ATV with a fully manual transmission?

[jmc]

Sold my Honda Fourtrax 300 in 1993 and haven't keep up on ATVs in the meantime. That one would have been more fun with a fully manual transmission, IMHO. Is there such a thing as an ATV like a motorcycle- clutch and everything?

 

[Industrial Toys]

Cushman alway made such a machine.

Doesn't Honda make one now?

That and wheels from a WW II Jeep and you would have a proper and capable Utility Vehicle. Forget all the garbage, plastic, bling, decals and glitter and put the money into the actual machine! How novel would that be?

 

[dusty3030]

Some sport ATV's do. Honda and Yamaha both make them.

Utility types don't, however, they do still make manual shift utilities. Honda Foreman 500 can be had manual shift 5 speed with reverse but no manual clutch.

 

[dfkrug]

Some sport ATV's do. Honda and Yamaha both make them.

Utility types don't, however, they do still make manual shift utilities. Honda Foreman 500 can be had manual shift 5 speed with reverse but no manual clutch.

Pretty much all the current ATV brands have sporty versions with true manual transmission with hand clutch. Most utilities are now CVT automatic. You can still get most brands of utility quads with the traditional semi-automatic trans, what you call manually-shifted with no manual clutch.

I have had all 7 major brands, and several Chinese units. I prefer true manual trannies, plus the sporty quads have more compliant suspensions with longer travel. I have converted a couple of Yamaha YFM350 Warriors to utility use, with racks, trailer hitch, and lower final drive ratio. Nice manual ATV with tons of power and cheap parts.

 

[js5020]

I have an 02 arctic cat with 5 speed but auto clutch and it has 3 ranges in the axle for a total of 15 forward gears and 3 reverse. It is very slow and quite powerful in low first, I primarily use it like a garden tractor uses less fuel, is faster, and doesn't get stuck. A little hard on the turf sometimes though. The other 4 machines I have are cvt but they will pull well also in the correct range and things can be modified for them to do even better.

 

[ruffdog]

The Pug's drive like a truck with a 5 speed...slow but tractor like.

Frog Pond Manufacturing Inc - The Frog Pond PUG

 

[jmc]

OP here- Good stuff. Thank you. I need a narrow, one person vehicle of some sort.

Bought that Fourtrax new about 1990. Not much low end torque and probably would barely spin the tires on gravel from a dead stop. Looked online today at modern stuff- Honda and Yamaha, with 2 speed ranges and/or CVT, so maybe a manual clutch is overkill.

The sports ATV's seem to be rear wheel drive only?

 

[airbiscuit]

I have a Yamaha Grizzly 660 automatic and a Yamaha Warrior 350 six speed manual. I used to have a Yamaha Raptor 660 six speed manual.

Grizzly = good workhorse and fun trail machine

Raptor = scary fast trail machine, but you have to pay attention all the time - wheelies in 4 gears!

Warrior - most fun you can have with your clothes on! Enough torque to throw the rear around, but not so much to get you in trouble.

I put a 1 tooth smaller sprocket on the transmission to give me more low end torque and barely took anything off top speed. Simple, durable, reliable ATV. If you want 4wd, the older Yamaha Wolverines and maybe big bears were manuals.

 

[dfkrug]

The sports ATV's seem to be rear wheel drive only?

There are some 4x4 ATVs that claim to be sporty, e.g. the Polaris Scrambler 500, Kymco Maxxis 450i, or Yamaha Wolverine 350. The Yam is just a utility, IMO, and none of these examples have manual trans.

I still have and use my 1996 Honda TRX300FW Fourtrax. Runs great, and gets up/down my steep trails fine. Full-time 4x4, unfortunately, which is a "feature" that has gone away from modern ATVs.

 

[dfkrug]

If you want 4wd, the older Yamaha Wolverines and maybe big bears were manuals.

My samples of both those 2 ATVs were semi-automatic. I do not think there were manuals for either.

 

[airbiscuit]

I think you could buy a kit to convert the Wolverine to a manual.

 

[js5020]

I suppose my question would be why a full manual transmission? As I said I have a semi manual and honestly it's a pita once you have used an "automatic". No one and I do mean no one wants to ride the 5 speed all day long on the trails, they will take any of the auto machines over shifting all day long. Most autos can be tweaked in the primary and or secondary clutches to produce more low end power to the ground if that's what your after, it's how the big tire guys are able to keep the power up after increasing tire sizes. Nothing says you can't put a clutch kit in it if you don't put bigger tires on, if low end is what your after. We have a friend in our group that put a big tire kit in a 500cc machine that would hardly spin the tires stock and now it will pull the front end up with the clutch kit and stock tires. I'm not a sport quad guy but I do think most of those machines are 2wd.

 

[dfkrug]

They even make semi-auto dirt bikes now, the small ones for kids.

If you come from the M/C world, manual trannies are still the way to go, and appreciated for the control you have with the hand clutch, esp at take-off. It is hard for dirt bike riders to make the transition to quads, whether sporty or utility.

There is no question that CVT-auto ATVs are the most popular, and for good reason. They work, and are easy for anyone to use. They are reliable as well. Torque-converter autos (Honda) are pretty slick, but rare and expensive. You can still buy the ubiquitous Honda Rancher 420 with semi-auto, as well as full-auto. The former costs a little less, but I expect it to go away eventually. Auto is king.

A quick check shows that some majors have already dumped the last of their manuals and semi-autos: Polaris and Arctic Cat (Textron).

 

[jmc]

OP here.

Thanks all, for the updates. It will help when I go out and look at them.

 

[ruffdog]

Husqvarna built their automatic dirt bikes from 1976 to 1988. The early automatic ATVs were either the CVTs like the Polaris or manual trans with an automatic clutch like Suz/Kaw/Yam....

Husqvarna automatics | Bike EXIF

 

[bullbreaker]

I have an 02 arctic cat with 5 speed but auto clutch and it has 3 ranges in the axle for a total of 15 forward gears and 3 reverse. It is very slow and quite powerful in low first, I primarily use it like a garden tractor uses less fuel, is faster, and doesn't get stuck. .

I had one of those , served me well . The engines/trans /drivetrain etc are Suzuki . Mine even had independent rear suspension . Mine was a 300 , like you said slow with lots of low gears but very reliable and could take on high water .....

 

[Oldpath05]

I liked the first Arctic Cats, my 96 had 5 speeds with high/low range, then after ten years the motor went and there it sits. Then I bought the 04> 650, great for racing around but no good for slow speed pulling the thing went 40 mi/hr in low.

 

[js5020]

I have 4 Cats, an 02 300 4x4, an 02 375 2x4, and 2 16 500XTs. The 16s are sweet machines they ride nice have decent ground clearance and suspension travel, power steer, engine braking, and power is more than adequate for our purposes. The 300 is the torque monster and slow speed king of the bunch but unfortunately the suspension is the worst of the bunch.

 

[dfkrug]

The 300 is the torque monster and slow speed king of the bunch but unfortunately the suspension is the worst of the bunch.

AC was late to the ATV world, so they partnered up with Suzuki on the drivetrain, starting with the AC 300/KingQuad300. These unique 280cc engines featured the usual semi-auto transmission, but the final drive is part of the same case, and it held a massive 4 quarts of oil. The Suzy version had IRS and a 3-range trans while the ACs had only 2 ranges, but a longer wheelbase.

Your 2002 AC 300 had 3 ranges? That is curious, as my AC300 4x4s from '01 and '04 had only 2 ranges, as did my '04 AC500 4x4.

 

[js5020]

Yes it has 3 ranges, we bought it new so its not a swap from a zuki king quad.