Hey guys, last night on the ATV tv show, they were putting down Polaris for having engine breaking just on the rear wheels. They were talking about how that was a problem when going down slippery hills. I would like to hear from any of you to see if you are having any of these problems. I was thinking of switching to a Polaris 600 but now I am a little concerned.

 

I ride a 700 and rode a 500 before that and if I could change only one thing about polaris, it would be to add the capability of engine braking to all four wheels. An experienced rider will not likely get into troublewith the rear wheel only engine braking, but it would make descending steep, slippery hills easier. One thing to do is to descend steep hills in high range to reduce the chances of rear wheel lock up. Other makes only have 4 wheel engine braking when in 4wd, but the way polaris's 4wd system is designed, it won't work unless the system is "wedged". Wedging is where you get the hilliard(s) to stay locked up while descending hills. I've just learned to live with w/o it and do fine. Although it's a luxury that I would like to have, at this time I would rather have a sportsman 700 than 4 wheel engine braking.

 

My feeling is that I would rather not have it at all, just personal preference. I do not ride any large hills and on more flat areas I find it to interfere with my normal riding which is a combination of pulling logs etc and trail riding. If want all 4 wheels braking that is what the lever on the left handlebar is for.

 

I agree with upnort, I would rather not have it at all. I grew up riding Honda manual shifts and would just prefer to do the shifting and braking myself! I sacraficed those two preferences for the shear size and power of the SP700.

 

I rarely post anything but this is a really good question because this really becomes important with certain riding styles. I ride both Polaris and Honda if there is one downfall with the Polaris system it is rear wheel only engine braking. Now for some people it will be no issue at all but if you do ride alot of technical or tight steep hills it will be an issue. What will happen is when the engine braking is applied to the rear wheels they tend to lock up because all the weight is moving forward and sometimes the back end will want to come around. Can you use the hand brake to help? YES! But you can get tired of trying to control everything by squeezing the brake lever and sometimes with the relatively little weight on the rear wheels they can still skid. I'm not at all saying don't buy one one because they are terrific bikes and you would love it but just keep in mind if you do that kind of riding you may get tired of it. But keep in mind I'm not talking about just general riding and downhills where you can keep moving but more of the ones where you have to work your way down on really steep or loose material. By the way what bike are you riding now? Most of the time I ride a Rubicon, which works extemely well on downhills and its nice with the ESP (manual) shifting because you can defeat engine braking if you want. However I'm never big on recommending the Rubicon although I love it, I think it meets a certain riding style rather than general recreation. Hope it helps.

 

HEY EVERYONE, thanks for commiting on the rear engine break , I hadn't really give it a thought until i saw it on tv the other night . I am familiar with riding any terrain . I own a 02 honda foreman right now , but i'm just needing a softer ride i'm getting close to that 40 year old mark , and we still do a lot of trail riding . I think i would still be satisfied with the 600 , i just needed to hear your commits to see how you all dealt with it . I want to thank you guys , keep up the good commits,enjoyed it .

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]Hi Stateman, Here's some posts you may be interested in if you're considering a SP 600. Go to search, topic, Enlighten me on Polaris 4wd please, the author is Pechmial. I also have a post there. I would imagine living in Ky. you'll be doin a lot of hills. A lot will depend on your riding style & experience. I really did like my SP 600 in a lot of ways, but am now waiting to see & try out the AC 650 , due around here sometime in Oct.
Regards,
Jerico 1

 

I think the rear only engine breaking can be a pain sometimes. I notice it locking up when I go down a hill that has soft terrain like loose dirt or a thick layer of leaves. There are alot of hills where I ride and like has been said it is really just in the technical areas that you will notice it. I ve rode just about everything else and Polaris is not strong in this area at all. I still bought one because I felt that over all this fit my needs better than any other quad I rode. I think on any quad there is at least one thing that you would like to change and this is probably the one thing I would change on my quad. I have never been more happy with another ATV than the 600 Sportsman.

 

I have a steep hill on my property that gives the EBS a workout. I would think that if the EBS also included the front wheels it would make it difficult to steer. I have an 03 SP600 and would rather not have the EBS.

 

Another thing to think about is the Polaris's linked braking system (one lever for front and rear brakes). On flat ground, uphill, or any terrain other than steep, slick, or loose downhills, it works wonderfully. But, because there is very little weight on the rear wheels while going downhill, the rear wheels are prone to lock up as the rider applies more brake. As the rider applies the brakes to the front wheels to hold the quad back, he is also applying pressure to the rear brake. In my opinion, that is also a contributor to the rear wheel lock up on the polaris atv's.