Anyone gone from a P1K5 to a RMAX4?

[sheamus]

I am on the fence between the RMAX4 and the P1K5. The Pioneer LE is the same price as the RMAX4 RSpec, and gets me a roof. I know all the differences between the drive-train, so not really interested in that debate. Things I do wonder about are:

• How much better are the rear seats as far as women and children are concerned.
• Which one feels 'bigger' (i.e., full-size truck vs, Tacoma)? I know it is a little longer and wider, but is it noticeable when driving?
• How about how you sit? It seems in the P1K you sit a lot higher and upright? Is that really noticeable?
• The RMAX has a 20ft turning radius vs the 14ft on the P1K, how noticeable is that?
• I have a compact tractor with a front-end-loader, so I doubt the dump bed would be a big deal as if I had something I actually needed to dump, the tractor bucket has a similar capacity to the UTV anyway.
• Are the bed rails annoying to clean debris out of when moving rear seats?
• With rear seats not deployed, did you find you could haul a lot more with one of them?
• With rear seats deployed, which was easier to packup for a day of trail riding? i.e., coolers, and stuff.
• I get that the RMAX has more juice, but I really think for the wooded areas I ride in, it would be rare that I wanted more than the P1K could give. Disagree?
• I would use the machine for 50% around the farm, 30% for short trail rides in wooded areas, and 10% of the time I would be making a trek with trailer to find some you-tube worthy trails. For the 10% I am sure the RMAX4 would be better... but how much better. For the 50% I am sure the P1K would be better, but how much better? and for the 25% I wonder if I would notice a difference.

 

[CID]

The RMAX's tech is 5+ years newer than the Pioneer, that's huge.

But as a recently retired dirt bike rider, the dual range, 6 speed, paddle shifter is a must have for me. I'm not a fan of listening to the CVT tranny spinning up on the power band ALL. DAMN. DAY. I did that with my snowmobiles and grew to hate it.

 

[Remington]

I am on the fence between the RMAX4 and the P1K5. The Pioneer LE is the same price as the RMAX4 RSpec, and gets me a roof. I know all the differences between the drive-train, so not really interested in that debate. Things I do wonder about are:

• How much better are the rear seats as far as women and children are concerned.
• Which one feels 'bigger' (i.e., full-size truck vs, Tacoma)? I know it is a little longer and wider, but is it noticeable when driving?
• How about how you sit? It seems in the P1K you sit a lot higher and upright? Is that really noticeable?
• The RMAX has a 20ft turning radius vs the 14ft on the P1K, how noticeable is that?
• I have a compact tractor with a front-end-loader, so I doubt the dump bed would be a big deal as if I had something I actually needed to dump, the tractor bucket has a similar capacity to the UTV anyway.
• Are the bed rails annoying to clean debris out of when moving rear seats?
• With rear seats not deployed, did you find you could haul a lot more with one of them?
• With rear seats deployed, which was easier to packup for a day of trail riding? i.e., coolers, and stuff.
• I get that the RMAX has more juice, but I really think for the wooded areas I ride in, it would be rare that I wanted more than the P1K could give. Disagree?
• I would use the machine for 50% around the farm, 30% for short trail rides in wooded areas, and 10% of the time I would be making a trek with trailer to find some you-tube worthy trails. For the 10% I am sure the RMAX4 would be better... but how much better. For the 50% I am sure the P1K would be better, but how much better? and for the 25% I wonder if I would notice a difference.

Lord have mercy! Don't over think it.
Rmax is a nice ride. But your entering the rubber band life! I have 4 sleds with bands, Loud as Fuc in rpm's especially cruising and they slip and brake. If u have no issues with that? Then u can start knit picking what "comes from the factory" accessories. If u can't stand the noise, those accessories don't mean diddly poo!

 

[Ohio4x4]

My vote would be Honda. I've got a buddy considering the jump to a sxs. Hes usually more into the horsepower and cool looks. He was over earlier while I was working in my pk1 and was put off buy the amount of work I had to do to get it back to 100%. I explained how I treat it and told him it's taken that abuse for 5k miles. I showed him some of the ride videos of us thrashing around and explained that a sensible responsible person could expect a lifetime of use from one of these. I've had Yamaha and it would be my second choice of a machine.

 

[sheamus]

Lord have mercy! Don't over think it.
Rmax is a nice ride. But your entering the rubber band life! I have 4 sleds with bands, Loud as Fuc in rpm's especially cruising and they slip and brake. If u have no issues with that? Then u can start knit picking what "comes from the factory" accessories. If u can't stand the noise, those accessories don't mean diddly poo!

LOL, with no machines to look at or test drive all I can do is overthink it.

 

[Remington]

LOL, with no machines to look at or test drive all I can do is overthink it.

I get it!
dont u have a buddy or a member close buy or within driving distance to let you check theres out?

 

[gullyjumper]

Ive had both yamaha and honda sxs and both are good machines, but if I was buying today I would still go with the pioneer, I feel its just a better machine !

 

[Jerryg]

I didn't like the idea of buying a machine with a belt, but after owning one, I can see it is superior for off road riding. Granted, if you were just using the SXS for utility and open trails, the gear box might be a good solution. But look at videos of guys doing rock crawling and severe off roading and you can see how the centrifugal clutch/belt design is superior. You don't already have to have momentum to get over a rock or a log. The engine is always at the right RPM. The engine braking is superior as well. And unlike some belt driven machines, the Yamaha belt does not loosen then tighten again. That is a huge deal when it comes to belt wear. And it's not like the Piuoneer trans is fool proof, a cable out of adjustment can cause a huge headache, much bigger than a belt ever will.

Both great machines but Yamaha builds a superior utility SXS at the moment.

 

[DG Rider]

LOL, with no machines to look at or test drive all I can do is overthink it.

Actually....out here in AZ anyway, the RMAX seems to be the one machine you can get at most Yamaha dealers.

I've driven the P1000 for all of 5 minutes. My initial impression in that short time was that it seems to have a lot of those "Honda things" that the 500/700 lack. I also think the geared transmission, modern engine, and relatively high top speed that go with it give it the potential to have a very long service life. Like 30-40k miles. IMO, it is held back a bit by bugs like a marginal cooling system, which may have been fixed with 2022.

That said, the RMAX is a next level machine more in line with something like a KRX. Big tires, big suspension, beefy build. Plenty of power...but I've never like the constant RPM of a CVT. I'm not at all worried about the durability of the CVT, but the fact is it will eventually need to be serviced due to how it functions. Some Yamaha guys are saying every 2-4k miles in dusty conditions.

If they were the same price...I'd say it's a push. But...In the pre-pandemic days the two-seater P1K around here was going for around 14 or so, with the four seater a little bit more. I don't have to buy an upscale version to get everything I want in the P1000. My one complaint with the RMAX is that in it's baser versions it seems a little pricey. Based on the notion of the RMAX will probably cost you at least 18 to 19,000, and you could probably pick up a p1k for a few thousand dollars less, I'd have a hard time spending up the extra money for the RMAX. That's just my logic...which may not be logical, but that's how I look at it

 

[NTCPrezJB]

LOL, with no machines to look at or test drive all I can do is overthink it.

Sad truth these days. Quite the bummer.

 

[Fro]

I sold my Pioneer and bought an RMAX4. It was the best decision I’ve made when it comes to money I’ve spent on toys. And let’s be honest, a SxS is a big toy.

How much better are the rear seats as far as women and children are concerned. - There’s no comparison. My kids did’t like riding in my Pioneer. They love riding in the RMAX. This is reason enough to get the Pioneer.

• Which one feels 'bigger' (i.e., full-size truck vs, Tacoma)? I know it is a little longer and wider, but is it noticeable when driving?- To me the Pioneer felt bigger.
• How about how you sit? It seems in the P1K you sit a lot higher and upright? Is that really noticeable?- You do sit more upright in the Pioneer. It also feels like sitting on a bench where the RMAX feels l8ke sitting on a seat.
• The RMAX has a 20ft turning radius vs the 14ft on the P1K, how noticeable is that?- The RMAX rides so much better, you won’t notice any difference in turning radius.
• I have a compact tractor with a front-end-loader, so I doubt the dump bed would be a big deal as if I had something I actually needed to dump, the tractor bucket has a similar capacity to the UTV anyway.- I never used the dump bed and don’t miss it or it’s rattles. I use my tractor for jobs that would require dumping something
• Are the bed rails annoying to clean debris out of when moving rear seats?-a power washer does the job
• With rear seats not deployed, did you find you could haul a lot more with one of them? The bed on the Pioneer is bigger so should haul more.
• With rear seats deployed, which was easier to packup for a day of trail riding? i.e., coolers, and stuff.- its pretty close as far as room with the seats up. Maybe a little more in the RMAX. But, there wasn’t going to be an all day ride in the Pioneer without a lot of complaints from the kids. They didn’t like riding in the Pioneer. We’ve had several all day rides in the RMAX and they love it.
• I get that the RMAX has more juice, but I really think for the wooded areas I ride in, it would be rare that I wanted more than the P1K could give. Disagree?-theres no comparison, the RMAX is a much better riding trail machine
• I would use the machine for 50% around the farm, 30% for short trail rides in wooded areas, and 10% of the time I would be making a trek with trailer to find some you-tube worthy trails. For the 10% I am sure the RMAX4 would be better... but how much better. For the 50% I am sure the P1K would be better, but how much better? and for the 25% I wonder if I would notice a difference.- I’d say the Pioneer would be better for 95% farm use/5% trails. Any more time on trails would make the RMAX the easy decision.

One other point you didn’t mention is engine heat. It gets hot in the cab of the Pioneer and it cooks the back seats. We don’t notice any engine heat riding in the RMAX.

 

[BWAF]

Own 1000-5 12000 miles on it spent some time In are max 50 % farm you won't like bed in rmax but trail rest is better

 

[sheamus]

All awesome info, thanks! I just moved 4500km to this side of the country so hardly know anyone, let line people with utvs otherwise I would be test driving machines of friends. I may looks for a local riders group and see if I can make that happen. I work in software and the stereotype holds true, most look at me like I from Mars when i say I would never live in town, say I drive a truck, or want to do trail riding.

You know what they say about people who don't like redneck fun.... they have never had it.