Why is My Honda ATV Stalling on Acceleration?

If your Honda ATV is stalling, you already checked the fuel system parts and everything looks good, could the problem be the clutch system dragging the machine down?

Partzilla’s Honda ATV expert John Talley livestreams Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked what could be causing a 2011 Honda Rancher to stall on acceleration.

Honda Rancher Stalling on Acceleration Q&A

I have a 2011 Honda Rancher that’s stalling when accelerating. Checked the fuel, plug, injector, filter and pump, and fuel cap valve. It stops when I put it in neutral. What could be the problem?

John Talley: So it doesn’t do that behavior once you put it in neutral? Well that makes me wonder if the clutching system is dragging it down somehow. Not so much on the primary but maybe the secondary. I wonder if that may be choking it down, some type of drag on the belt system that’s killing it. Even though it’s not allowing it to move forward, but it’s evidently trying to creep forward. It’s an odd thing. Check your primary and secondary sheaves and see if there’s a problem there. And if there is, it’s probably wearing out the belt too quickly. Because, if I remember correctly, when our Polaris sat idle, the belt should’ve been freewheeling. It’s just going to sit there and you’ve got your primary spinning. And it doesn’t engage until you start to build up the revs and then it grabs the belt and engages it. So pull the cover and see if that’s happening. If the belt’s still moving, that may be choking it down. 

Watch the video below to see how to replace the clutch on a Honda ATV. 

Watch the video below to see how to replace and adjust the clutch lever on a Honda ATV. 

Watch the video below to learn how to replace the drive belt on a Polaris ATV.  

Want to see more live repair questions answered? See more motorcycle and ATV repair questions answered here.