Forgot to mention. From on the bike, when you have the clutch pulled in, it's like you were in neutral (engine running, but wheels not turning)

 

What do I do as far as shifting when going up and down hills? Say I'm in 5th gear and want to slow down how do I know when to down shift? Also How Do I Know What Gear I am In?????

 

Please sell the quad, you truthfully have no business trying to learn how to ride on a Raptor. given demand you could probably sell it for a profit rather than trash a machine that is designed to be a step up from other machines. I know we all had to start somewhere but buying the top performance quad is not the way to start. If you have no Idea how to shift you really need to go to start on a non clutch foot shiftable quad.
This is serious business, you should not be riding it if you havent even grasped the concept of using the clutch or shifting. I would do my best to help anyone, But I will have no part in helping you hurt yourself, other riders, pedestrians, and your probably going to trash the clutch and the quad.

Sorry, But its wrong. You seriously need to start lower in the market. Its not like they use a NASCAR car in Drivers ED classes. You reaaly need experience to safely ride fast, And you have given me a bad feeling that if shifting is Greek to you then maintenance, safety, and usage of this type of quad are probably greek to you also.

I dont mean to hurt your feelings but sell it and get a lesser quad, worst case you could say I had a Raptor, It just wasnt all that I thought it would be for $7000 so I sold it and bought a good cheap XXXXXX quad.

 

dude, ur joking rgiht???? how can u buy a raptor and expect to hop on and ride if u dont know how to use a shifter.... mayube u should trade that in for a polaris , u would feel right at home theere..... adn as far as ur question about downshiftingm, ull hear the engine bog and it might stall sometimes.... when u hear then engine get quieter, pull in the cluth, let go of the gas, and press down on the shifter, then let the clutch out, and hit the gas.

 

If you don't think I know how to ride,handle a quad your wrong. Its just I have always had a scrambler 500 with an auto tranny and need some help learning to shift. For your information I am a very good quad rider,driver its just I have never driven one with a maunal tranny,clutch. Just because I need help learning to use the clutch doesn't mean I will go out and wreck. Please stop posting all your damn negative posts and post ones that will help.

 

ericsraptor, could you please send me an e-mail so we can communicate back and fourth by e-mail? You seem to be the only one that isn't posting negative. Thanks!

 

automan where in illinois do u live? i'll trade u my lt250 for your raptor i started on my lt and i'm glad i did it taught me how do do just about everything. look below at my mods... how bout it? i want a raptor bad. bad enough to give up my beloved lt even!

 

Let's make it clear. GEARS DO NOT MAKE YOU GO FASTER OR SLOWER. THEY ONLY ALLOW YOU TO HAVE THE DESIRED RPM (which depends on if you want to go fast or not).
You shouldn't need to know in what gear you are (I don't). Gears are used to keep the engine running at a certain RPM/speed.
Let's take your example. Uphill, 5th. If the engine is in the powerband (do you get that? when the engine pushes hard)...you'll probably climb. If the RPM goes down during the uphill (and you're wide open), step down 1 gear, and your engine will get high RPM again...if not, one gear under again and again and again...Your Raptor should climb anything in 2nd ( I think).
Keep in mind that you control speed with brakes and throttle, and engine RPM with gears. If you don't need power (cruising on a trail), you can stay at low RPM...it won't change much.
To see what I mean when "low RPM", "high RPM", and how this is linked to power, check out www.quadstore.com You'll see a bunch of dynocharts, and you'll get what I mean.
But again, the best thing is to find someone to go riding with that can explain everything to you on the trail.
To stop, pull in the clutch and BRAKE (both F/R).
Again (I really want you to get this):
GEARS ALLOW THE ENGINE TO HAVE A CERTAIN RPM, DEPENDING ONLY ON THE SPEED.
Example (very simplified and not true but representing simplistically the reality): You're riding at 10mp/h...what gear is the right one? All! Yes, all gears are correct. BUT, if you're cruising, then you don't want much power (so little RPM is all you need)...so you might say "I put in 5th and that's it". Not exactly, because at 10 mph, the ratio 5th gear makes might be to big and the engine will simply not have enough RPM to keep running, and will stall. That's no big deal (thanks electric starter). So try going 4th...3rd (keeping the same speed)...RPM will higher (with throttle control, you should be able not to accelerate)...That's one good idea to understand how gears works!!
Ride 15mph (or any safe speed -that you don't have to watch around you-), put in the maximum gear (5th I think) -pulling up until it doesn't change any more-, your RPM will probably be quite low, then KEEPING THE SAME SPEED, downshift, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st. RPM will higher each time. Up to you then with the throttle to determine how much power you want.
It's just a matter of ratios between the crank and the wheels.
Keep us informed.

 

uhh.... gotta be kidding?! Can you drive a standard car???

 

Well if the Raptor has a set screw behind the thumb throttle like my lt160 you could set it half or 3/4ths the way open and begin from there.You have to figure the Raptor is an awsome machine! if you let the rpms get to high before letting the clutch out you might flip the thumper!