Gentlemen:
My wife and I want to purchase a side by side Pioneer for recreational trail riding and camping (we live close to a lot of high desert territory desirable for exploring and camping). We've pretty much decided it has to be a Honda. Initially, I had narrowed down my choices to either the 1000-3 (deluxe) or the 500. The problem with the 1000 is that it is more money than we want to spend. Conversely, my concern with the 500 is that it is not enough machine for two adults and 2-3 days of camping gear and supplies.
I've since decided to take a closer look at the 700. I was initially put off with the 700 because I read some reports that first gear is not low enough such that, with the automatically clutched tranny, you can get in situations where the engine will not spin the wheels. (if you've ever ridden a Trail 90, you know what I am talking about). For example, there is a video on YouTube where a rider is trying to scale a fairly steep rock face (not too steep to climb though) and the wheels simply will not turn because the gearing is not low enough to provide torque to turn the wheels with the automatic clutch.
So here is my question (actually two of them): How big of a problem is this alleged lack of sufficiently low gearing in the 700? I've seen videos on YouTube where guys are plowing snow with the 700 and successfully driving through deep mud, suggesting the auto clutch and tranny give plenty of low end torque, but then again there are also videos (and rider reports) that the lack of a low enough gear is a real limitation of the machine.
The second question is, how much of a difference in machine performance does the paddle shifter and choice between auto/manual mode make? My wife and I are both near 60 and we are not going to be mudding or pushing the machine speed wise, but I can see us hauling several hundred pounds of gear, maybe pulling a small trailer and driving up some steep grades.
Any thoughts from 700 owners is appreciated.
Thanks,
SmokinJoe