[tke1984]

my friend has a 2003 honda foreman 450es that will shift from 2nd all the way up to 5th and back down to 2nd again but won't shift from 2nd down to 1st. the electronics keep trying to make it shift and the shaft with the manual lever on it looks like it shifts but will not go down into 1st. it looks like it rolls far enough to shift i don't know if something is cracked or broke under the front cover, as I've seen some people talk about gearshift plates or guide plates just looking for some ideas before tearing this thing apart.

 

[shadetree]

welcome to the forums. pull the front cover off the electric shift gears, clean out all the factory grease, put fresh grease back in. inspect all the gears, shafts for any damage ?, missing teeth ?.

 

[tke1984]

ok i will pull the front cover and see if i can find anything next weekend. thanks

 

[shadetree]

ok i will pull the front cover and see if i can find anything next weekend. thanks

your welcome. you will need to pull the electric shift motor along with the cover..DO NOT REMOVE THE BOLTS/SCREWS THAT HOLD THE MOTOR TOGETHER !!!!, OR YOU WILL SPLIT THE MOTOR..AND THAT WON'T BE GOOD FOR YOU..LOL. just remove the mounting bolts all around the electric shift area cover, 4 or 5 if I remember right ?, 10mm head. tap the cover off. the only problem you will run into is getting all of this to slide forward ??..reason: the very end of the electric shift motor will bottom out on the lower cross frame tubbing ?..its a tight fit, you just have to wiggle it right, hold your mouth just right, and it will all slide forward.

 

[tke1984]

so are you talking about pulling the very front clutch cover off at the front of the atv? all the electric shift is working and we did get it to downshift into 1st neutral and reverse after some up and downshift trying but after we went up into 2nd again it doesn't want to downshift past there again. i have heard of people have broken or cracked gear shift plates. thanks again

 

[shadetree]

so are you talking about pulling the very front clutch cover off at the front of the atv? all the electric shift is working and we did get it to downshift into 1st neutral and reverse after some up and downshift trying but after we went up into 2nd again it doesn't want to downshift past there again. i have heard of people have broken or cracked gear shift plates. thanks again

NO !, do not pull the clutch cover ( front engine cover ), you only need to pull the electric shift gear cover, bottom right of front engine where your shift motor is.

 

[tke1984]

i pulled the electric shift motor out and everything looked good so i loosened the front differential and tied ahead and pulled the clutch cover open and the bolt that holds the shift plate to the shift drum had the head snapped off of it. i got a new bolt pulled the shifter star and gearshift plate out to check them and get some room to screw the old bolt out, which was still tight and replaced it all and stuck back together and it works just like new. thanks for the help.

 

[shadetree]

i pulled the electric shift motor out and everything looked good so i loosened the front differential and tied ahead and pulled the clutch cover open and the bolt that holds the shift plate to the shift drum had the head snapped off of it. i got a new bolt pulled the shifter star and gearshift plate out to check them and get some room to screw the old bolt out, which was still tight and replaced it all and stuck back together and it works just like new. thanks for the help.

glad ya fixed it, thanks for the update !.