So what ATV has the most powerful or most effective (two different things) engine braking.

I always thought the Grizzly has the best but i'm hearing different now.

 

I would say Can AM then mabe Yamaha or Kawi

 

Right now, I'd have to say a tie between the Can-Am and the Polaris. The Polaris ADC is extremely good as is the engine braking on the can-am. The old Polaris engine braking was horrific but the new is just as good as the old system was bad.

I haven't played with the grizzly on steep enough hills enough to know for sure but I'd say just from the times I have that it is a close third. It felt fairly good from what I could tell in some limited use on steep terrain.

 

On the Honda side, the Rubicon and the Foreman both can generally hold 2 mph on almost anything... Unfortunately the Rincon's 1st gear is too high for it to provide much below about 10 mph.

 

I have a 2006 Arctic Cat 400 FIS Auto with the Suzuki 376cc engine and Suzuki's Duramatic belt driven clutched tranny and it's been great for me and i ride some very steep hilly trails in the north ga mountain trails where i ride 90% of the time , i don't know very much about the new Polaris utilites but i prefer the fact that you can lock in the AC in 4x4 for true fourwheel engine breaking ; and i like the idea of locking in 4x4 unlike the Awd of the popo especiilly with going up steep mud slicken hills even though the Awd system sends power to the front wheel when it detects the rear wheels starting to spin !

I rode a friends 2007 polaris sportsman 500HO last year going up a very steep grade and it scared me pretty bad when the front wheels came off the ground before they did kick in , i had to letoff the gas to keep it from coming back on me ; Don't get me wrong Palaris ATV's are some of the toughest quads on the market it's just from this one situation that really scared me !

I hope nobody takes this the wrong way because i'm not a Brand basher by no means , i thinks all Brands made today are some fine machines ; so i would suggest you try to ride some if you can find someone on the trails that would allow to swap out with you to determine for yourself which you prefer best !........

 

Polaris ADC is a automatic control braking system that turns on and off with the throttle.That makes it hard to control on ice.

 

The thing with Polaris engine braking though is that it only activates when your going slower than 15 mhp.

 

Best engine braking is Honda,Yamaha,Suzuki and Arctic Cat.

They all make the last manual 5 speed shift Utility ATVs which is true engine braking.

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote> rode a friends 2007 polaris sportsman 500HO last year going up a very steep grade and it scared me pretty bad when the front wheels came off the ground before they did kick in , i had to letoff the gas to keep it from coming back on me </end quote></div>

Not sure how any engine braking would help much going up a hill.

If the hill is so steep the front wheels will leave the ground and come up and over its just time to bail not worry about brakes.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: brpbear

Polaris ADC is a automatic control braking system that turns on and off with the throttle.That makes it hard to control on ice.</end quote></div>

Anything is hard to control going down a steep ice-covered hill IMO.

 

Ice is hard to drive on who needs a machine that can put you sidways.