Using Your Clutch

When you use the clutch to engage the PTO or choose your gear speed, you may find that sometimes the gears in the transmission do not mesh. This happens when the teeth are in line with each other, and no amount of pressing on the gear shift rod will change that. In order for the gears to interlock, it’s necessary to move one of the gears so that the teeth in one will be aligned with the spaces between the teeth in the other. Once you’ve done that, the gears will mesh very easily, without only slight pressure from you.

The simplest way to do this is to feather the clutch, as follows:

Start the engine and move the engine throttle lever into the idle position.
Squeeze the clutch lever (on the left handlebar) and move the selector rod to choose the desired gear.
If you encounter resistance on the shift rod, slowly lower the clutch lever while continuing to apply a slight pressure on the gear shift rod in the desired direction.
As the gear begins to turn and the two gears that need to mesh become properly aligned, the sliding gear will mesh, and you’ll feel the shift rod move in the desired direction.
Continue to exert slight pressure on the rod as you release the clutch the rest of the way. This will ensure that the gears are fully interlocked.

To watch this in operation, please see the following video on BCS tractor operation (we start the video part way in, at the point in which clutch operation is being shown):

Additional notes:

Follow the same steps whether selecting your wheel speed or engaging the PTO.
Always select your wheel speed before you engage the PTO.
You will only encounter resistance when shifting into a gear or engaging the PTO. When you shift out of gear into neutral or disengage the PTO, there will never be any resistance.