Honda Pioneer 520 Initial Impressions

[ArlyA]

I went with the Honda P520 because I wanted reliable/predictable engine braking in our hills, especially when towing a heavy load. Most of the CVT transmission ATV/UTVs I've driven release when the engine slows leaving you with no engine braking. It's a little counter-intuitive to step on the gas when you want to go slow. I also spoke with some locals who do rural/back-country rescue who feel the same way. They greatly prefer the more predictable response when operating in the hills.

I'm not claiming the gear transmission is superior in all situations. It just fits my needs and personal preferences better. We have a CVT transmission in our Subaru Forester and love it: smooth, even power, better gas mileage than a similar traditional automatic transmission, and probably the best & smoothest cruise control in any of our vehicles.

All modern ATV's and UTV's have a separate wet clutch and will do full engine braking. The one I used for work back in the early 90's had one so I can't say when manufactures started to use them but its been for some time.

 

[John_Mc]

All modern ATV's and UTV's have a separate wet clutch and will do full engine braking.

Then I guess I must have been trying out a bunch of antiques that were being sold as new.

Larger SxS sometimes have some sort of system to improve engine braking. I was looking for smaller and lighter, since I wanted something light on the land. (when I have a bigger job to do, I use my tractor)

As one example:
The Polaris Ranger 570 does not include EBS, so it freewheels when you slow down - I'm just guessing that it let go around 10 MPH, but I was not paying attention to the exact speed. That (among other considerations) ruled it out for me.

In contrast, the Honda pioneer 520, which is similar in size to the Polaris, does not "let go" when slowing down.

That may make no difference at all to some people. It makes a significant difference to me.

I couldn't find a Kawasaki Mule SX 4x4 anywhere near me, so never bothered looking in to it further. The Yamaha Viking was bigger than I wanted

 

[DK35vince]

All modern ATV's and UTV's have a separate wet clutch and will do full engine braking.

News to me

 

[ArlyA]

Here is a CVT Kawa coming down a steep hill utilizing its engine brake.. I'm not much of a mechanic who can explain how they work.

 

[John_Mc]

There is no question that UTV manufacturers have the ability to add engine braking to their vehicles, even with a CVT transmission. They don;t always choose to do so, and what is available on their high end machines often is not available on their smaller, less expensive models. With a CVT transmission this usually involves one way bearings or some similar set up. I've seen god engine braking on higher end CVT machines (such as the Kawasaki Teryx KRX 1000 shown in that video). Unfortunately, it's not included on all models, and in particular not on the smaller, less expensive utility options. For example, here is an excerpt from the manual for a 2019 Kawasaki Mule SX (the most recent manual I found on a quick search):

When the throttle pedal is released completely and the engine speed drops near an idle, the vehicle has no engine braking.

Kawasaki at least maintains engine breaking on the Mule SX until you are somewhere near idle. That's better than some other brands. Had anyone anywhere near me had one available for test drive, I would have tried it out to see if it was acceptable to me.

Again, all of this may make no difference to some user. It makes a difference to me.