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.