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Scotticus

Sold 2010 Rancher ES-Purchased 2020 Rancher Foot Shift

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Today I sold my 2010 Rancher 4X4 ES .  The bike was in near mint condition. It had 1000 miles on it.  I sold it because I never liked the ES.  I never had a problem with the ES working properly I just couldn't learn to like it.  I bought a 2020 Rancher foot shift.  I only took the new one for a couple mile ride because it was only 15 degrees here in the Pittsburgh area today.  I have ridden bikes since I    was 8 years old (I'm 50 now) and it was great to have a foot shifter again!  I think I'll be doing more riding this summer.

Edited by Scotticus
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I hear you on the foot shifter,I like to be in control manually,not some push button shifting.But some people like the ES guess whatever you are happy with.

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That's why Honda gives us the choice of shifting altho not sure they offer ES anymore but the auto trans.  Congrats on your purchase and give that foot a workout....

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Congratulations !   I think you will like it better and not experience situations that were inevitable.

i have ridden es bikes.  They lag in shifting. Delay or what ever you want to call it.  I personally don’t like that.  I like to smash them.  I want to get what I want when I want it.  But have learn to not hate on people who don’t think like me and  hope they don’t hate on me on the way I think.  Lol 

 

looking for some feed back 

 

 

 

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Every once in a while the ES shift would display (-) when I shifted.  I always had in the back of my mind that it might miss a shift when I really needed it to shift.  Example: large hill climbs. I debated for a while before I spent the $ to buy a new foot shift model.

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When I got mine I looked around and didn't want an automatic, the 17 rubi fs was the only one around here, was a left over, nobody wanted the fs....

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8 hours ago, TBRider said:

When I got mine I looked around and didn't want an automatic, the 17 rubi fs was the only one around here, was a left over, nobody wanted the fs....

thats cuz most of us are smart..and we buy/build manual shift models..lol.

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Hey now, I like my autos but also have footshift and have had electric shifts. i do know quite a bit about them though so if I ever do have an issues I can fix it.

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There are greater numbers of ignition failures each year than there are ES failures each year on Hondas. Despite ES systems being the most improperly prepped system on the bike from the factory, the most neglected system by owners and the most misunderstood systems by almost everyone. Yet we don't hear mechanics complaining about Honda ignition systems do we.

 

ES systems are fast, quiet and reliable when properly prepped and maintained. But they don't arrive prepped or waterproofed from the factory, so its up to the individual owners to prepare them. There is no basis for ES fears. They do take some time to get used to though, if you're use to shifting with your left foot.

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I was not able to get used to the ES in the 20 months I owned the bike. I found myself doing a lot of phantom foot shifting.  I rode a foot shift bike for 40 years before I got the ES.  When I bought the bike I followed the thread on the old Honda forum.  I put white lithium grease in the shifter gears and dielectric grease on electrical connections.  It shifted good almost all the time.  I only got the (-) once an hour of riding.  I sold it easily to a guy that was looking for an ES for his wife who never rode before.

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i'm just too old fashion, i don't like sensors, electronics, anything that jacks up the price, but yet always fails us at the worse time. simple stuff made 30 years ago did one thing, and one thing only..IT LASTED WITH NO PROBLEMS. but, fast forward to now, well, we cant have this, we all live in a throw away word today, no matter what you buy ?, its gonna be some kind of energy saving, time saving, water saving piece of junk !, lol. its sad we cant buy something , use it, and not worry if its gonna last 20-30 yrs before we have to replace it.

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All the more reason to learn how to prep and repair all of these electronic devices.... hating on 'em and fearing them does not help folks fix their electric bikes. And someday the old tanks will all die if they're being used like they should. Then what? We would feel pretty silly paying someone else to prep and/or repair our neglected electro-bikes now wouldn't we. 🙃

 

I still phantom shift with my left foot on occasion too, but ES shifting is definitely a lot faster than my foot ever was and ES doesn't wear holes on the toe of my boot. In cold weather I can wear my arctic boots now too, where in the past I could not because they wouldn't fit under the shifter lever.

 

I have noticed that I shift up and down more often since I began to ride ES too, keeping the motor RPMs exactly where I want them to be at all times. On foot shift bikes I shift less often because of the extra time and effort required, I'd bog through a gear for a few feet, or let the motor wind up before letting off for the next turn, rather than downshifting and upshifting at optimum shift points. Believe it or not ES have allowed me to become a more efficient driver. I am faster through the woods while at the same time the bike is operated in a lot less stressful manner.

 

My ES is completely submersible and withstands direct blasts for extended periods of time (red clay mud) from my 3600 psi pressure washer every time I wash the bike. Its a power-miser too, I have ran my battery completely dead using the winch a couple times and drove away shifting like the battery was full each time.

 

I get to brag about all this because I took the time to properly prep, lube and seal it. I own my ES system.... its never been the other way around... The darn thing is 20 years old, still has all of the original ES parts as far as I can tell, the shift motor still looks like new inside and it has been nothing but fast, quiet and reliable.

 

Since I can so easily discover Honda's shortcomings and mistakes and so easily prep them to be bulletproof,  I know there's got to be someone else out there that is every bit as fearless. Personal preference provides no value to those in need thats for sure.

 

 

 

 

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I know one advantage to the ES and that's when you're in the cold and have big heavy boots on, they don't fit under that shift lever very well then when the foot wells get built up with ice and snow it's near impossible to shift.  I spent the whole time I owned my foot shift with freezing feet while plowing.  I don't miss that with my automatics.

 

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Yup, I can ride longer in cold weather now too wearing my arctics. Just my throttle thumb gets cold now.

 

I need to stand up most of the time when I'm riding in the woods here where I live, because I need to shift my weight quite often to keep from rolling the bike down the sides of steep ravines and river high-banks where I an able to pick my way through the woods the easiest. The trees are too close together in the open woods to ride there, but along ravine tops and river banks the trees are large and spaced apart enough to take an ATV miles deep into the woods.

 

With ES I can stand on the right or left footwells and still have full control of reverse and forward gears and the brakes and still keep my head up. In other words I can take the bike into and along many steep rugged places where a footshift bike and rider have a difficult time following me. And I can get through most of those otherwise impassable areas pretty fast even after dark, cause I've been riding along ravine tops where there are no trails for so long its become easy. For technical riding where you're rarely ever in the seat, ES definitely rules!

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1 hour ago, retro said:

Yup, I can ride longer in cold weather now too wearing my arctics. Just my throttle thumb gets cold now.

 

I need to stand up most of the time when I'm riding in the woods here where I live, because I need to shift my weight quite often to keep from rolling the bike down the sides of steep ravines and river high-banks where I an able to pick my way through the woods the easiest. The trees are too close together in the open woods to ride there, but along ravine tops and river banks the trees are large and spaced apart enough to take an ATV miles deep into the woods.

 

With ES I can stand on the right or left footwells and still have full control of reverse and forward gears and the brakes and still keep my head up. In other words I can take the bike into and along many steep rugged places where a footshift bike and rider have a difficult time following me. And I can get through most of those otherwise impassable areas pretty fast even after dark, cause I've been riding along ravine tops where there are no trails for so long its become easy. For technical riding where you're rarely ever in the seat, ES definitely rules!

not understanding the rider shifting thing because of where your at ?, this makes no sense to me ??. what does the hill/rut, what ever have to do with how a rider shifts ?, es or manual ..should not make a diff..this is all on the rider..not the machine..least to me anyway :-).

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2 hours ago, Freedomflyer said:

I know one advantage to the ES and that's when you're in the cold and have big heavy boots on, they don't fit under that shift lever very well then when the foot wells get built up with ice and snow it's near impossible to shift.  I spent the whole time I owned my foot shift with freezing feet while plowing.  I don't miss that with my automatics.

 

ummm..i can get big boots under my shift lever ( if i wore them..lol ) i dont have floor boards..now this would make a difference for sure !.

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The Savant floorboards have a recess for your foot to get under the shift lever -----  have you ever had your shift foot hanging low with out floorboards and hit a stump or mud lump , that hurts 

ROJ%riTERgucYq%cMumj3A.jpg

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3 hours ago, shadetree said:

not understanding the rider shifting thing because of where your at ?, this makes no sense to me ??. what does the hill/rut, what ever have to do with how a rider shifts ?, es or manual ..should not make a diff..this is all on the rider..not the machine..least to me anyway :-).

 

Try to shift a manual trans (forward and reverse gears, ain't no such thing as straight line riding on a ravine top) while standing up with both feet on the left side foot peg and you'll get it. Now try to shift while standing up with both feet on the right side foot peg.  🙂

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58 minutes ago, Fishfiles said:

have you ever had your shift foot hanging low with out floorboards and hit a stump or mud lump , that hurts

 

Yup, 3 or 4 times at least, always on motorcycles though. A deep rut got hold of my left foot one time and I ran over my leg with the back tire as I was sliding down the side of the bike trying to keep my ankle and leg from getting broken by the foot peg. It was like super slo-mo.... when the bike fell over I was already face down on the ground. Luckily I just had a sprained ankle and foot and lost some skin on my leg. The others weren't as painful, but every bit as scary.

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I still prefer the footshifts.  Just less to go wrong.

 

That being said, my 14 year old has gotten used to riding the Rubicon, so yesterday I asked her if she wants me to put the guts back under the shift motor on her 05 350ES when I put it back together, and she said yes, so guess it will be an ES again.

 

I am leaving the splined footshift shaft in there though, and the proper footshifter will be in the storage box with a 10MM wrench to install it if that ES gives us problems in the woods! 

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Take the shift motor apart for cleaning and grease the bearings with some syn grease and seal those housings up with gasket maker slathered on the o-ring gaskets to make it submersible and pressure washer proof. Seal the angle sensor to the cover in the same manner. Stuff the reduction gears support bearings with syn grease using your finger to push grease inside them and coat every gear with lots of syn as well. Stuff the harness connectors full of dielectric grease and you're done until the next ES prep & service comes due in 20 years. :-)

 

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On 2/18/2020 at 4:45 AM, Fishfiles said:

The Savant floorboards have a recess for your foot to get under the shift lever -----  have you ever had your shift foot hanging low with out floorboards and hit a stump or mud lump , that hurts 

ROJ%riTERgucYq%cMumj3A.jpg

no..i have not caught my foot on anything, i dont ride with my foot hanging down below the foot rest, thats just begging for it to get ripped off..lol. i learned along time ago ( no bad wreck or anything ), never leave your toes pointing down, or they will get hung on something, and do like your saying. sooo..i keep my feet level at all times.

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