Honda Pioneer 500

HalfAce

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Anyone have one? How do you like it? Been thinking about maybe buying something like this, but I nor any of my family or friends have ever owned an ATV or UTV, so I don't have anywhere to go and ask, so here I am.

Few questions:
1. What do you think about the single cylinder 4-stroke engine? Any negatives?
2. Top speed is around 38-39 mph. What about going uphill? (Inclines that one will normally encounter during a hunt) Is it a snail or does it go at a decent clip? ( I'm not looking to haul ass, but don't want to be going uphill 5 mph either)
3. Will it take you places even if there is 6-10" of snow assuming its powder? Or is snow a no go?
4. Any major issues or horror stories that would make this machine a deal breaker? Or is it a fair machine for the fair purchase price in comparison to other larger SxS's?

Just looking for any basic info any of you guys in MM land would like to share. Thank you.
 
I have one that I purchased in 2016. I think the price was about $ 8,200.00. My wife and I call it the "smurf mobile" because it is light blue in color. It is a comfortable ride for two people. It has plenty of power for what any sane person wants to do. I have always maintained that there is nothing more dangerous than a side by side at high speed. Mine will go up to 40 mph. It climbs steep hills with no problem. The low speed on the paddle shifters allows you to crawl out of just about anywhere steep. The four wheel drive is easily shifted into and it starts to work immediately. I have yet to spin out in this machine. I can't say how it will go in snow because I haven't encountered that yet. Most ATV's and UTV's will high center in snow unless the snow is really fresh and light.

The paddle shifters are nice if not a little clunky when shifting. Reverse is easy to get into. The machine has virtually no place for storage. The rear rack is large and holds 450 lbs with no problem. Buy a cheap box to attach to the back for storage. The biggest problem with these is access for routine maintenance. You need a long funnel to put oil in the engine after an oil change. The oil filter is also tough to get at. Removing all the plastic fasteners to gain maintenance access is a nuisance. Get a special tool to accomplish this task to remove the fasteners. The tool is about $10 at Harbor Freight.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. They are incredibly stable considering the narrow wheel base. The biggest selling point for me is they are built by Honda. They will last forever if taken care of. I sold a 1995 Honda Fourtrax 300 and a 2001 Honda Recon to gain some funds to purchase the new ride. I got a good price for these old beasts.

just sayin...mh
 
MH, thank you for the info! Its much appreciated. It looks like a fun machine. I just wasn't sure if it was mostly for "fun" and less for actual hunting conditions. If I got it, ide only take it where "sane" people would take it. Primarily I just want it for access where its legal. Save my legs from walking miles upon miles of two track when I can be driving it to where I can actually start the real hiking, and save my truck from driving some of the less favorable unimproved roads I've seen the last few years.

We have some Honda Accords in my family, all GREAT cars. I figured Honda would have similar quality in all their products. Again, thank you for your reply.
 
One thing everyone should think about with a side by side. If you roll it (I'm assuming you are using the seat belts) consciously keep your feet and arms inside the machine. Better still buy the half doors that will keep your feet inside. A friend of ours just about lost her right foot when her nephew rolled it. Many surgeries and she will never be quite the same again.
 
>One thing everyone should think about
>with a side by side.
> If you roll it
>(I'm assuming you are using
>the seat belts) consciously keep
>your feet and arms inside
>the machine. Better still
>buy the half doors that
>will keep your feet inside.
> A friend of ours
>just about lost her right
>foot when her nephew rolled
>it. Many surgeries and
>she will never be quite
>the same again.

Thank you for the info!
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-07-16 AT 12:39PM (MST)[p]Your instinct will be to be to put your foot out to 'stop' the roll, don't do it. Let the roll cage do it's job.
 
Thank you for the info guys. I know instinctually ide want to put an arm or foot out to "break" the fall. Would be kind of hard to remember that in the moment. The best thing to do is not get yourself in the position of flipping. Driving like a sane person would probably help ensure that, but I guess having a door and a window type net/screen is worth having.

I don't yet have the funds to buy this machine yet, but am planning on it sometime in the future and just wanted some input from those who have one or used one. Until then, ill be covering country on my chevrolegs.
 
I have a 500 Pioneer, It is a real good machine. I use it for hunting. I haul 7 hounds and 2 guys in it. I have over 3000 miles on it with no problems. It goes pretty good in the snow, but I have had it stuck many times. It would be better with a front locker. I can fault it but it is real good. I would buy another one.
 
Go to youtube and search for atvtv. This guy just gave his insight to the pioneer 500. Lotta good info from this guy and his reviews on atv/utv and aftermarket products.

I own a 2013 polaris 570 and 2015 Polaris 900 50" trail. No issues with the 900.

Had to replace CV joints and rear axle on the 570 two years in a row due to mud and crappy cv joint boots. Not terribly happy with this. Bad design?

JimmyA
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I'm still looking at one of these things, but funds are tight right now. I appreciate the info.
 
I have had some extra time after hunting season to do some additions to the Pioneer 500. I finally acquired a winch for it. The KFI winch mount works great. The winch sits high. When you go to electrically hook the winch up you will struggle trying to find a place to mount the solenoid close to the battery box. I mounted mine on the firewall up front. I also mounted the electric switch under the steering wheel. This left enough room to connect the solenoid to the winch (barely) and the electric switch to the solenoid. That being said, I still had to connect the solenoid to the battery. I can tell you right now, you will not have enough battery cable no matter the winch. My winch (Kolpin) came with 3ft. battery cables. Not nearly enough. Because of this, I wish I had not purchased the Kolpin. This means you will have to spend some money and buy longer battery cables. They are not cheap. I pulled the floor boards out to run the battery cables to the battery box. I wish I hadn't. You will find plastics push fittings, hex head machine screws and some phillips machine screws all in the same floor board. The hex heads are metric and easily strip. The phillips heads are also easily stripped. Honda hardware on the machine screws is poor quality but the replacement screws ain't cheap to replace.

just sayin...mh
 
Positive as I see it: I have been with the kids who have one and while the jury is still out, they will most likely be more maintenance free than our RZR. They cost less for a reason and they get better gas mileage.

Negative as I see it: They ride a lot rougher than the rzr800 and they are a dust buggy. I don't like the leg room. After a days riding we were fairly clean and our kids looked like they had rolled in the dirt. We had each taken our turn leading and we each had basically the same accessories.

To me the faster RZR is not even an issue. We very seldom get over 35 miles an hour anyway.

I vote for the RZR just because of the superior ride, knowing it was going to cost more on maintenance.
 

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