P500 New Pioneer 520 FINALLY arrived.

[Olive Green P 520]

I ordered my new Honda Pioneer 520 on January 21st, 2021. (Olive Green)
Did a $1k deposit when I ordered it.
The dealer said likely May delivery. He was honest and said delivery dates were an unknown situation.
I should have asked what year.
I checked in with the dealer periodically. No news was bad news.
I got the phone call last Thursday (Sept. 2nd, 2021) and picked it up Friday morning.
Just short of eight months wait from ordering until delivery. Sorry if this is bad news for any P520 potential buyers.
Then a short test ride at my sisters rural place on Friday afternoon on the way home from the dealer.
Saturday we hauled it to our rural 70 acre recreational property and gave it a proper testing.
I did look at Kubota models while waiting, but decided against it.
I've owned several Honda utility style TM ATV's over the years and they have been absolutely trouble free.
(two wheel drive, manual shift, a 350 Rancher and a 250 Recon)
I sold the 350 early this year, still have the 250.
Was it worth the wait? Time will tell... I do like the Honda Pioneer 520.
I do not blame the dealer for the lack of manufacturer product. But I do wish the dealer communication had been better. (it was non-existent)
But now there is a year end left-over model P520 in my garage and I paid MSRP.
(sub-optimal buying experience)
The dealer said he couldn't order any more 2021 P520's, they will roll over into the 2022 model year.
The dealer only got two P520's for 2021, the first dealership showroom display unit and then mine.
The Bulldog has claimed the P520 as her personal flying carpet, and after a day riding in the dump box, she is now an accomplished rider!
We put a bath mat in the dump box, carpet on top and rubberized non slip below.

One thing I did like was they issued a registration and license plate because they use the shipping weight (992 lbs) instead of the ready to ride weight. (1065 lbs) This is weird because in my state (New York), they don't do registrations or plates on off road ATV's and side by sides that weigh 1000 lbs or more. Having the registration and plate simplifies riding in the Tug Hill area of New York with their extensive trail system.
(Lowville, NY vicinity)
I was expecting to have to register the P520 in Vermont so I could have a registration & license plate.

IMG_20210903_160356803_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

12634 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

 

[Admin]

 

[Bigtee]

Get your wallet out, now the fun begins.

 

[SILVER_ALERT]

Good looking P520, trailer, and bulldog. 👍 I sure miss mine (bulldog).

 

[pappyo]

1st. Proper Welcome to you - OG P520
From Upstate N.Y
Red was the 1st. color all other colors followed & Honda hopes they sell.

 

[crewcabrob]

Congrats on your new buggy! I really enjoy my P520 and I’m sure you will too.

 

[alloutdoors]

I'm sure you will have more to report following a weekend of fun at the recreational property and bet, the bulldog enjoys riding as well!!!

 

[Coeus]

Congrats!

 

[Remington]

Welcome from Michigan!

Nice machine! Dont listen to the other about colors. Green is the toughest! Go Army Green!

 

[JRF]

Good looking machine, congrats!
Frustrating experience to have to wait so long….8 months !!
I thought my search for an in store inventory was bad, I got lucky and found the only remaining P520 in Ontario, Canada that happened to be an hours drive from me, just last week. I paid msrp as well, but the dealer installed 6k in add on’s. That was ok though, as it was a good education on why one would want the added accessories, especially the bigger rims and tires, being as I’m a newbie to SxS‘s

 

[sporttrac4x4]

Welcome from Illinois. You did good by waiting. My deal with

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MOTORSPORTS​

tried to run with my deposit of $1000. So I had to file a dispute and get my money back. I'm glad your deal worked out. Have fun.

 

[Olive Green P 520]

We did some Kubota tractor jobs at the recreational property during the Memorial Day long weekend.
I had help so the jobs went quickly. After working all day, we decided to run home quickly and grab showers.

(the cabin and 70 acre recreational property are about 30 minutes driving time from the house, and the cabin is minimalist without a shower)

I unloaded the Kubota tractor and parked the big steel double axle trailer.
Then hooked up the aluminum trailer and loaded up the P520.

Here in my county, the Local Sheriff has told the Deputies not to hassle ATV and Side by Side riders if they aren't doing anything wrong. If you ride responsibly, don't drive excessively fast, follow the rules of the road, and wear helmets/goggles you can ride your off road equipment on the public dirt secondary roads and LE will not hassle anybody.
My P520 is registered and insured, just like a car.

So yesterday here in upstate NY was beautiful. Great riding weather! I've ridden the P520 on all of my trails at the recreational property, but had never had it out on the dirt roads.

We ended up burning an entire tank of gas riding the P520 on the secondary dirt roads.
While I wish the P520 would go 50 or 60 MPH, it doesn't. The rev limiter kicks in at 40.
Around 30 MPH is a comfortable speed and isn't thrashing the engine.

It was a very enjoyable day!

 

[gullyjumper]

Very nice !

 

[DaddyDubbs]

Welcome from Alabama.

 

[Olive Green P 520]

Yesterday, 08/06/2022 we finally did a big riding adventure. The Lowville, NY area (Lewis County) has an extensive trail system.

To Do | Discover Tug Hill

Play Things to Do Spring & Summer Hiking LC33 Biking Golf Fishing Birding OHV Horse Trails Canoeing + Kayaking Summer Itinerary Fall Hiking Hunting Foliage Harvest OHV Fall Itinerary Winter Downhill Skiing/Tubing Snowmobiling Cross Country Skiing/Snowshoeing Ice Fishing Winter Itinerary Hiking...

adirondackstughill.com

Lewis County, New York- Recreation Forestry and Parks

www.lewiscounty.org

Lots of information available at the links above. Maps available for downloading also.
August 5, 6, 7, 2022 was the "free" weekend for 2022, no trail pass required.
It's several hours of driving from our home to get to the Lowville vicinity.
We arrived at the Edge Hotel in Lyons Falls, NY about noon and parked the truck/trailer rig and unloaded the Pioneer 520.
They are ATV/UTV/Snowmobile friendly, huge parking lots, and a connector trail from the Hotel parking lot into the overall Lewis County trail system. We had dinner at the Edge Hotel's sister organization, The Boondocks Restaurant when we finished riding.
I had downloaded/printed all the trail maps from the Lewis County website and put them in a three ring binder.
They are in .pdf format and also easily viewed on a phone or tablet using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
We rode for six hours and accumulated 72.5 miles total for the day.
Many of the town and county roads have been opened up for ATV/UTV riding.
It makes getting around easy between the different riding locations.
I do have to say, riding the P 520 at times felt like riding an old western buckboard wagon.
With under six inches of suspension travel front/rear, it just isn't made for high speed operation over rough terrain.

However, the Lewis County trail system has a speed limit for ATV's/UTV's set at 25 MPH.
Of course, many machines passed us at a significantly higher speed than the posted 25 MPH.
The P 520 is comfortable cruising along at 25 or so, and tops out at 39/40.

The predominate machines, (and there were hundreds of ATV's and side by sides) were the go fast style UTV's.
The Honda Talons and Polaris/Can Am variants of the go fast style machines were everywhere!
First, we went to the east side on NY Rt.12, Brantingham area and the technical trails portion called the "Commons" but soon got bored. Then we headed to the Tug Hill ridge area which is located between the eastern end of Lake Ontario, and the Black River valley/NY Rt 12 corridor. This portion of the Lewis County trail system consists of hundreds of miles of secondary and seasonal dirt roads. The Tug Hill ridge area gets between 200" and 300" of snow in the winter, so many of the seasonal roads get no maintenance (or snow plows) between mid November and April. We had an absolute blast riding the Tug Hill ridge area.

We likely will not purchase a full season trail pass this year. $65 for the full season pass. $20 for a additional trail pass in the same family. The three day pass is also $20 which we will do if we make it back up there this year.
In 2023, we will be buying the full season pass.

We met people from Vermont that had trailered their machines to Lewis County twice this year, so that does say something about the riding experience!

If you are within a couple hundred miles of Lowville, NY, go check out the riding!

 

[Olive Green P 520]

We did another trip this year to Lewis County , NY on August 6th, 2023. (Tug Hill Plateau free weekend)
I forgot to set my trip odometer so I don't know the actual distance we rode. We rode all day.
You only need the Lewis County trail pass for riding the Lewis County ATV/UTV trails.
It isn't expensive, ($65 for 1st machine, $20 for additional machines) but if you only go once a year it isn't worth it.
They do have a one day pass available.
The trail pass isn't required for the Lewis County secondary dirt roads or the seasonal/minimal maintenance dirt roads which is the fun stuff. (it's completely legal if registered, insured, and helmet/goggles)
After riding the trails last year, we chose not to do so this trip.
We rode the secondary dirt roads and the seasonal/minimal maintenance roads exclusively.
Great fun had by all.

 

[pappyo]

Hey: OGP520
Wife & I made it Day trip there Friday. Aug 11th.nice day for a ride comfortable in the 70's .Had the trails mostly to our selves.

Next day Saturday Aug 12th. They had a Tornado.

 

[NewHere2]

Nice choice ! Welcome from Sout Dakota.

 

[Olive Green P 520]

We did a 74 mile day of trail/dirt road riding yesterday in the P520.
It takes 2+ hours trailering from my home to get to the Tug Hill Plateau. (east from the eastern end of Lake Ontario)
We found a NYS DEC snowmobile parking lot right on the edge of the Plateau, and then you are already there for your riding.
My 16 year old step daughter did all the driving when out on the trails/dirt roads. I was the navigator.
I don't believe she will ever be a true off road/trail riding enthusiast, but as she so eloquently stated, it was something to do.
At 75 degrees and mostly sunny, it was a perfect day for being outside.
Polaris has a very nice/functional App which I put on my Android phone. (it's free)
It allows location/direction/mapping usage even when there is no cell data connection.
When you are without a cellular data connection, a orange colored bar appears across the top of the screen.
It functions very well utilizing only GPS. (download your general map area using WiFi before you leave home)
With over 400 miles of trail/dirt road riding available on the Tug Hill Plateau, and a significant amount of that distance in
forested land, it's easy to get turned around and lose track of your location.
For a free App, it worked perfectly.