P700 Disappointed

[Arkprologger66]

I live in Arkansas and have a 700-4. Love everything about it. But took it out to Colorado and it performed not up to par. It lugged down on hills and wouldn’t go. It ran fine on roads and even terrain but when it had to climb a hill or travel rough terrain it failed miserably. I’ve heard you have to adjust the carb or add something for the higher altitudes but there were 2 Polaris 570 that ran just fine and outperformed mine. Very disappointed and embarrassed! Can anybody tell me what should be done or is it that the 700 is just too high geared and will always have that problem?

 

[xltman]

Well let's start at the beginning... There is no carb these machines are fuel injected. This automatically adjusts for altitude. As for hill climbs, I have used my 700 many times in Hatfield McCoy trails and gets me to the top every time, not always the fastest but you need to know how to get it to downshift. What size tires are you running? Clean air filter? Can make a huge difference if it's dirty and high altitude.

Sent from my phone while sitting with my feet up on night shift

 

[Arkprologger66]

It’s basically brand new. I had 92 hours on it when I got there and 330 when I left. Tires are standard size and air filter is clean. I’ve had Honda’s all my life but the performance out there with the sxs just killed my spirit. I was so looking forward to a great time.

 

[snuffnwhisky]

You will loose about 3% of your hp for every 1,000 ft in elevation. i.e. 10,000 ft elevation = 30% hp loss.

 

[DG Rider]

You're pressing the brake. Or...you aren't pressing the gas all the way. Or...you can't drive. Or...you work for Polaris. Or...you can't expect a SxS to climb hills.

These are all the things I was told when I started complaining about this way back in December of 2013 when I took delivery of mine.
Certainly, verify that the machine is healthy...but I think you'll find this is pretty normal for the 700. As @snuffnwhisky pointed out, it's a altitude power loss/gearing combo thing. Down near the surface of the earth, it runs well enough to get the job done, but up in that thin air it can really struggle.

Are you willing to do a pipe? Don't know how much it would help...but I suspect a lot.

Some things you can do to a realitively stock machine:
Remove the air box lid if your riding allows it. A UNI or k&n will help. Anything to open the air box up...like a second air inlet? An exhaust tip from eBay does help a touch, without too much more noise. The intake boot had a big lip just before the throttle body that has to add a restriction. Remove it with a Dremel. Run the thinnest oil you can (this is about converter stall speed more than friction).

I don't know if a power commander allows you to modify timing on the 700, but that's an area where I think there could be gains, as these engines are about as highly tuned as a lawnmower.

And on the more wild side, a guy here built a turbo charged 700 (@spifyd).

The real question is why fight the battle when you can just trade it for a 1000 and cure it all? Legit question...

 

[William]

700s don’t do good at high altitudes... That is known... Trade it in or sell are the only options. My 700 is unstoppable here in Mississippi... We have thick air! LoL...

 

[sporttrac4x4]

I live in Arkansas and have a 700-4. Love everything about it. But took it out to Colorado and it performed not up to par. It lugged down on hills and wouldn’t go. It ran fine on roads and even terrain but when it had to climb a hill or travel rough terrain it failed miserably. I’ve heard you have to adjust the carb or add something for the higher altitudes but there were 2 Polaris 570 that ran just fine and outperformed mine. Very disappointed and embarrassed! Can anybody tell me what should be done or is it that the 700 is just too high geared and will always have that problem?

You're going to have to get the 1000 and don't look back it cost to have fun.

 

[jwfirebird]

think it will get better, mine started about the mileage you got, just wish the ride would be more compliant when I don't have anyone else in it.might have to start carrying a load of wood when I'm by myself on the trail days. same here seems like people complain about high places, but here we are max couple thousand a couple of the places we go to ride, ton of big hills and clay mud at those parks, and at home it will pull a couple thousand lbs through the mud and snow.

 

[jwfirebird]

I don't know if a power commander allows you to modify timing on the 700, but that's an area where I think there could be gains, as these engines are about as highly tuned as a lawnmower.
..

think dobek has the fuel ejk at least, got the + one when had my can am because there tunes are terrible too, but the + is 225 And that allows you to add or subtract fuel from the base fuel map via buttons on the unit, the other tuners and programs you are still stuck with one, with that you could just press some buttons as you are climbing the hill, just have to pull off so you can shut it off and turn it back on

 

[jwfirebird]

Honda Pioneer 700 - Dobeck Performance Products: EFI Controllers, AFR Gauge
all they have is the one for o2 auto correct for 2015+, kind of expensive at 400 but still would be in line with the other tunes but would be way better, you would be able to do it on its own. probably the 15 and later ones are the ones with oxygen sensors to get feed back from honda

 

[Arkprologger66]

You will loose about 3% of your hp for every 1,000 ft in elevation. i.e. 10,000 ft elevation = 30% hp loss.

Thanks. I agree with the loss of hp. That’s basically what happened. The bike needs another gear with lower torque in my opinion.

 

[Arkprologger66]

700s don’t do good at high altitudes... That is known... Trade it in or sell are the only options. My 700 is unstoppable here in Mississippi... We have thick air! LoL...

Yeah being in AR our air is thick also! I have no problems here.

 

[Arkprologger66]

You're pressing the brake. Or...you aren't pressing the gas all the way. Or...you can't drive. Or...you work for Polaris. Or...you can't expect a SxS to climb hills.

These are all the things I was told when I started complaining about this way back in December of 2013 when I took delivery of mine.
Certainly, verify that the machine is healthy...but I think you'll find this is pretty normal for the 700. As @snuffnwhisky pointed out, it's a altitude power loss/gearing combo thing. Down near the surface of the earth, it runs well enough to get the job done, but up in that thin air it can really struggle.

Are you willing to do a pipe? Don't know how much it would help...but I suspect a lot.

Some things you can do to a realitively stock machine:
Remove the air box lid if your riding allows it. A UNI or k&n will help. Anything to open the air box up...like a second air inlet? An exhaust tip from eBay does help a touch, without too much more noise. The intake boot had a big lip just before the throttle body that has to add a restriction. Remove it with a Dremel. Run the thinnest oil you can (this is about converter stall speed more than friction).

I don't know if a power commander allows you to modify timing on the 700, but that's an area where I think there could be gains, as these engines are about as highly tuned as a lawnmower.

And on the more wild side, a guy here built a turbo charged 700 (@spifyd).

The real question is why fight the battle when you can just trade it for a 1000 and cure it all? Legit question...

Thanks for the input. I agree it’s the altitude/gearing. I think they need to add another lower gear or have a “super low” drive.

 

[Arkprologger66]

Thanks for all the inputs. I really don’t like buying/adding to a machine. If you gotta do all of that to make it perform you might as well bought the bigger bike to begin with. Will have to really think long and hard about whether to trade or just keep what I got. Thanks again

 

[DG Rider]

Thanks for all the inputs. I really don’t like buying/adding to a machine. If you gotta do all of that to make it perform you might as well bought the bigger bike to begin with. Will have to really think long and hard about whether to trade or just keep what I got. Thanks again

Guess it really depends on how much time you spend in CO? It'd be tough to get rid of an otherwise good machine for one week per year.

 

[Gator]

It’s basically brand new. I had 92 hours on it when I got there and 330 when I left. Tires are standard size and air filter is clean. I’ve had Honda’s all my life but the performance out there with the sxs just killed my spirit. I was so looking forward to a great time.

WEll.... It did SOMETHING! you put 238 hours on it. That's 10 days riding around the clock, or 8 hours a day for a month.

I think you had better move up to the 1000. If you didn't get comfortable and happy with that much riding you are never going to like the 700.

 

[Smitty335]

You will loose about 3% of your hp for every 1,000 ft in elevation. i.e. 10,000 ft elevation = 30% hp loss.

That's why I like being short! HA! I think Honda is trying to hit a price point wth the P7. It's more affordable than a P1 and a little nicer than a P5. ( had to word it that not to offend the fleas that own P5's HA!) If Honda used the same transmission as the P1 in the P7 the cost would within a couple hundred bucks for a P7. But on the bright side, how many recalls you see on a P7?

 

[jgritters]

Hey guys. I live in Iowa and brought my 2018 p700-4 to southern Colorado a few weeks ago. Above 10,000 feet I would just climb slowly and it would eventually just stall. (Foot to the floor, wheels not spinning). My wife looked at me and said “that’s it? “. Then carefully turned around. My previous sxs was kymco 450i. It would climb these exact same Trails no problem in the low range. It’s just too bad there isn’t a granny gear or low range on the 700. Maybe 22” tires would gear me down enough to make the climbs? It would look ridiculous and I’d lose ground clearance but might be worth a try?

 

[William]

Sounds like you all need a fuel programmer...

 

[jgritters]

I find it ironic that Honda uses the isobar map decals on the rear door of the p700-4. It’s almost like Honda is trying to compensate for the known fact that it performs terribly at the very altitudes shown on the decals!