P500 16 vs 17 gearing

[SChilla]

so I saw somewhere about the 17 getting gear improvements. And a lot of guys were concerned about the difference and if it would be too high geared. So the 17s have been out a while, what is the final verdict on the different gear for the 17? Is it drastic? Is it barely noticeable? Side by side real world comparison if u have one.... thanks

 

[Little_g]

Reverse is faster!

 

[NitroxDiver]

Never drove a 16 but I think my 17 gearing is nice. From what I understand the 16 trans was L,1,2,3,4 and the 17 is 1,2,3,4,5. I still have the stock tires on my machine and would probably only go to 25" or 26" I find that my first gear is actually usable. I can still crawl over the steep rough stuff in second gear.

 

[Little_g]

It's definitely a noticeable difference from them switching from L to 1. You're not hitting the rev limiter right away. Still low enough to crawl/pull something if need be. Other then that I don't think anyone is gonna notice a big difference in the rest of the gears.

I do wish there was another gear for travel. The machine screams when going anything above 35 and it just feels like there should be another gear. Same thing with the older ones but they handle it just fine. Trying not to run it to run it as hard as I did the 15 but hey it's a Honda