the engine braking on my kodiak 400 is great. if you put it in low gear you can pretty much go down any descent of any steepness with absolutely no problem and in some cases NO BRAKES at all. yamaha is a GOOD CHOICE!

 

Maybe the Rincon is just OK, but you couldn't have driven a Hondamatic and said that. Seemless variable engine braking. It will flip you over the bars if you are not expecting it. Way better than any belt drive I've driven. It's not artificial or soft. You are right about the centrifugal/sprag set up (used on Yamaha,AC,Suzuki), they do have better engine braking than the old snowmobile type of set up, even with their EBS bandaids.

I haven't driven a Grizz 700 yet, but the only way I would see it on par is if the Rubicon was in D mode. You just don't have the option to change the ratio with the Grizz that you do with ESP.

I am watching that Grizzly 700. Next year I have a tough decision to make.

 

If you put the 700 Grizzly in 4WD and low range, you can literally creep down a steep hill, the same hill where my '02 Grizzly would pick up speed in the same situation (in 4WD low). I have a friend with an '01 Rubicon and I've had a lot of seat time on that one as well. She didn't like my '02 Grizzly because of it's "inferior" engine braking when compared to her Rubi. It's a different story with the new Grizzly. It's the first quad that she's ridden where she is completely satisfied with the way it (the engine braking effect) works, in fact if she had the funds available she would switch. She calls the 700 Grizzly her "dream quad" now.

The difference in the new Grizzly's engine braking effect was immediately apparent to me from day one. As I was backing it off my truck (F-250 with the FX4 Off-road package, i.e. rather high off the ground) I let off the throttle as I was backing down the ramp as I would with all the other quads I've had. Only it came to a stop! I had to give it more throttle to continue my descent down the ramp...

 

well that's great that the Grizz is that good now, I don't remember ever seeing any atv 'stop' going downhill just by letting off the throttle. You don't even need brakes anymore! I can shift from 5th to 1st as fast as I can tap the downshift button 4 times. Not that it would do me any good, but I can skid the tires (not just stop) on flat ground by downshifting. I couldn't even do that with my semi-auto. As I said, I'm interested in seeing how the Grizzly 700 pans out. It sounds good so far. Sounds like engine braking isn't an issue.

 

It will not stop going down hill in low range 4WD (at least I don't think so), but it will go very slow and hold that pace really well. Backing up is different though. I'm used to doing "Y" turns to change directions on a trail by turning into and running part way up a bank, then let off the throttle while drifting backwards while reversing the turn, then on the throttle again to complete the direction reversal. Except I can't do that with the new Grizzly as it will stop instead of continuing to drift backwards (so I have to shift it into reverse to complete the direction reversal). No big deal, but I never had to do that before with anything else...

 

That's good to know about the Grizzly 700 and I am happy for you guys who are able to own such a machine. But being realistic, I know I won't be getting a 700. I won't even be getting 2 new quads. It will take me a while to find a couple of used ones. And even if I were going to go in debt for one, if I walked in a Yamaha dealer tomorrow, I'd probably step up to maybe the Grizzly 350 4x4 Auto to get the diff-lock and IRS features.

 

Yes, I was able to creep down a big hill (none in our group would even go up and we go up some nasty hills in my videos) just put it in 4 low diff lock.

I was worried cause diff lock could be a problem if only one front tire grabbed..... that is where the 700 power steering would come in handy

 

Thanks.....

That's sorta what I'm thinking....

Maybe keeping my eyes peeled for a steal of a deal on a used Kodiak.

 

My bruin's engine braking does very well. Last night for example went on a night ride and I was able to see how much more people use their brakes. I hardly ever use mine when doing trail riding, just let off the throttle and it slows down enough to make the turn.