I have a 2006 Honda Foreman 500 ES 4X4 This afternoon I was plowing and was repeatedly having trouble downshifting. I would hit the button and nothing would happen. After I came to a stop I could push it a few times and it would eventually downshift. My initial thought was the shift switch itself might be bad, but when the key is on but the motor is not running, it easily shifts up and down. I read the service manual and checked for error codes, I am not getting any. Any thoughts on what could be causing this?

 

May be worth checking how high the charging voltage is. Over 15v and it is overloading the ECU when running. However also check clutch adjustment, and how it changes manually with the emergency lever. It could well be the down button though, or the shift motor, if upshifts are OK but downshifting is sticky.