I'm in the market for a new SXS machine and have been doing a lot of research as I decide if I want to purchase a new Honda Pioneer 1000. During my research, I've found many problems with the machine, and fortunately most of them can be fixed without too much difficulty. However, the front upper control arm problem is not quite so simple, and I'm surprised that nobody has tried to determine the actual source of the failure, which I firmly believe to be a design flaw.
With all due respect, every fix I've seen is little more than bandaid repair, and while some of them may work, they do little to address the actual root cause of the problem, which is directly related to the design of the front upper control arm mount, and possibly the thickness of the steel tube it's welded to. A permanent fix is possible, but it won't be easy.
If you look closely at the pictures the OP posted, you'll notice that the control arm simply broke away from the bracket, that's obvious, but why? The rut the OP hit in the middle of his hayfield is barely even a pothole, and even if he had been going at a high rate of speed, which he clearly wasn't because there are no skidmarks in the grass, the machine should have been able to easily handle it.
To understand why this failure happened, look at the difference between the design of the front upper and lower control arm mount brackets. Look carefully and you'll see that the front lower mounts use two brackets with a total of four steel tabs, and the front upper mount uses one bracket with a total of two steel tabs. What this means is that the front lower control arm brackets are twice as strong as the front upper control arm brackets. Also, I suspect that the front upper control arm bushings are inadequate to prevent sudden shock loads, which may have caused the steel bracket to suddenly snap, or simply pull apart at the bolt hole.
Note the direction the machine was traveling as it relates to the rut. It appears to be the perfect setup to cause a sudden side to side movement that put tremendous outward pressure on the front upper control arm mount, stressing it to the breaking point. Basically, that side of the machine was down, so gravity and inertia caused inward pressure on the front lower control arm, and outward pressure on the front upper control arm.
I believe that Honda is fully aware of the problem, but issuing a bulletin or frame recall would be very expensive (remember Toyota?), so it's clearly in their best interest to deny warranty coverage, claiming owner abuse was the cause. Don't believe me? Look at the design of the front upper control arm mounts of the Honda Talon. That's right, they use two brackets, with a total of four steel tabs. The Honda Pioneer 1000 and Honda Talon 1000 share a common ancestry, and some parts are even interchangeable, so why change the front upper control arm design if there isn't a problem?
As for the options the OP has at his disposal, I would get a lawyer then sue Honda and the dealership who sold him the machine. Better yet, have the lawsuit escalated to class action status, and make it as public as possible. Also get a few government agencies involved, since it's clearly a major safety concern that could easily get someone killed. If that doesn't get their attention, nothing will.
