I am new to this site but been around Hondas since the ATC 70 days(dating myself). I have several 1990 300TRX's and want to convert one machine into a slow puller for freighting stuff into our cabin site. Its a first gear trail, that being almost to fast as it tasks the centrifugal clutch a lot. I have 25 inch tires on the rear/24 inch up front and have been reading up on gear reductions some. If I had just one gear slower that would be awesome. What ratio would I be looking at? Thanks in advance for any suggestions on this!
there are many reductions available these days for a 300 , I have 54% in a couple of them 54% is a lot , I can take off from a stop in 3rd ------------- I don't know what the smallest reductions ratios are for a 300 , have never tried any other ratio on a 300 except 54% , I do have 15% in my 450 and it is lower but not as dramatic as 54% , building a 450 with 35% right now , have not rode it yet with the 35% ----- you could have a reduction built for you any where from $500-600 and install it yourself
I would be tempted to go with a 54% gear reduction myself. It may sound a lot and also sound over the top but going faster is easy by shifting up a gear, if an 18% or 32% is not low enough you’ll be kicking yourself.
My old 300 had a 54% and with 25’s was great around the farm yard for towing, usually 2nd or 3rd gear but first was perfect when you were carrying an unsteady load.
Thanks guys for your input! I have been looking at the 34% gear sets and may go that way. Any suggestions to a good fabricator for these gear sets? Thanks!
Something might sway your way to a 35% , I am not sure if you have to do it on a 35% in a 300 , but with the 54% you have to grind away part of the crankcase and a bolt to make it fit , also the reverse lock out is by-passed on mine with the 54%
Excellent, great choice of manufacturer too, from what i gather he’s the best in the industry. Look forward to hearing what you think of it once installed
Great idea. i was thinking that 1st and maybe 2nd would be worthless with stock tires and wheels. 54% would give you less than half of your top speed in high gear...........maybe 20 mph at 6000 rpm's?
When you send the cores back , be sure to get the washer off the inside back of the primary gear , it will sometimes stick to the gear , if you don't install it on the new primary then you will get a whinning sound , some people say it doesn't matter if you ude the washer or not , some do ----I got 54% in my 92 300 with 27 outlaws and 54% and 54% with 26's on the other and 54% is a bit much , but plans are to up the tire size in the future ---I believe I read RBM recommends 18% with 26's
Something else I might pass on , I figured out that when you get the reduction , you will be doing more rpm's then what you were use to using , no tach so you don't see it , you can hear it but don't realize it , and you wind up running the bike hard , change your riding style and learn thumb control
Maybe he is talking kilometers per hour ----- I need to clock my 300's and see what they will do , every ride I take in the woods I have a GPS on the handle bars and never once I have looked at the speed , with my bad eyes I wonder if I even could see it while running wide open
You are forgetting that changing tire size will effectively change your final ratio as well. A top speed of 31MPH with a 54 and 28-30” tire is a lot different than what the top speed would be on stock 23/24” tires and that same 54% GR.
Mac , you would be the guy I think most informed on this question , a 2000 TRX450S , with 35% reduction and 33 inch tires , would the ratio of the tires at the ground be good ? think I would be better suited with 31's or 32's ?
Generally speaking fish anything above a 31” tyre is 72% reduction and up to pull tyres in all conditions. If your water riding in that sloppy peat bog stuff I’d say 31’s but even then you may well get bogged down.
I wouldn’t run anything bigger than 30’s with a 35%, even then with an aggressive enough tire you’ll find mud that will stop the tires. 53% is about ideal for 30-31’s, maybe 32’s depends on stock engine or not and again, how bad the mud is. 33’s I’d be running a 69% for sure. I know someone makes a 100% GR for them, so if you really want to be sure 33’s aren’t going to stop moving....
Of course with the right engine mods you can make up for the gearing or lack thereof. Big bore kit, mild stroker, cam, port and polish, all that fun stuff....probably get away with that 35% and 33’s.
It would sure be nice if guys would start focusing a little more on portals or even planetary reductions at the wheels on the Honda’s, 300 and Foreman’s alike. Big GR’s in the motor are putting a lot more stress on the transmission, diffs, axles etc. Moving that reduction as far as possible down the driveline really helps save a lot of components further up. I think with that’s currently available on the market if I wanted a big lift and GR for some 33” or larger tires I’d be looking very hard at adapting some of the current off the shelf portal boxes onto a Honda. Of course the Renegade they already sell boxes for.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Honda ATV Forum
618.3K posts
80.1K members
Since 2008
We’re a forum community dedicated to Honda ATV owners & enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about upgrades and reliability for your Rancher, Foreman, Recon, FourTrax, Pioneer, and more!