I'm just curious what Yamaha's AUTO trannys are like?

Are they a good setup compared to a 5 speed foot shift?

How well does their engine breaking setup handle downhilling?
Can you crawl down steep stuff with them?

 

It seems to work very well for me. We have a LOT of steep hills and I rarely need to use the brakes that much at all.

 

My girlfriends 04 Bruin does just fine down hills the few times I have rode it. I like the machine and it's transmission as opposed to my Rancher's manual tranny but then I'm old and getting to the point that I hate to shift.

My next atv is going to be a Yamaha with the auto tranny.

 

it's supposed to be the best auto engine breaking system, I've heard.
When in high gear on a steep inclines, my grizzly 700 will slowly gain speed with no throttle use.
In low gear on steep inclines, my grizzly will stay at an absolute constant speed and will not increase speed without the use of the throttle.
hope this helps give you an idea of how the engine braking works on the yamahas. it may be different for other models, I'm not sure.

 

Cool... so it is a complete package that just works like it should then huh?
No need for aftermarket add-ons to make it work like you want it too.
No trying your best to keep the thing engaged, ect....

The automatic quads I have ridden in the past had no useable engine braking to this extent.
The Kawasaki just freewheeled and the polaris would too unless you blipped the throttle.
That was long ago, but both were useless for trying to decend down a slope.

So this all sounds good to me about the Yamaha's.
Thanks for the info....

 

The yamaha ultramatics are different from the kawi and polaris.
The yamaha belt is always engaged and tight. It never goes slack, and the engine braking is all mechanical. The engine has a centrifical clutch, which drives the primary pulley at about 1700 rpms and up, and then for engine braking theres a sprauge clutch which solidly engages the engine, when ever you lift the throttle. It does work great, and even if the key is shut off, or the engine dies on a steep decent...the engine braking still works.
No tricks needed, like blipping the throttle, it just works as advertized. The suzuki built belt drives( most suzukis and most A/C) work as good as the yamaha, because they use the same sprague clutch and centrifical clutch arraignment, and the belt is always tight to the pulleys as well.

 

Thanks hondabuster for providing such a good explaination there. I'm so outdated on what is what with utility quads, you just don't know. But now the issue of EBS on autos makes a lot more sense to me now. Thanks.

I've been on a long layoff from riding due to a back injury I suffered some years ago and I just haven't kept up with what's out there today. So I only had past experience to go off of. When I rode last I just wasn't happy with the auto setups, particularly on utility quads.

Myself, I have always preferred riding sport quads on the more open and less technical trails. In these areas engine breaking is not such a huge deal. On the other hand, the real tight, real steep mountain trails... I want to crawl around on them and have always preferred a utility 4x4 for that.What I found out back in the day was that the auto quads would take you up high in the mountains and up places it was not safe to come back down.

Now that I'm looking to maybe start riding again, I'd like to make a family affair of it, and I'd like to have one sport quad and one utility 4x4. My line of thinking was a manual clutch 5 speed sport quad for me and a utility 4x4 or something for my wife, which would also be a quad I would want to ride sometimes when she is not.

The thing with my wife is that I think she would rather not have to shift. I think she could learn to foot shift an auto clutch if she would try it, and surely she could learn something like an electric shift Honda. But I also know that my wife tends to not want to learn such things.

So I wanted to have some info in mind as I shop the used market for some rides. It sounds like the Yamaha autos are an option that would be easy for her and safe too, plus something I would be happy with as well. This knowledge will really make it a lot easier for me to shop.

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On a side note though, one would really think Polaris would not have allowed themselves to get left behind in the auto segment like this. I mean a Polaris 250 Cyclone was the first auto quad I ever saw and they were the only name in auto quads for a long time. But last time I was in a dealer, very few of their units were factory equipped with EBS. Mostly just the higher end Sportsmans at that time. I've never understood why it's not just standard on all their quads.

 

The engine breaking on the Grizzly is great. It's taken a coupla miles to get used to though...it works that well. I've had no problems with the belt, and due to the rains over the last month the swamps are up. I personally don't like an automatic tranny, but it's not only a performance issue; I like to be more involved in the riding/driving process. I grew up on 2 and 3 wheeled two strokes, so this is OUR [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] first utility quad (it's really my wifes', but I ride it more). The Banshee and 3 wheeler aren't made for da' swamps. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Im not slamming Popo, however of all the automatics on a ute, they make the only one which does not enagage engine braking on all 4 wheels, when selecting 4wd...the engine braking is rear tires only. Now for 07 they have come out with 4 wheel engine braking on some models. It makes for a very sure footed and slow decent on a sttep downhill, when all 4 tires are controlling the decent. I cant remember the last time i used the brakes in a steep downhill, especially in low and 4wd, its that good and controllable.
The engine braking is so good now , as opposed to years ago, that i rarely use my brakes. I just lift the throttle and the engine braking is so strong, that the quad stops in a pretty short distance with out ever touching the brakes. This is on flat land. Its very simliar to driving on sand...in that as soon as you stop adding power and back off..its slows to a halt... there is very little coasting, and no free wheeling at all.
The engine braking on the honda autos are ok, but not as drastic as the belt drive yami, and suzi.

 

Up until I got my '07 Grizzly 700, the most efficient engine braking on an automatic trans quad that I had experienced to date was on a Honda Rubicon. The engine braking on my '02 Grizzly is decent (especially in 4WD low range), but the Rubicon's system was better. Now the '07 Grizzly is a different story, it's better than my '02 and I'd say on par with what the Rubicon has...