Hello:

I have switch from a 2003 Honda Foreman 450S to a 2005 Rincon 650. I am wondering if there is any thing I can do to inprove my engine braking for going down hills. On the foreman I used the lower gears to keep my down hill speed slow. The first time I went down hill on the Rincon I was surprised at the lack of engine braking. One of my riding buddy told me that I would have to keep give gas on and off so that the transmission would not go into a feathered mode. is this ture? I was thinking about replacing the drum brakes up front with some high lifter disc brakes is this a good idea? Any other Ideas would be helpful. Is there a way to adapt a manual ES trans to the 650 motor?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

Precisely why I never even gave the Rincon a second look. No engine braking below 8 mph!

 

Welcome to the forum.

Come on reconranger, you never gave the Rincon a second look because it is has an auto trans. We know the real reason.

Rincons weren't made to go slow. They are a "fast" trail machine. I thought everyone knew they had no engine braking.

 

Actually, I have tried real hard to like the Honda autos.

 

I love the Rubicons trans. I have a quite a few friends with Rubicons and none of them have had a single problem with them. I love the different modes, yes, sometimes I get lazy and don't want to shift. D1 is perfect for slow trail riding and I love climbing around in low-range ESP. A five speed in low-range is just fun. The Hondamatic just makes the Rubicon fun to ride. Its not just a "one speed".

I don't really care for the Rincons trans, but then it doesn't really fit our style of riding.

Unless Honda puts a Hondamatic in another ATV, I'll keep the Rubicon and buy a new one if I ever wear it out.

I bought the Rancher for our daughters. We rented an ES Rancher and they had no problems and prefered it over a foot shift and I was not interested in other ATVs. I have only put maybe 50 of the 1300 miles on it and my wife has only ridden it maybe a couple hundred yards.

I think its great Honda "upgraded" the 450s, I think it is going to sell quite well. But when a trail gets "technical", a rancher is tough to beat.

Hope we didn't hi-jack your thread.

 

I am thinking of moving to a Rubicon from my Prairie 700. Has anyone ridden both that can comment as to how the engine braking compares on the two?

 

From what I understand, the only ATVs that are close are manual transmissions. Why are you thinking of trading, I would think a 700 is a blast!!

Very steep down hill, 2 riders plus cargo (400 pounds), low-range, ESP 1st gear - 3 mph and no brakes. Plus when you "down-shift" it is instantanious. The shifts when in ESP are as crisp as a shift can get, up and down shifts. Wid open throttle and it "snaps" into the gear selected.

Great transmission. It is addicting.

 

Unfortunetly thats a charactistic of that tranny. The rincon has a torque converter style tranny, and isnt hydrostatic like the rubi or rancher at. Feathering the throttle wont work, that an old polaris trick for getting their ebs to work, but itll only make a rincon go faster, not slower.
The tranny is just like the one in your car, and unless you click it into 1st, it wont have much for engine braking, and itll never have the engine braking ability of a geared quad.
The rincon is great for wide open trails and slight hills, but isnt a good choice for a mountain goat.

 

engine braking is good on the kaw, but the honda I imo is much better my son had a 05 700
P. the kaw is faster but it rides 2x rougher than my 04 rubicon, but the extra speed is of little use trail riding, the rubicon has more than is needed.

 

oledad,

how much more power does the P700 have? Does the Rubicon feel downright slow compared to it? I enjoy some fast trail riding, and that is why I chose the P700. I am just trying to get away from the belt. What is the top speed of the Rubicon?