Read on.....

The key to the modern automatic transmission is the torque converter. It takes the place of a clutch in a manual transmission.

A direct descendant of an earlier component called a fluid coupling, the torque converter offers the advantage of multiplying the turning power provided by the engine. It is connected to the motor by means of a metal rod known as the transmission shaft (sometimes called the input shaft), which fits next to but does not touch the engine crankshaft. Repeat: there is no direct connection between the engine and the transmission.

Instead, the engine turns the transmission by means of a process called hydraulic coupling.

Think of two electric fans in a room. Line them up a few feet apart, one in front of the other, both facing the same direction. Now turn on the rear fan. What happens? If you've turned the fan up high enough, and if the fans are close enough together, the front fan will begin to turn as well. In this same manner does the engine crankshaft influence the transmission shaft, causing it to rotate.

The identical process occurs in a torque converter, except that transmission fluid takes the place of air.

But there's more. Inside the torque converter are several components that help multiply the power. These are the impeller (or pump), the turbine, and the stator (or guide wheel).

A torque converter is like a giant doughnut. The impeller and the turbine (the two fans in the analogy above) face one another inside the round metal casing. The impeller is on the engine side, the turbine on the tranny side. Both of these components have blades that catch the transmission fluid and cause them to spin.

Picture two halves of a chambered nautilus, and this will perhaps give you a better image.

As one fan begins to spin, the other will spin as well. Through centrifugal force, the fluid moves to the outside of the blades, where it is redirected by a third fan, called a stator, back to the turbine side. This continual flow of fluid is what causes the power to be multiplied.

 

<<Very true Shaggy500HO. Campy and Walexa have stepped up to the plate and shown they don't understand the physics of a torque converter. Any other takers? >>

Heh, well, it's not like you proved me wrong in my theory, you merely told me I was wrong.

See?

<<The people at ATRA (Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association)would disagree with you as well as quite a few drag racers I know on your assesment of how an automatic transmission works. I mean no offense but the explanation was just not correct. Torque converters can multiply torque and non locking converters are not equal to a slipping clutch. Some of your theory was on the right track just not accurate. >>

 

Not that anyone cares about my personal opinion on this dying topic… But, I would not call a bad transmission seal “Reliable” either. And I certainly would have replaced it myself knowing it would eventually create more problems with my transmission sooner or later.

 

Did anyone happen to notice the big exhaust system in 3TV's last photo? It comes back on the left and then goes to the right side of the ATV and then out. Does anyone know the specifics on the engine? Is the motor based on the XR650? Or is it new from the ground up?

 

The exhaust more resembles that from a Civic CR-X than any 4-wheeler I've seen in a while.

As for the XR650 engine... well, it very well may the same bottom end (same bore and stroke, 100.0mm x 82.6mm), but the XR650 has a SOHC top end, while the Rincon's is pushrod.
Too bad they didn't just shoehorn the stock XR engine in there...

 

I dont know if someone allready mentiond this but the rear tires look pretty close to the shocks, that might make it hard to get the big tires on without rubbing. PS I think it will be sportier then the Kawasaki considering they do a nose dive badly around corners. My opinion.

 

I think it's a riot all the talk back on page two about "how did honda make the weight EXACTLY 600 lb's" you'd think they were designing stuff back in the dark ages... It's penuts to set out with an exact allowance in computer aided design work, and works parts around and change materials till it comes out the right weight and balance. However from the appearance of some polaris engineering they really did just take a CITD ( cr-- in the dark ) on most of their engineering- if a part didn't break they left it alone ( instead of considering optimizing it ) then if a part broke- make it bigger and wait a while to see if it breaks.

 

<< I hate to say this, but the Kawasaki 650 has just been knocked off as the best &quot;Monster ATV&quot;. >>



Not so fast, the Florida votes are being re-counted[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]