconranger. I only have 2.5 hrs on my 420FM but I noticed notchy shifting. Going out ice fishing Sunday and will adjust after I get home. Maybe not set up too well from factory.

Thanks again

 

I've got about 11 hours on my 420TM and have noticed the shifting a bit notchy as well. I'll adjust it this weekend, thanks for the tip reconranger.

 

Went on a long ride, and the higher gears are still more notchy than I like, but better than before.....

 

I do the clutch adjustment as part of routine service on the Forman, and it seemed like it was off the first time I checked, and adjusting it made a difference.

Also it seems to have gotten progressively smoother as the machine has built up some miles, so in addition to doing the adjustment I'd also say get out there and put on a thousand miles or so...

Mine was never really bad, but could be less than buttery smooth, especially the first time through the gears after starting on a cold morning.

Anyway, good tip, ReconRanger.

 

New autoclutch trannies are always stiff and notchey. They imporve over time. Also, they are worse in cold weather, and better in warm weather and after the engine has warmed up.....

 

I know the process for adjusting the auto clutch, and have done it a couple times since buying my 420 last June. At no time have I ever felt a difference, (maybe it didn't need any adjustment when I did it, usually done at oil change). But have always wondered if a hair more adjustment one way or the other would benefit. And when adjusting what actutally are you doing to the clutch? Tight'en or Loosen' the plates?

 

you are taking up the slack in the linkage, tightening it up. you should be able to feel the two stages the shifter goes through. the first part of pressing your shifter disengages the clutch pack and does not shift the drum. If you press it slowly while running (sitting still, shift into first and slowly let your foot off you should notice when it engages. Then once engaged you can press it down slowly to sense when it disengages) you should be able to feel the engagement point and fine tune it from there.

 

I think basically you are making sure the linkage has the correct amount of slack, so as to avoid a situation where there isn't enough slack and the clutch could slip, or too much slack so the clutch would not disengage properly when shifting.

Maybe I have too much faith in Honda engineers, but I'd bet they did some CAD work and testing to make sure the procedure they describe in the manual is optimal.