I just recently test rode a new Rubicon. I liked the Rubicon's smooth transmission, it's like everyone says it is, like silk. It was quite when shifting through it gears, but it had a pronounced sound when slowing down? It's hard to describe, almost a whinning like sound. It's just different. I was wondering from you current owners if this sound eventually lessens? I plan on using a atv for trail ridding as well as for hunting. I would like to be as quite as possible when traveling to my hunting stands.

Thanks

 

I have not noticed anything that I would say is troubling, I guess you could say there is a normal gear whine when engine braking. As the transmission is smooth and quiet you may notice noises that every ATV sub-tranny makes but you don't hear with a louder machine (or that just wouldn't be present as they don't have the level of engine braking the Hondamatic does)

the tranny is really versitile and you should be able to use ESP to avoid any engine braking by keeping it in a higher gear and using the brakes to slow

I would try another to compare noises to see if there's something odd with the one you rode

 

propnut, you know what, that might have been what I was hearing the engine breaking? I was riding it in a flat parking lot but I was slowing down to turn around. I was so intuned to the different type transmission that I may have been mistaking it for the sound when I was actually the engine braking? I will take your suggestion though and ride a different one. Thanks for the feedback.

 

The "engine braking" is not a separate mechanism like Polaris, I'm just saying while decelerating you are loading the sub tranny from the other end using the same method as any other directly coupled transmission to engine set up, like downshifting any standard you are going to get some tranny whine

good luck!

 

The noise you was hearing could possibly be the shift motor downshifting to a lower gear. It's really noticable when riding fast enough to be in a higher gear and coming to a fast stop in AUTO. It won't do it in ESP because you are controlling the shift motor. This may not be the noise your hearing but is something that is very audible on Rubicons and 400ATs.

 

true and good point

to me it sounds like a servo

if you are shifting normally. if you come to a stop in 5th and downshift to 1st quickly while stopped you should be able to hear it and compare