I currently own an '03 P650 and love the engine braking on really steep hills. I am thinking about adding a V-force to my fleet , but was wondering how the V- machine performs on steep technical rocky downhills without the engine braking like that of the prairies. Do you have to totally rely on the brakes or can blipping the throttle alittle slow you down enough to make the ride controlled? Are there any instances that you V-force owners wished the machine had some sort of electronic engine braking? I noticed in some atv magazines that they put the V-force down in the rating due to have little to no engine braking on downhills.

 

I just blip the gas a little bit to keep the clutch engaged, works fine for me. I haven't gone done a super steep rock filled hill either though.

 

I have come down some very steep rock infested hills at Big Rock, in Maysville KY. I will say it was my first time climbing and declining on these type of hills which are very steep and slippery with jagged rocks and tree roots jutting out everywhere. The V goes up the hills will little problem due to the great torque at the wheels in combo with the holeshot tires, however coming down scared the bejebbies out of me! I was still getting used to the V and I relied only on the brakes. The safest method of declining large hills (you may know this already) is to squeeze your back brakes a little while pumping/tapping the front brakes. I was new to this, and do feel more confident now, but at the time is was scary.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

I don't think tapping the accelerator is going to do anything but cause you to loose control on these kind of hills because once you start sliding on the loose rock......your goose is cooked! I am wondering if is possible to go down (forward of course) in reverse gear to cause some braking without damaging the tranny. I may be out of my mind though.....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

I've decended all different kinds of hills on my V, my back brakes seem really soft for some reason. I keep the backs almost full on, a little front brake and a constant tap on the gas keeps the tranny engaged. Was very scary the first few times but now I feel like I can come down em' better than my friends on their quads.

 

I find that keeping the engine RPMs slightly raised will keep the engine brake on the V-Force engaged. And the bike maintains a very slow and controllable decent. Blipping the throttle only increases your forward momentum and speed. Waiting for the clutch to let loose and then blipping the throttle makes the rear wheels start dragging/sliding down the hill.

I don't think you will have any problems with any downhill stuff.

 

This is a concern with the V. I have seen a few hills that I was very tempted to climb, but didn't want any part of coming down. I have practiced a little with turning the idle way up before heading down......that way you don't have to "thumb" all the way and can concentrate more on braking. Anyone else tried that?

 

Hi BigCreek, I see you are a fello Kentuckian...........I am headed to Livingston this coming weekend and could used this info. Are you saying once you are ready to decend, you turn the idle up and that helps coming down?

 

Yep, this is probably the only gripe I have about the V-Force, and I’ve already gotten used to this situation so it is no longer really a problem for me.

I find it is best to do like “TheForce” says and just give it a slight bit of steady throttle (rather than “blipping”). This keeps the revs just above idle keeping the transmission engaged so you can feel the effects of engine braking. However note that this is not as effective as the engine braking effect on a 4WD machine, but for me in most situations it is adequate.

If you are ever in the need to go slower (and I’ve been in situations like this many times) then you just have to rely on the brakes which I’ve found to be adequate for getting the job done. In these types of situations it’s usually a very rough trail and very steep, where anything above a crawl will be too fast (otherwise you can end up in an uncontrollable slide). So what I’ve learned to do in these situations is to just give up on the throttle and finesse the brakes, using just enough back brake pressure to keep it from locking and sometimes applying a little front brake too.

 

Thanks for all the info and advice guys!!

 

Hey Brewster, that's right. Have you tried it yet?? Hopefully not on anything too steep[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] How do you like the Aliens? Do you have the quiet cores?