Ok so I know this is a really stupid question but I am barely starting off in the quad world.So I have a 400ex that I bought about a week ago and I haven't been able to drive it without stalling it. So how do I shift gears without stalling? Thank you in advance.

 

pull in clutch, shift, ease on the gas as you ease off the clutch

 

that says it

 

what he said!

 

When I taught my wife I had her put the quad in first gear with it running and slowly let go of the clutch. You will feel when the machine starts to grab and pull. Get to the point where you are comfortable letting the clutch out a bit and the machine starts to pull. Once the machine starts to pull give it some gas.

 

Yup that's it. Practice practice practice. Before long it'll be as natural as breathing.

 

First, find a wide open flat area. Then do as the others have suggested.

Like they've said, practice is the key.

 

Just like driving a stick shift car, except it's with your hands. I think everyone should know how to drive a stick.

 

Just remember the clutch is your best friend......... If you get out of control or feel like you are taking off too fast pull the clutch in. It will cut all power to the rear wheels.....

The key is smooth operation of the clutch and throttle......... don't "pop" or do anything fast at first........ slow throttle, slow clutch........ as others have said in no time it will be a thoughtless process.

 

Well just like the other's have stated but i hope you have better luck than my Dad did when he tried to learn to ride a motor cycle , Dad had driven everything from big Army Truck's , jeep's even the old motorcycle's with the side car's when he was in the Army during War WWII ; so when he desided to buy a small Sear's 110cc motorbike to ride on his news paper route so he could save gas back in the late 60's !

This was a big shock to me because here was my Dad who for years when me or my eldest brother would ask if we could buy a motorcycle , and he would away's tell us quote " H*ll no you can't buy a motorcycle" ; so you can see that it was not natural 'especially" at the age of 40 yrs. young who was now going to do something that he had told us we couldn't because motorcycles or to dangerous !

I walked back and forth to my job at the Gas Station because i couldn't afford gas for my truck and still have enough money to take a girl to the movie's on the weekend's , and as soon as i got half way out the street from home i could hear my two younger brother yelling " Let Us Show you how to ride it ; and when i walked into the driveway here was my Dad and 2 brother's in the front yard with Dad sitting on this little Sears Motor bike !

My brother's kept telling Dad to let them show him how to ride the motor bike , and Dad kept telling them 'H*ll no i bought this motorcycle to use on my paper Route ; he would start the bike and ease back on the twist throddle and ease off the hand clutch and stall the engine !

I don't know how long they had been out in the yard trying to get the hang of the hand clutch , you see like i stated before he had driven about every kind of manual shift vehicle there was ; even the old Indain and later on the old Harley Davidson cycle's after he was discharged from the Service after WWII but these Manual shift vehicle's including the afore mentioned motorcycle's had a foot pedal clutch !

The old Harley 1200 panhead's had the notorious Suiside foot petal Clutch and Dad was having trouble using the hand clutch , he just kept stalling the engine and my 2 brother's weren't helping matter's with their begging for dad to let them show him how to ride it ; the last time he started the engine he reved it up way to tight and when he had let out the clutch to where it justed started to engauge he let the clutch slip from his grip !

How the spot he had desided the learn to ride this little Sears 110cc bike was only about 20 yard's then there was two tree's and a very narrow trail that a drop's off rather steep that led down to my Gandma's/Dad's Mother's house ( man if we had a camcorder that day it would've won first place for ( America's Funniest Home Video's ) , But i was to afraid that Dad was going to die after he just barely missed the big and bigger pine tree's before he dropped out of sight and down the trail to grandma's house ; just as fast as my 2 brother's and i got the trail with me in front Dad passed me coming back up the trail with the knee of his pant's torn !

The only thing he said as he passed me was " Son i bought you a motorcycle for $100.00 " you can pay me a few dollar's a month , he didn't even stop to see if i wanted it no he just walked on up to the house ; my 2 brother's shagged on down the trail to check out the Motorbike for damage and were arguing about who was going to ride it first !

And when i got down to them and busted their bubble when i informed them it wasn't their turn to ride my Sears 110cc Motor bike , i thought that would be the end of my Dad buying another motor bike to ride on the Paper Route ; but about 6 month's later i came home late after working the night shift at the Gas Station i went in the house to get ready for bed and Dad was either was waiting up for me or i awakened him when i oened the door !

I started to go on to the bathroom and wash up before going to bed , Dad said Son i bought you another motorcycle a Sears 125cc and you can pay me a little a month for $125.00 ; i just told him ok Dad i'll look at it in the morning when i get up !

My eldest brother and the 2 younger brother's told me all about how Dad had taken this Sears 125cc motor Bike across the road to a large field that was grown up with Broom Sage and a large Black Berry patch , and one lone crab apple tree and Dad was more determined to learn to ride this one ; he even let Roy the eldest brother show him how to ride it this time (but alas ) he ended up plowing straight through the Black Berry patch and doing four doughnut's around the crab apple tree !

And that was the last time poor ole Dad ever bought or even showed any interest in learning how to ride one of Roy's or any of my Street bike's that we owned up to March 2nd 1975 when i lost both leg's just below the knee trying to help a friend push his Dad Classic 1958 Chevolet Impala 2 door hard top out of the road after he ran out of gas , that was the end of my passion for riding 2 wheeler Street and dirt bike's ; and sadly we lost our Dad and eldest brother Roy in October 1979 , for Roy he passed away October 2nd 1979 of a massive heart attack brought on by complication's of Diabete's ; and Dad passed away 6 day's later October 8th 1979 from Lung Cancer !

I hope no one object's to this long reply to this posted thread , if anyone does object to this one you can pm me and i will remove it ; it's just that this topic from the original poster question about wanting to know how to shift a manual clutch tranny wihout stalling and the memories just came flooding back to me like it was yesterday !

God Bless All of the great members of this forum and all of the Moderator's here on the ATV Connection forums , williebee !.........