This new Rincon is a great quad...great ride, smooth shifting transmission, decent power, but what happened to the engine braking? I was out on the weekend riding it and as soon as the steep hills come, the engine braking was nearly non-existent. It is almost as bad as putting the transmssion in neutral. On little rolling hills the transmission will hold the bike o.k. but when you need the engine braking the most, it isn't thee. I tried adjusting the idle a little bit and found if you lowered the idle it helps, but you have to blip the throttle a little to engage the torque convertor down the hill.

I ride alot in the mountains so engine braking is very important to me. I have owned a 450ES and a Rubicon in the past and they have excellent "grade braking" The rincon has a much better ride and I love the transmission on the flats and up hills but I can't believe Honda would overlook such a design flaw.

As a side note I was riding with some belt drive kawasakis' that would barely have to touch their brakes going down the hill. I guess Honda might want to look at the latest generation belt drives that have excellent grade braking features. If anyone can offer assistance, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

You hear so many versions of this that you don't know what to believe!! Some say the braking is so strong that you have to gas it down a hill, and others like you say there is none.

I think you need to try holding it in a low gear in ESP mode, to get any braking out of it (just like your automatic car transmission).

 

I realize you have heard so many people telling you different versions of the engine braking on the rincon. Yesterday I was out in the mountains in ESP in first gear, and on steep hills, you might as well put the transmission in neutral. I am not bashing the Rincon, I think it is a great machine, but I am sure disappointed in Honda for letting this important safety feature to slip by.

 

The Rincon only has engine braking about 7-8 MPH. When you really need it rock crawling down a mountain at low speeds, it is nonexistent.

 

I find the engine braking more than adequate. When the speed gets slow then it goes away, but that's so you can roll frontwards or backwards (you know, the lazy way to turn around instead of using reverse.. up a hill, roll back and turn).. almost any quad does that.

 

that's a rather optimistic take on it.