I took my new 05 Rincon out for a second run. Got it up to 61 going down hill this time. Would do between 58 and 59 on a flat road. Engine must be starting to get seated right. (Last ride max was 56.)

My main purpose of this post is the engine braking question. I deliberately took it to a bluff where I could try some long down hill slopes. The first time down I just let off the throttle at the top of the hill. It very quickly slowed down. Some kind of engine braking must have kicked in. I glanced down, and saw 18 MPH. So it absolutely does engine brake at 18 MPH!

Next run I stopped at the top and let it coast down. It never got over 5 MPH without any brakes. At that speed, I felt no need to hit the brakes at all.

My conclusion is that this engine braking concern is not worth all the bandwidth taken up debating it. It isn't a problem, and I am not at all concerned about it!

Now for the ride. It was 12 deg outside! My son and I bundled up and headed out to some faster trails. 16 miles of gravel road between us and the trail. It was a great ride. Cold a bit, but nice anyhow. Snow and ice covered everything. We were alone except for about 3 jeeps that were on the gravel roads.

Stopped for a hot chocolate at a bar along the trail. And continued on. At about 22 miles, I turned around and headed back. Nothing spectacular. Stopped for a few play areas, but got home mostly OK. My son did miss a curve on the way back, and my heart stopped for about 20 seconds as I saw him skidding towards the trees. He stopped just in time and was perfectly fine. I lost 2-3 years off my life line though!

Loved it and will do it again even in 12 degree temps! Here is a link to some pictures.
http://www.kane1.com/rincon/

 

It seems like the only people complaining about he engine braking are the ones that have never riden one or lack the ability to independently operate their brakes. If you can't use your brakes to slow you down you might want to find a different hobby.

I agree with you that it's a non issue.

 

For some reason my engine braking works better in 4x4 than 2wd. In 2wd it will do about 8mph down hill but in 4wd it will do about 5-6mph. My SP600 will do about 3mph but I dont like it. It is too strong when letting off throttle. For me the rincon engine braking is just fine. And you are right. Most that complain dont even have one or have ridden one.

 

What is that white stuff in the pics? Is that the "snow" stuff I keep hearing about.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

No, it's white sand. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] There isn't much of it either. We had a couple inches the night before, so it was fresh. This year has been light on total accumulation around us. I stayed off the ice on the pond in the background too. I usually will ride there since it's fun to do doughnuts. But I was afraid it was still too thin.

 

That's great if you don't feel like you need it! Personally, I would never leave the garage on a quad that didn't have EBS...........

 

Here we go again with people giving their opinions on machines that they dont own. Who said it doesnt have EBS? Didnt you just read the posts above that said there is plenty of EBS?

 

Engine braking leads to premature thumb fatigue.