Electric shift, auto belt drive or old fasioned manual shift

[markc]

Ok,  what are ya'll riding now, and which type of tranny do you prefer.   I really prefer a manual shift on a 4 wheeler,  no chance for a wet bel t to slip, I can make sure I am in the right gear for the terrain or surface at hand.   Auto belt drive is nice too, makes it more fun to ride and not worry about shifting up or down. Electric shift like Honda came out with??? Seems like too much to go wrong to me.
markc

[Graybeard]

I got an old ('88 model) Honda Recon 250. It has manual shift and I often find it really tough to get it to go from first to second with my foot. I have one of those shifter extension thingies to bring it up to where I can shift by hand. The slow plodding way I use it that should be great. Now Matt thinks it is a race machine and acts that way when he comes over to visit and heads to the swamp to get in the mud or up back in the woods. I shore wish mine was an auto. I sure didn't notice any problems with the auto on Kevin's Polaris at BHO II. Pretty sure it was an auto. IF it didn't slip in that muck it shouldn't slip in nothing.

GB

[markc]

Kevins Polaris was unstoppable.  He says he hates that thing.  It has given him alot of problems since it was new,  but when it is running, it goes anywhere.  He gave me a tug or two in that really bad stuff.  In fact everything out there was really bad stuff, kinda like my local lease has been looking for a month or two now.

Nothing moving but the ducks.
markc

[trappermike63]

Well I ride a 2000 Honda Rancher 350,I like the shift I have not had any problems with that part of the machine.The problems Ive had are all with the carb.They are so touchy.The first thing is the wheeler didn't come with a fule filter.How many time have you guys filled out of a gas can,alot probably.I filled that way and a little piece of dirt got in there and I've had more trouble with that than anything.I cleaned the carb myself and that didn't work so I brought it to a dealer service center and I 'm still haveing trouble.I've installed a filter and that didn't keep it from happening again.The only thing I can think of to do is replace the carb and be done with it .AND NEVER PUT CAN GAS IN AGAIN!sorry for venting but I hope this keeps someone else from going through the same thing :shock:

[dabigmoose]

HI MARK
 WELL Towing large trailers full of moose and gear ya most definatley need manual shift the others will not holdup.I also do not trust engine braking as your going down very steep inclines the trailer will raise the
rear of a wheeler using this technology off the ground and you are history.
Manual shifting with low gears also reduces repair needs and you have a
lot more manuvering capability.I have to have my machines flown in to the bush at some of the camps and cannot afford for them to break down
as in some areas of alaska your life line is your plane or fourwheeler.
I have had great success with honda, suzuki ,yamaha and artic cat manual shift.
The polaris is a maintenance nightmare and has almost gotten me killed.
ITS like a simmons scope rides nice looks good but does not perform
well under extreme conditions all that soft ride is at a cost of strength and endurance.Tried going across the post river which is a glacier feed stream
the belt not only slipped but snapped on two of them at the same crossing and they started to drift down river well after the mechanical rodeo.
I hooked both machines together then hooked a Artic cat 454 up to them plus a trailer wih 2 moose and three clients. The cat pulled all of that load 23 miles out of the bush up hills and across tundra and is still runing to this day with 10,000 miles on it .I bought one  as soon as we got back to anchorage as it belong to another outfitter.Also never over load one of the independent rear axle machines they will pop out and you will be there until parts arrive.

Dabigmoose

[markc]

Trappermike63,  did you buy that Honda new?  My old Yamaha acted that same way and I had it looked at a number of times.    Had the tank drained, cleaned, fuel line done, tune ups,  turned out that the problem was in the ignition system,  would not send a clean spark or something.   Not sure if that has anything to do with yours.  Hondas are usually really good machines and have been pretty much bomb proof over the years.

dabigmoose,  i love hearing stories like that.  Not about polaris failure,  but about how much abuse and work atv's handle.  Would love to see some pic's of your atv's at work hauling those moose and crossing those rivers etc...   I treated my old little Yamaha moto4 like it was a sherman tank at times when I needed to reach a spot way back in the woods to pick up a hog or something, and even the 2WD Mule I ride now has gone through some stuff I never would have thought possible.  The belt drive has gotten wet a few times and left me sitting still for a minute or two until it drained back out.

If I had the $ I would likely go for the Artic  Cat 400 or 500 4X4.    Even their small 250 4X4 has a triple range tranny, and is full size.    You should do some commercials for them with the success you've had.  

Wouldn't it be great to have a job field testing ATV's   Oh what a dream!
markc

[dabigmoose]

:grin: hi  mark
 I have had to do some Mcgiver work on all of them at one time or another
but the more basic the technology the better it is for being out in the brush
if they would change that belt drive to some other kind of belt and put a
braking disk for the rear drive system then they might work better. Going
in the mud ya want to keep constant speed and stay on step with out a lot of shifting.
 With a manual cat ya can take of in any gear so it works ok but if they could perfect the belt it would be a little better for in the swamp.
ON the monuntain terrain leave the belt drive at home.
ILL have to get some of my photos together.
 I took a old boy from texas on a Moose hunt and his buddy i didnt know that one of them owned a atv shop in Texas. Well we got to the camp up in the Sawtooth Mountains and went about 35 miles out to a spike camp
and they both shot bulls the next morning  and  hauled them out of the valley floor up to the bench running over dead fall and fire killed trees well i cut a tire on a rock and it went flat it was a fairly good size cut so i hooked the winch up to a tree and lifted the front of the atv off the ground and took my knife and cut the hole big enough to get my hand in and started stuffing the tire full of tundra moss ya have to pack it full.Then I punched small holes along both sides the cut  and sutured it up wtih some parachute cord well he was taking picture like crazy as we were back in base camp by nightfall he kept saying he couldnt believe what these four wheelers can do and how did i know how to fix that tire i told him i learn every trick possible because these machines can get ya so far out that ya do not want to ever have to walk across what we came through because i had done it once, and never take just one machine i have a buddy that tried to side hill around a deep mud hole and his machine rolled on him
pinning him under it in the muddy water after we were done laughing we had to rescue him from drowninG.

anyway THE GUY WITH THE ATV SHOP HAD A HAT MADE AND SENT TO
Me.He sells yamaha and artic cat The Hats logo { IF IT AINT A CAT IT MUST BE A Dog!

Dabigmoose

[markc]

Now I like that hat.  What a great story.  I looked at some new cats yesterday while dropping off my motorcycle for a repair.  Man they all looked nice.  Was suprised at how big the 400's are looking these days.  

Now where do you guide? and how can I get some info on your hunts?
markc :-D

[dabigmoose]

howdy mark
 Those 400 are a good machine artic cat says they are going to have
a lot more hp coming out next year.They seem big but they side hill nice and can take the punishment if one ever gets loose from ya and
tries to clear the trees by itself.They also are going to have a lot quiter
exhaust system on them.My Brother in law is going to run The Irondog Snowmachine Race this year in the amaeture class but I d dont think he will get pass the first place he smells a beer.Only good thing in hi favor is Rusty his partner and  has a brother thats won the pro class 4 or 5 times
and about half the others he went to school with.

I Havent been guiding for pay for a few years now turned it over to a partner. But I take out Friends and have done the ocassional raffle hunt for a friends charity .

 But if ya in a hurry for a moose E-mail me and I can give some ideas
of what ya need and price range some of these guys now days are way to expensive.If ya just from out of state ya dont need a guide and there
are some good areas you can do it on your own quite successful and once
ya start it probably will be a yearly thing it gets addictive being in those Mountains.
Talk at ya later
dabigmoose

[Bugflipper]

I have a kodiak auto, before that a praire auto, don't believe I'll ever go back to shifting. On the newwer models they've snorkeled the belt system to the same height or higher than the carb snorkel, so if it does get wet often times it's time to take the motor in for an overhaul to get the water out. Can't speak for every one my belt hasn't slipped yet, the deepest it's ever been is 2" under the gas tank when a creek flooded on the only route back to the truck.

[markc]

I might have to rethink my thoughts now.  Yesterday  I rode a Honda Foreman 400 with the ESp shifting.  it also had some hugh super swamper tires on it.  I didn't think I would like the push button shifting,  but after a while I got used to it, and even liked it.   I put that 4 wheeler through some serious mud, deep water and hill climbing and nothing stopped it.  The ride was a bit too stiff,  but it would get air on jumps and not totally jar ya to death upon landing.  THe steering in 4WD was failr yeasy and after 3 solid hours of riding through the worst stuff we could find, I only stopped because I was out of gas and my feet were frozen.   Nice 4wheeler for sure.
markc

[bogwalker]

Hey...Ive got a big red and a 350 rancher with electric shift and for dependability and toughness I dont think you can beat them. If your e.s. does go on you they have a manual way to get out of the woods. Polaris seems to have the best of rides but they sure have some mechanical headaches! I dont think there is a"bad"machine out there but some do seem to have an edge.