Ok, got the winch on and modified the old plow to the new push tubes and still waiting for snow. Total time on rancher is about a half hour from the back yard to the front, down the street and back and from one stall in the garage to the other side to provide working room. In the process I am finding that shifting from reverse to neutral is difficult to the point that I sometimes have to reach down and lift the lever by hand. All other ***** are reasonably smooth. Other than the above mentioned half hour I have never ridden an ATV in my 67 years of active life. The closest I've come is an old trail 90 I owned years ago. So, is this shifting just stiff because it's new or is something in need of adjustment? Bought this mostly to plow snow so there will be a lot of shifting from reverse to neutral to low.
Thank you
Stan

 

May be that you are not pulling the brake handle far enough, or it is possible the clutch needs some adjustment. That is covered in your owners manual. A lot of people do not recommend it, but you can lock out the reverse safety switch. I have done it and it makes plowing snow alot more quicker, I do put it back in the summer when trail riding........however you want to make sure.....completly sure that you are fully STOPPED before shifting in or out of reverse with the safety switch lock out. To lock it out, push the pin down pull the brake lever back and put a spacer in the gap and release. I use a 1/4 inch nut with a slot cut in it to fit over the cable. Fold the rubber dust cover back and you will see what I mean.

 

Another suggestion is put some miles on it and get it broke in. All seem a little stiff when new. After the 20 hour break in period, you may wish to switch to a syn based oil......it really helped mine.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: tramp

Another suggestion is put some miles on it and get it broke in. All seem a little stiff when new. After the 20 hour break in period, you may wish to switch to a syn based oil......it really helped mine.</end quote></div>

This is a brand new Rancher 420????

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm


It needs to get broken in hard! Putting around will never break it in properly. Your clutch and a whole lot of other things will be very stiff until it gets broken in. Get out and do some trail riding!

Seeing you are a newb, get some instruction from an experienced rider, and take a safety course! Do at least 10-20 hours on the trail, then follow the clutch adjustment procedure in the owner's manual.

Be sure you do the valve adjustment at 20 hours as well!

 

Thanks for the reply's. Yes it's brand new. It probably just needs broken in as you said. The weather will have to warm up a bit before I'll be able to some time in on it though , it's been in the teens for the last three weeks and I don't take the cold like I used to. Thanks agail.
Stan

 

I have a 2008 TRX 420FM Rancher and has 158kms on it right now.
Shifting mine from reverse to neutral is the same as you describe but as soon as I ride for a bit it shifts really easy and smooth

 

i have a 2007 rancher 420 and it shifts the same way as you are saying yours is, and i have many many miles and hours on mine

 

My Foreman was also a bit tough to shift, mainly the first time through the gears after a cold start.

After I did the break in service (including the clutch adjustment) it was greatly improved.

Welcome to the forum, and have fun with the Rancher. It's an excellent machine.