[mossboss]

I have an 02 Forman 450es and was wondering if there is a way to bypass the the little red button to make it easier to shift into reverse

 

[shadetree]

it can be done..but not very wise !!. if your not slow enough to keep from going all the way down into reverse from a forward motion ?, can ya guess what will happen when you down shift all the way into reverse from going forward ?, can ya say '' got money '' ?!!..lol. cause..thats what your gonna need to replace all those tranny gears if your not slow enough ?!. but to answer your question, just adjust the lock down nut if there is one ?..which I don't think that model has them ?, your stuck with tying the reverse lever back at all times, BE WARNED !!!..IF YOU DO THIS ?, YOUR GOING TO TEAR SOMETHING UP IF YOU FORGET TO SLOW WAYYYYYYYYY DOWN !..LOL.

 

[Goober]

Don’t do it; too easy to tear up the tranny.
All Honda ATVs that I know of use this design–yes the ES ergonomics makes it more difficult to use. It’s not a huge problem but shifting while wearing really thick gloves is a bigger pain.

So here’s what could happen if you fixed the reverse lever: you’re rolling down a hill, you grab the brake levers and start down shifting. You’re pushing the down button, pass neutral and BAM you’re in reverse.

 

[shadetree]

Don’t do it; too easy to tear up the tranny.
All Honda ATVs that I know of use this design–yes the ES ergonomics makes it more difficult to use. It’s not a huge problem but shifting while wearing really thick gloves is a bigger pain.

yeah..its just not worth it to mess up the tranny like that..no way will I ever do it. mine is a manual shift...and I still will never over-ride the safety lock out for which they were made for.

 

[fishfiles]

I am a fan of reverse lock out by-pass , it is a pain in the butt , especially when you ride tight trails , I have 4 that are by-passed right now , 2 300's and 2 450's , I don't let ANYONE ride any of those 4 bikes but me , have never shifted it into reverse while rolling forward yet , but I guess it only takes one time yet

 

[wheelsquad]

I have an 02 Forman 450es and was wondering if there is a way to bypass the the little red button to make it easier to shift into reverse

Don’t do it; too easy to tear up the tranny.
All Honda ATVs that I know of use this design—yes the ES ergonomics makes it more difficult to use. It’s not a huge problem but shifting while wearing really thick gloves is a bigger pain.

So here’s what could happen if you fixed the reverse lever: you’re rolling down a hill, you grab the brake levers and start down shifting. You’re pushing the down button, pass neutral and BAM you’re in reverse.

I can't say for a footshift model, because I haven't been able to ride one myself in over 16 years, but for ES, and I've been on a few.....they don't even let you shift down into Neutral until you are basically at a dead stop. I've done the reverse override on our Recon ES and I can't even get it to go into neutral, let alone reverse, if I try while moving forward. So maybe ours and the other ones I've been on are weird?

 

[shadetree]

I have an 02 Forman 450es and was wondering if there is a way to bypass the the little red button to make it easier to shift into reverse

Don’t do it; too easy to tear up the tranny.
All Honda ATVs that I know of use this design–yes the ES ergonomics makes it more difficult to use. It’s not a huge problem but shifting while wearing really thick gloves is a bigger pain.

So here’s what could happen if you fixed the reverse lever: you’re rolling down a hill, you grab the brake levers and start down shifting. You’re pushing the down button, pass neutral and BAM you’re in reverse.

I can't say for a footshift model, because I haven't been able to ride one myself in over 16 years, but for ES, and I've been on a few.....they don't even let you shift down into Neutral until you are basically at a dead stop. I've done the reverse override on our Recon ES and I can't even get it to go into neutral, let alone reverse, if I try while moving forward. So maybe ours and the other ones I've been on are weird?

it may have something to do with the speed sensors ?. if I had to guess ?, this is why you have to come to a complete stop.

 

[wheelsquad]

I have an 02 Forman 450es and was wondering if there is a way to bypass the the little red button to make it easier to shift into reverse

Don’t do it; too easy to tear up the tranny.
All Honda ATVs that I know of use this design–yes the ES ergonomics makes it more difficult to use. It’s not a huge problem but shifting while wearing really thick gloves is a bigger pain.

So here’s what could happen if you fixed the reverse lever: you’re rolling down a hill, you grab the brake levers and start down shifting. You’re pushing the down button, pass neutral and BAM you’re in reverse.

I can't say for a footshift model, because I haven't been able to ride one myself in over 16 years, but for ES, and I've been on a few.....they don't even let you shift down into Neutral until you are basically at a dead stop. I've done the reverse override on our Recon ES and I can't even get it to go into neutral, let alone reverse, if I try while moving forward. So maybe ours and the other ones I've been on are weird?

it may have something to do with the speed sensors ?. if I had to guess ?, this is why you have to come to a complete stop.

That would be my guess too. And seems to be a bit of a built-in "fail-safe" for the ES models at least, which is what the OP has. I guess if I were @mossboss I would try it out and see if it even allows him to shift into N while moving. My bet would be on it won't even let him do it. Easy to go back if it does let it go into N while moving.

 

[Goober]

I may try the neutral thing on my work 02 ES

 

[_Wilson_]

I am a fan of reverse lock out by-pass , it is a pain in the butt , especially when you ride tight trails , I have 4 that are by-passed right now , 2 300's and 2 450's , I don't let ANYONE ride any of those 4 bikes but me , have never shifted it into reverse while rolling forward yet , but I guess it only takes one time yet
Unlike

Fish are all four gear reduced ? Just making notes... Actually.... That would a be handy option... If carefully used....

 

[fishfiles]

I am a fan of reverse lock out by-pass , it is a pain in the butt , especially when you ride tight trails , I have 4 that are by-passed right now , 2 300's and 2 450's , I don't let ANYONE ride any of those 4 bikes but me , have never shifted it into reverse while rolling forward yet , but I guess it only takes one time yet
Unlike

Fish are all four gear reduced ? Just making notes... Actually.... That would a be handy option... If carefully used....

I am not really following you , " all four gears reduced ? " ---- what I was sayings is I all four on my " me only " bikes are by-passed for reverse ------- reverse lock out delete only makes it where you don't have to use the left brake lever and button at the same time to shift into reverse , you just push down from neutral --------- one of my bikes , is set up where you do have to pull the left brake lever but don't have to press the button , I think that is the best way to do it -------- but with 54% gear reduction on my 300's I took the reverse lock out drum out , I have heard people say you can leave the reverse lock in , and other that say you can't , I never did try to leave it in

 

[SamUK]

Here’s a video that will help those who’ve not been inside an engine case understand how the reverse lock out and neutral light/sensor works.
IMO, KEEP the reverse lock out in place unless you have a GR, your generally going a lot slower with a GR and much less likely to damage something if you do hit reverse.

In the video he is installing a GR (gear reduction) so cutting the cup is not necessary for reverse lock out removal, you remove everything.

 

[_Wilson_]

Okay.... Let me try it this way..... Is there more of a chance of damage to a stock geared machine, compared to a 54% gear reduction machine, IF a rider accidentally shifted to reverse, while rolling forward slowly (say about the speed man can walk)

I've never ridden or even delt with a gear reduction machine, so..... Just curious as to what damage could happen ?

 

[shadetree]

Okay.... Let me try it this way..... Is there more of a chance of damage to a stock geared machine, compared to a 54% gear reduction machine, IF a rider accidentally shifted to reverse, while rolling forward slowly (say about the speed man can walk)

I've never ridden or even delt with a gear reduction machine, so..... Just curious as to what damage could happen ?

without a GR , on a manual shift model ?, yes..you can and will tear the tranny up, electric shifts and GR's would keep you from dropping too many gears at full speed.

 

[_Wilson_]

Thanks shade! From what ive read , i would probably do a reverse delete only if i did a disc brake conversion 1st..... we all know disc brakes are much better then honda drum brakes, anyways just gathering info..... Back to the topic on my end, reverse delete on an ES

Good informative thread!

 

[fishfiles]

The way I look at it , with gear reduction your chances of causing damage from going from forward to reverse is just as bad or even worst than without gear reduction , cause it is really about the RPMs , with gear reduction you can achieve higher rpm's faster than without it ---so why would it be any less a chance of causing damage

 

[shadetree]

The way I look at it , with gear reduction your chances of causing damage from going from forward to reverse is just as bad or even worst than without gear reduction , cause it is really about the RPMs , with gear reduction you can achieve higher rpm's faster than without it ---so why would it be any less a chance of causing damage

hmmm..maybe I can answer that last part fish ?. a GR only controls the output of the clutch to the tranny, in other words, it slows the tranny down, or in this case, the drive shaft/drive line. it has nothing to do with the rpms as far as I know ?, your engine is only going to put out so many rpms as the piston/fuel, and all that will allow, it still has to transfer to the drive line..correct ?, you can put out 10k rpms ( yes..thats a thrown out number...lol. ) but doesn't the GR change the transfer to the change clutch, then tranny ?. maybe I am thinking backwards on this ?, but i'm just spit-balling this...lol.

 

[fishfiles]

I have look at it like this , if you had a RPM meter that logged total RPMs on the engine , a atv with gear reduction should accumulate a higher average number of RPMs than a atv without it , cause you are working the higher end of the band to achieve the same thing , different people's driving patterns would come into play , one person may go easy all the time where the other runs it hard like me , I think that gear reduction shortens the life of the engine , with 54% I can take off from a dead stop like first without it ------ it is like a truck with 4.56 ratio on the rear diff compared to a truck with 3.54 , the engine is going to be turning more RPMs more often , across the entire band to achieve the same speed , even though the RPM red line would be the same on both

 

[04 Foreman 450]

it can be done..but not very wise !!. if your not slow enough to keep from going all the way down into reverse from a forward motion ?, can ya guess what will happen when you down shift all the way into reverse from going forward ?, can ya say '' got money '' ?!!..lol. cause..thats what your gonna need to replace all those tranny gears if your not slow enough ?!. but to answer your question, just adjust the lock down nut if there is one ?..which I don't think that model has them ?, your stuck with tying the reverse lever back at all times, BE WARNED !!!..IF YOU DO THIS ?, YOUR GOING TO TEAR SOMETHING UP IF YOU FORGET TO SLOW WAYYYYYYYYY DOWN !..LOL.

 

[04 Foreman 450]

es wont let you shift down if your over the speed of the gear below, it will only go in N when your at 2-3 mph