Polaris eb does not work in awd - even states it in the owners manual.
It's a common complaint with popo atv's (along with a noisy drive train)

 

Well mine sure slows down pretty good on the hills in 4wd sometime to complete stop with no throttle applyed.

 

correct me if im wrong but isnt engine braking only on the automatics? With a manual transmission you dont need engine braking because the gears are what keeps you from going any faster down hill. Think about it,put it in 5th gear and see how much the "engine brake" works. It dont,you just coast faster and faster till you hit peak speed allowed in that gear. Now while running down hill in 5th gear,down shift to 4th,it skids and slows you down,again to 3rd,ect...but an auto will slow down b/c of engine braking due to NOT having gears. being in 4 wheel drive obviously works the best going down hill slowly,otherwise you get the rear end slide.

 

I just drop my KQ 300 into first gear on really steep hills.

 

no- your talking about two different things- shifting the tranny to low gear and an engine brake are different things, engine braking is not over-revving the motor by shifting into a lower gear, like the can-am engine brake, which works on any incline or decline by simply releasing the throttle at any speed- also, there is no big bore 4x4 manuals- they are all cvt (except the honda rincon 650 / 680- but even that is auto with an electronic lockout), and you can't shift into low gear without completely stopping the atv (defeats the purpose of an engine brake) on any of them- and all (all) polaris sportsman lose their engine brake in awd (4x4) going down a hill- even states it in the manual.

 

An engine brake uses a one way bearing behind the primary pulley- I think some atv's like the arctic cat and brute force use electronic engine brake control actuators.

The whole purpose of an eb is to allow the operator to remain in control of the atv and provide a smooth transition going from level terrain to a descending terrain without making the operator have to remove his hands from the bar to shift into a lower gear or ride his brakes. Anyone who has ever ridden down an old rocky riverbed on a large hill (or mountain around here) knows how important that EB is- Your engine shouldn't over-revv and you shouldn't have to use your brakes (or very minimal braking) with an effective EB-
So- you guys who are talking about down shifting, it's not the same thing. All you're doing is over-revving the motor making it work against itself. The OP asked about the "best engine braking system available on an atv"
A lot of people don't like the can-am outty EB because it's so effective and takes some getting used to. But it is without a doubt, the most effective EB on the market (at least from 2005 - 2008)




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With these new wet brake systems, that's not much of a worry. I may have to change the fluid, but I have 3500 miles on the wet brake and haven't even had to adjust yet! Give me my brakes and a light engine braking system over a strong engine brake and having to hit the throttle going downhill. I feel I have a little more control.

 

manual and automatic atvs with engine braking clutches will have engine braking when you let off the throttle.
how much depends on what gear the manual atv is in and your atvs gear ratio.
all autos clutches go to low gear when the throttle is off.
Polaris currently has the most aggressive engine braking with ADC on.
Polaris engine braking works in 2wd and AWD!!!!!! only slows the rear wheels.
ADC only works in AWD with the ADC switched on, slows all 4 wheels.
the front and rear gear ratios are a little differant for AWD to function so the engine braking and driveline bind with ADC will slow you faster.

 

Polaris EBS works in AWD and it doesn't state that in the owners manual.

Yes engine braking is using the engine compression to hold your atv back

maybe Can Am was up till 2006, Polaris introduced ADC in 2007

 

You're wrong on both accounts-

the EB on the polaris prior 07 was only an option that could be added for hundreds of dollars- and does not have braking to all 4 wheels. The newer models with ADC (a silly joke) allow the engine braking to go to all wheels but only when you are going less than 15mph and have no throttle applied (what's the point) Also-the engine does not over-revv to provide EB-

From a polaris web site:
"normal engine braking only engages the rear wheels even when in 4WD. This means that on those very steep and loose downhills that already demand your attention, the ATV wants to slide the rear wheels so maintaining directional control can become a real handful. When switched to ADC, the active descent control will apply the engine braking to all 4 wheels, but unfortunately that’s only when the ATV’s speed is under 15mph and there is no throttle applied."