How does the engine braking work?

[STORM-CHASER]

How does the engine braking work ? I have a new vector and this is my first sled with the engine braking. When I let off the gas I can hear something in the right side of the sled were the brakes are. It seems loud is this normal? I thought all the braking was through the belt, but this seem to be the same noise that you hear when you apply the brakes.

 

[SledderSteve]

You're right on the money in that the engine braking effect is in fact throught the belt and clutches. Many people get used to the effect and work the throttle accordingly but those who don't care for it change the primary spring to a lighter rate.

Regarding the noises, I believe what you're hearing on your Vector are noises that were always there on previous sleds but never apparent because they were covered up by other sounds.

While I have no empirical data (dB readings) to support my opinion, I've found the RS models in particular to have less engine noise and more drivetrain noise than the RX or Apex models. I won't even mention the noise from two-smokes. :wink:

 

[QCRider]

I think this whole engine breaking thing must really vary depending on riding conditions or something, because I can hardly tell any difference from my RX-1, the wife's Vector or my ZL800 Cat. I had a hard time believing the guys on here who rolled their sleds because of "engine breaking" when the '03's first hit the snow. I find that utterly ridiculous.

 

[Tork]

How does the engine braking work ? I have a new vector and this is my first sled with the engine braking.

Not sure if you are getting your answer. But when the throttle is closed, the motor goes into a high vacuum situation. all engines do this, 4 strokes quite a bit more because it has valves. So what you have is the inertia of the moving parts (motor, drive trane, track) pushing against the motor that wants to slow down because it cant move much air because the throttle is closed.
It has nothing to do with a braking system.


Best way to reduce it for me, is a lot of times I wont back off the throttle all the way, I will go to partial throttle. It works but it takes a little practice

 

[jbar]

If you rotate the drive clutch back and forth, you will notice some play in it. It's part of the reverse in the chain case. You mite be hearing that when you let off. Haven't had a chance to ride my GT yet , but I will lisen for it when I do.

 

[Bakemono]

Tork pretty much hit the nail on the head.
4-strokes have more engine braking because of the added parts the comprise the valvetrain and the weight of those parts.
I think that the noise you are hearing is the gear whine of the chaincase.
A lot of the newer sleds that have hyvo gears have a lot of gear whine.
I also think that part of the reason why drivetrain noises are so much more apparent on the Vector is because the engine is so quiet. On the RX and on 2-strokes, the engine is signifigantly louder than is the Vector, so the noises are much easier to discern.

 

[STORM-CHASER]

Hopefully is it just the normal drive train noise, It didnt do it the first ride, but the next time out I got it on some hardpack and it seems to be worse there. Also it will not do it on a stand. I was going to ask the dealer as it will have to go back in as the tors went off 5 time. I glad I got to ride now to get this stuff done.

 

[Dano]

Heavy primary clutch weights seem to be what keeps a tight grip on the clutch sheaves while freewheeling, but still spinning. Going to lighter weight primary clutch weights seem to take away allot of the engine braking feel. On the other hand, using lighter clutch weights seem to lose the benefit of utilizing the broad torque range of the 4-stroke. This seems to be what I experienced anyway.

Dan