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IMPORTANT

The Owner's Manual for this vehicle contains warnings, instructions and other information you must read and fully understand before safely riding or performing maintenance on this vehicle. Always follow the warnings and instructions in Owner's Manual.

Click the link above for the Table Of Contents, or download a full PDF of the Owner Manual in the Owner Support area of Polaris.com.

Shifting Gears
(Manual Transmission)

WARNING
Forced shifting (without depressing the clutch pedal) could cause damage to the engine, transmission and drive train. Such damage could cause loss of control, which could result in serious injury or death. Always depress the clutch pedal fully to disengage the clutch before shifting gears.

The SLINGSHOT vehicle is equipped with a 5-speed transmission. Neutral is located between gears. When the shift lever is in neutral, it should move freely from left to right.

  1. Start the engine. See the Starting the Engine section for details.

  2. With the engine at idle speed and the clutch disengaged (pedal depressed), apply the brakes.

  3. Move the shift lever into first gear.

  4. Release the brake pedal.

  5. In one smooth motion, simultaneously release the clutch pedal while slowly depressing the throttle pedal. As the clutch begins to engage, the vehicle will move forward.

  6. To shift to a higher gear, accelerate smoothly to the recommended shift point. See the Recommended Shift Points section for details. Perform the following actions quickly and precisely:

    1. Simultaneously release the throttle pedal completely while disengaging the clutch (depressing the clutch pedal).

    2. Move the shift lever to the next gear.

    3. Simultaneously release the clutch pedal while depressing the throttle pedal.

    NOTICE
    Within the recommended speed ranges (see the Recommended Shift Points section for details), you can downshift to slow the vehicle or to increase power. You may want to downshift when climbing a hill or passing. Downshifting also helps to decrease speed when combined with releasing the throttle pedal.

  7. To shift to a lower gear (downshift), reduce speed to the recommended shift point. See the Recommended Shift Points section for details. Perform the following actions quickly and precisely:

    1. Simultaneously release the throttle pedal completely while disengaging the clutch (depressing the clutch pedal).

    2. Move the shift lever to the next lower gear.

    3. Simultaneously release the clutch pedal while depressing the throttle pedal.

WARNING
Downshifting improperly could cause transmission damage, loss of traction and loss of control, which could result in serious injury or death.

  • Reduce speed before downshifting. Always downshift within the recommended shift points.

  • Use extreme caution when downshifting on wet, slippery or other low traction surfaces. Release the clutch pedal very gradually in these conditions.

  • Avoid downshifting in a curve. Downshift before entering the curve. Avoid coasting (clutch disengaged) through curves and corners.