Honda atv's

[Silver]

Anyone have a Honda with the automatic shift program? If so any troubles with it?
I have a 2015 Honda Foreman with electric shift. One day I went to use it and it would no longer shift, even though it was shifted into neutral when parked and shut off. I spent days on it with a multi-meter and the service manual and verified all sorts of things were good. Changed out ecm and angle sensor.... still no go. Gave up and took it to the dealer. They changed out shift module and did a few things. Still refuses to shift.
So now I am reluctant to take it home. Think I'll trade it off. Thus my question regarding the auto shift Honda quads and their reliability with regards to shifting. Don't really want to go to foot shift but it would probably be a safer bet.

 

[Nesikep]

From my experiences I've liked Yamahas best.. I've never owned a honda but I think the steps they force you to take to shift into reverse is ridiculous, same with Suzuki... I do a lot of forward/reverse, so it gets real annoying real fast. Haven't tried a Polaris yet, I think they usually have a belt drive, no gears... maybe you'd like that?

 

[jltrent]

I always get Honda foot shifters... Have you checked the shift motor to make sure it is working?

 

[Silver]

I always get Honda foot shifters... Have you checked the shift motor to make sure it is working?

Yes, unplugged harness at ecm and powered up shift motor with motor removed and it works fine. No signal from ecm. Correct power from shift buttons to ecm. Which is why I changed out the ecm :???:

 

[jltrent]

I always get Honda foot shifters... Have you checked the shift motor to make sure it is working?

Yes, unplugged harness at ecm and powered up shift motor with motor removed and it works fine. No signal from ecm. Correct power from shift buttons to ecm. Which is why I changed out the ecm :???:

This might help or might not.......

https://www.subzerosound.com/HondaECUBypass.html

 

[Silver]

The new Honda's have gone away from that silly button on the brake handle so that's a good thing. According to their literature you can even shift from forward to reverse without going through neutral now.
I have a Yamaha Kodiak, it's been a great bike. Plan on keeping it for the foreseeable future. No dealer nearby anymore so I'm kind of ruling that out.
Dad has a new Polaris, it's a big step up from his last one and Polaris has finally put an engine brake on and clutches that don't free wheel going down hill. I think it's a pretty good bike but time will tell.
I'm mostly thinking Honda because that's where the broken bike is and may be easier to negotiate a trade. Dunno. This bike is for my wife, so the final say is hers lol

 

[Silver]

I always get Honda foot shifters... Have you checked the shift motor to make sure it is working?

Yes, unplugged harness at ecm and powered up shift motor with motor removed and it works fine. No signal from ecm. Correct power from shift buttons to ecm. Which is why I changed out the ecm :???:

This might help or might not.......

https://www.subzerosound.com/HondaECUBypass.html

Thanks, that may be a really good option.

 

[bird dog]

That was going to be my question, can you shift it manually using the tool provided?

I bought a 2013 Rancher from an ol' boy with about 10 hours on it two years ago this month and it has automatic shift and power steering. It now has about 1600 miles on it. I love the little machine. It has worked flawlessly so far. It shifts hard until it warms up a bit and sometimes you want it to shift and it can't decide it it wants to but all in all its a comfortable easy driving machine. The power steering is something I don't think I would ever do without anymore.

My cheap butt would have never paid up for these two options but I would buy the same machine today if something happened to this one. Granted its not that old yet and may quit on me tomorrow but so far so good.

 

[Nesikep]

The new Honda's have gone away from that silly button on the brake handle so that's a good thing. According to their literature you can even shift from forward to reverse without going through neutral now.

That's good news.. on the old Big bear I had reverse was a range, so you could leave the foot shifter in gear and still go forward to reverse easily, you could actually rock yourself out of a bad spot

I rode a bit a newer honda a few months ago, the power steering option is kinda nice

 

[Aaron]

Obviously Honda is too dumb to make a proper tranny shift at this stage in the game, which is pretty pathetic. Add on to the fact the dealer can't fix it, and that is just shameful.

The answer is, and always will be, Kawasaki. They have their shyt together.

 

[Nesikep]

Obviously Honda is too dumb to make a proper tranny shift at this stage in the game, which is pretty pathetic. Add on to the fact the dealer can't fix it, and that is just shameful.

The answer is, and always will be, Kawasaki. They have their shyt together.

Hardly ever see a Kawasaki around here.. I do like their streetbikes.. I haven't found anything Suzuki I've likes, hated the Katana 750 I had with a burning passion

 

[Redgully]

I'm a Kawasaki man, imo honda do the best engines but lack everywhere else. Kawasaki are simple and made to be used. Suzuki are ok but have weak areas which causes them to fail, well that's my experience. Ive got a kawasaki atv klf300 we bought new in 1997, it has been towing a trailer around hills for 90% of its 40,000 km life and still going strong.

 

[Brute 23]

I've had the honda ranchers back in the day and they were bullet proof but to go back to all wheel drive and manual shift or even push button shift now days is crazy. I've been watching for a good deal on a smaller kawaski prairie or brute force for my son to ride. Not getting any thing that doesnt have a cvt though. I walked in to the dealer on day and they were running some sales on the Brute Force 300. I almost left with one. It would fit real nice in the back compartment of the cattle trailer too if I needed it.

 

[Atimm693]

Boss has one. When they work, it's great, when they don't, it's a pain.

JMO, but I like a 500cc, selectable 4x4, CVT belt drive Japanese ATV. Kawasaki, Yamaha, or Suzuki.

I used to really like Honda, but they seem to have gone down a tangent with these electric shift and DSG gearboxes.

I wouldn't take a Polaris if you gave it to me.

 

[Silver]

Well I went to town yesterday to see the quad. They had the transmission tore apart and had found a sprag clutch that wasn't doing it's job. They were hoping that once the sprag was replaced they could go back to diagnosing the electrical shifting issue.
So I tracked the owner down and made a reasonable deal on trading the thing on a new one. Might be a mistake, time will tell. Didn't really want to continue to pay them to fix it, then take it to another dealer for trade if and when it was fixed. Who knows what it will end up costing. Dealer's mechanics and the Honda tech support were all completely baffled. There is not and never has been a fault code.
So Mrs. Silver will now have a new Honda quad and I think I'll just continue to use my Yammy for the foreseeable future.

 

[Texasmark]

Not trying to change the subject, but on the subject of what to buy (if you are inclined), my first experience with a 4 wheeler ( recalling about a 7 year old TSC low $$ Gator type thing, not all that much usage) had a CVT belt drive and the sheaves didn't have a lot of wear and weren't corroded or anything....seemed to move out and in as commanded. I installed the correct OEM belt and did a service job on the engine for a neighbor including fresh filters, gas and all.

The thing I noticed with that type of drive system was that it was jerky and primitive, something that a lady (the owner from a deceased relative) wouldn't care to operate....and it did a lot of sitting idle in her yard as proof.

Question is, are CVT systems, jerky by nature or the nature of the cheap ones? Seems like a super way to obtain variable torque/rpms as far as the design goes.

 

[Ky hills]

Not trying to change the subject, but on the subject of what to buy (if you are inclined), my first experience with a 4 wheeler ( recalling about a 7 year old TSC low $$ Gator type thing, not all that much usage) had a CVT belt drive and the sheaves didn't have a lot of wear and weren't corroded or anything....seemed to move out and in as commanded. I installed the correct OEM belt and did a service job on the engine for a neighbor including fresh filters, gas and all.

The thing I noticed with that type of drive system was that it was jerky and primitive, something that a lady (the owner from a deceased relative) wouldn't care to operate....and it did a lot of sitting idle in her yard as proof.

Question is, are CVT systems, jerky by nature or the nature of the cheap ones? Seems like a super way to obtain variable torque/rpms as far as the design goes.

Last fall my wife and I went looking for a utv. We tried out several kinds and just for sake of saying we did we test drove one of the Coleman brand from a TSC. It had several extra features like a winch and side and rear view mirrors but overall much rougher and cheaper made than the others we looked at. There is some jerkiness to all of them in certain situations, but the more consistent you can be with throttling and ease into starting off and stopping reduces it. We have a Polaris and it runs real smooth over some pretty rough ground that would bounce you around in a truck.

 

[Brute 23]

Not trying to change the subject, but on the subject of what to buy (if you are inclined), my first experience with a 4 wheeler ( recalling about a 7 year old TSC low $$ Gator type thing, not all that much usage) had a CVT belt drive and the sheaves didn't have a lot of wear and weren't corroded or anything....seemed to move out and in as commanded. I installed the correct OEM belt and did a service job on the engine for a neighbor including fresh filters, gas and all.

The thing I noticed with that type of drive system was that it was jerky and primitive, something that a lady (the owner from a deceased relative) wouldn't care to operate....and it did a lot of sitting idle in her yard as proof.

Question is, are CVT systems, jerky by nature or the nature of the cheap ones? Seems like a super way to obtain variable torque/rpms as far as the design goes.

Only ones that are jerky like that are junky. Some, like polaris, purposely build stall in to appear like they have more power at take off.

Are you sure it was a cvt and not a belt drive centrifugal clutch?

CVTs are easy to operate, maintain, and manipulate depending on your driving conditions.

 

[Atimm693]

Not trying to change the subject, but on the subject of what to buy (if you are inclined), my first experience with a 4 wheeler ( recalling about a 7 year old TSC low $$ Gator type thing, not all that much usage) had a CVT belt drive and the sheaves didn't have a lot of wear and weren't corroded or anything....seemed to move out and in as commanded. I installed the correct OEM belt and did a service job on the engine for a neighbor including fresh filters, gas and all.

The thing I noticed with that type of drive system was that it was jerky and primitive, something that a lady (the owner from a deceased relative) wouldn't care to operate....and it did a lot of sitting idle in her yard as proof.

Question is, are CVT systems, jerky by nature or the nature of the cheap ones? Seems like a super way to obtain variable torque/rpms as far as the design goes.

Some are better than others.

Our Polaris is not jerky, but you can not crawl with it. You either go or stop.

Our older Mule and Gator crawl really well, just barely touch the gas until it starts to engage and it will hold that speed all day. The Polaris just wants to take off, very irritating to me.

 

[Silver]

My old Polaris Ranger 700xp is a jerky pos. Nothing I like about that machine but the ride.