Why do ATVs shift like they do?

[yeller400]

Just curious if anyone knows why ATVs shift like they do - 1st is one click down and then the rest are pulling up on the shifter lever. In a way this seems backwards to me. My dad has an 85 Honda TRX200 utility in which you shift through all the gears by pushing down on the shifter and then pulling up to go back down into first. If your accelerating hard and leaning forward I would rather push down on the shifter with my foot and pulling up.

[PhilMoore]

My wifes 250EX you lift the shifter up for all the gears, which makes even more sense. Higher gear, lift up, lower push down...

[Elmo on PCP]

i think atv with a clutch are like this for racing reasons and hill climbing....... i say this because say you gota down **** real quick on a course and your on like a 250ex and you down **** and you hit N, eyr screwed same on a hill climb. But with like a 400ex if your in like 1st and for some reason you tried to down shift your not gona go any lower :confused:

[Tommy 17]

1 N 2 3 4 5 is how my 400ex is and everything else with a clutch... some have 6

n is always between 1 and 2 on clutch bikes...


if its got a auto clutch it goes

N 1 2 3 4 5


i've never heard of 5 4 3 2 1 like ur sayin is on ur dads... that would be retarded...

when i shift up i wanna pull up on the shifter;)

[EXracer8604]

Originally posted by Tommy 17
1 N 2 3 4 5 is how my 400ex is and everything else with a clutch... some have 6

n is always between 1 and 2 on clutch bikes...


if its got a auto clutch it goes

N 1 2 3 4 5


i've never heard of 5 4 3 2 1 like ur sayin is on ur dads... that would be retarded...

when i shift up i wanna pull up on the shifter;)


thats how a lot of 3 - wheelers are and old 4 wheelers

[sickmojave]

on my honda atc 200s they are all down. :D

[trx400ex]

1 is down so when you shift all the way down you know you wont fit neutral if you go too far

[wilkin250r]

I can't see it being any other way. Like others have said, if you have neutral at the bottom, you could accidentally shift into neutral, which could actually be dangerous in a hill climb or a jump.

Also, pulling up on the lever to shift up makes sense, and not just because it's "up"-shifting. It's much faster to shift downwards then to shift upwards, and when you are racing or riding aggressively, you often have to shift down more than one gear when you go through a corner. So you need to be able to downshift much more rapidly than you need to upshift, you never upshift more than one gear at a time. If you had to pull the shift lever up with your foot to downshift, it would be very difficult to downshift quickly through the corners.

[flyin#5]

ive riden a couple quads where you shift down all the way. its wierd and stupid. if you want to shift up you pull up down you push down.... very easy.

[SGA]

I rode some funky bike with neutral at the bottom, 5 up. N12345. I hated it. Kept going into N when I wanted 1.

[400exrules]

well if u shifted the lever down to go into a higher gear, then the l;ever would get in your way if you stood up or moved your foot down, such as taking the attack stance in a drag race, you lean way forward and the shifter would get in the way


but on a clutch bike like the 400ex, when your just haulin and you shift up from 1st to 2nd, how come you dont hit nuetral and can you on accident? it seems like in a drag race you would could hit nuetral on accident, wut keeps that from happening?

[SGA]

N=Neutral. You dont hit N because it is a half click to N. When you are in 1, and you pull the lever all the way up with your foot, you have bypassed N and are in 2. I have hit N before by not pulling up hard enough with my foot

[400exrules]

do some ppl just start in 2nd so they dont have to worry about this? or do they just think 1st is too low and start in a higher gear, because most ppl start in 2nd in a drag with bad bottom end

[Narly R]

Ive herd that first is down besause its faster to shift in first then second to take off, but most people start out in second in a rce anyways.:ermm:

O-well i like it how it is!:)

[sportraxrider10]

well my input is, when you pull your foot up like you would to shift lets say a 2002 400ex your foot goes right back down, it doesn't stay up there, hence you shift up your foots going right back down into that gear, now push down on your foot like shifting this old TRX 200 your foots not gonna come up as fast hence not putting it into gear.:o i don't know if that is right but i just thought of it while i was reading this.:blah:

[heavy_d]

my 1968 Honda Mini Trail is N123 and down is a upshift and up is a downshift

[310Rduner]

1 N 2 3 4 5 6 :o

[yeller400]

I have an 02 400ex that shifts like they all do. But like you were saying my dad's 4 wheeler shifting goes - click down to upshift. I guess I just grew up doing this and never questioned it. I always was used to "stomping" down to upshift when trying to accelerate hard. ("Stomping" is just a figure of speech.)

Oh well, I sometimes feel that when leaning forward when accelerating that pulling the toe up to upshift was quite a stretch like trying to get your toes to touch your shin.

[wilkin250r]

If I'm not mistaken, on all motorcycles or quads that don't have a manual clutch you push down to upshift. If it has a manual clutch, it follows the 1 N 2 3 4 5 (6) pattern.

[400exrules]

on every utility i have ridden its N 1 2 3 4 5

on every sport i have ridden its 1 N 2 3 4 5

on all of them you lift the peg up to shift up except for getting into first gear out of nuetral on sports.

[MOFO]

My 1986 YFM 200 moto 4 was N 1 2 3 4 5

[heavy_d]

Originally posted by yeller400
I have an 02 400ex that shifts like they all do. But like you were saying my dad's 4 wheeler shifting goes - click down to upshift. I guess I just grew up doing this and never questioned it. I always was used to "stomping" down to upshift when trying to accelerate hard. ("Stomping" is just a figure of speech.)

Oh well, I sometimes feel that when leaning forward when accelerating that pulling the toe up to upshift was quite a stretch like trying to get your toes to touch your shin.

yeah your right if your use to "stomping" down to upshift it is easier when accelerating, it takes less muscle and it is not as straining

[250x#93]

Originally posted by SGA
N=Neutral. You dont hit N because it is a half click to N. When you are in 1, and you pull the lever all the way up with your foot, you have bypassed N and are in 2. I have hit N before by not pulling up hard enough with my foot

Yeah I hate hittin neurtral it sucks, ur tryin to go fast and instead u shift and let out the clutch and it goes VRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!:eek2: Talk about embarasing too:o

[sportraxrider10]

Originally posted by 250x#93
Yeah I hate hittin neurtral it sucks, ur tryin to go fast and instead u shift and let out the clutch and it goes VRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!:eek2: Talk about embarasing too:o

haha especially when you are drag racing your cousin on a 250ex:rolleyes: yea, i beat him every time but that time

[AZblaster44]

Originally posted by 400exrules
well if u shifted the lever down to go into a higher gear, then the l;ever would get in your way if you stood up or moved your foot down, such as taking the attack stance in a drag race, you lean way forward and the shifter would get in the way


but on a clutch bike like the 400ex, when your just haulin and you shift up from 1st to 2nd, how come you dont hit nuetral and can you on accident? it seems like in a drag race you would could hit nuetral on accident, wut keeps that from happening?


In drag racing your only leaning forward long enough to keep the front end down on the starts....then you lean/slide back to put the weight in the rear for more traction.....and fomr this position it is easier to lift your toes to upshift.......

Yes you can hit neutral on accident if you dont pull up all the way......or if your riding my quad when the tranny's acting up and theres the normal N and four false ones:blah:

[Martin Blair]

Originally posted by yeller400
Just curious if anyone knows why ATVs shift like they do - 1st is one click down and then the rest are pulling up on the shifter lever. In a way this seems backwards to me. My dad has an 85 Honda TRX200 utility in which you shift through all the gears by pushing down on the shifter and then pulling up to go back down into first. If your accelerating hard and leaning forward I would rather push down on the shifter with my foot and pulling up.


All real bikes are 1 down 4 up every bike with a clucth is this way. who knows why
maybe because your downshifting mo0re then up and they wanted to make downshifting easier so when you need to you dont kill the bike not beaing able to shift, i dunno.

[One_Bad_400]

my friends 3-weeler is 54321N

[Pvt. Maggot]

my honda trail 70 shifts down...it gos like...shift all the way down from N-1-2-3 its wierd cuz after riding my 300 and other stuff it confuses you a little.

[Sparky416ex]

Originally posted by 310Rduner
1 N 2 3 4 5 6 :o

lol

[Sparky416ex]

is this post pissin anyone else off...lol jk

[Flyin#3-1/2]

my 1984 LT 185 is all down to go into a higher gear and pull up to go into a lower gear. it's really weird but i sorta like it, but i'd much rather stick with the normal manual clutch shifting patterns.:ermm: