Technical and operation advice needed for a Honda Fourtrax

Factual Questions
1

Hello Everyone.

My ex father in law has a 1989 Honda Fourtrax 300 that had been sitting in his garage for a few years He was unable to get it started, do he asked me to take a look at it. I spent a few hours working on it and have gotten it running very smoothly. It required me to purchase a new carb and replace all of the fuel lines, but it is up and running. Now that I have it running I have to confess that I’m very confused about how to operate it. Here is what I need to know:

  1. I know this sound like I’m an idiot, but does this thing have a clutch? The reason I’m confused is that the lever that should be a clutch appears to be a brake. This would be the lever on the left side of the handle bar. When operated the brakes come on and it has a lever on it that appears to be a parking brake. To add more to my confusion, the lever on the right side of the handle bar is also for a brake and you can operate the rear brake via a foot pedal on the right side.

This is baffling to me, I would think that it would set up like a traditional motorcycle. Clutch on the left, front brake on the right and rear brake operated by the right foot. What am I missing here?

To make things even more baffling, it appears the shift pattern is unlike any I’ve seen.it appears that neutral is at the bottom and all of the forward gears are above that. Traditional motorcycles are usually something like 1, N, 2,3,4,5. The Fourtrax apparently also had a reverse, but I can’t find it. So, how do I get it in reverse and what’s the shift pattern?

Last question is the engine oil. I don’t have a manual, so does anyone know the recommended oil type and volume?

I know it sounds like I’m a moron, but I really am puzzled about the clutch. Does this ATV not have a clutch? Thanks in advance for the help.

2

Start with an owner’s manual.
But until then…

3

I have some passing familiarity with Honda stuff of that vintage, although it’s been a while. It’s probably a semi-auto with a centrifugal clutch, so there’s no clutch lever and you just have to let off the throttle to make a smooth shift. The left lever does the same thing as the back brake pedal although (IIRC) you have to have it pulled in to shift into reverse. To shift into reverse, when you’re in neutral (and have the left brake lever in) you push the button next to the left brake lever and then you’ll be able to push down on the gear shifter to get into reverse. So the shift pattern is R-N-1-2-3-4, although you won’t be able to get to reverse without pushing the button.

Oil-wise, it probably takes 10w-40 or 10w-30, but you need to make sure you use ATV/motorcycle oil because the centrifugal clutch still needs the friction additive. You might be able to just call a local Honda powersports dealership and ask them what viscosity it takes.

4

Thanks to both of you. That clears things up.