P1000 I have to know...

[Plumber101010]

I'm never owned a prior UTV as you all may know. My Massimo did qualify I guess but only had it 2 months before the 1000. And it was entry level. And it was a 500 which may make a difference I don't know.

Understanding now why it matters. I live in a pretty peaceful, Zen like atmosphere in the mountains. I like strolling around my roads and perusing the property.

It's peaceful. It's quiet. And I have simply come to HATE the engine noise in this thing. It just roars like a lion and I find myself always in auto mode constantly upshifting to make it quieter but it's not long before it downshifts in to 1st again.

If I put it in manual and try to cruise along in second gear it won't even allow me to do so. I guess I have to be at either a certain speed or rpm before it will let me shift even if it's manual???

Now again, because of my property, this thing never sees over first gear much and spends 95% of its life stuck in first gear. If you were to drive my roads you would understand. There is just no way to go faster without risk of hitting or sliding or falling or tipping.

It's only a 6-7 foot wide road which only leaves me at best a foot on each side. 6 foot plus tall flat mountain wall on one side where the road was cut out at severe angles and trees and drop offs on the other.

In many places the trees were so big I didn't want to cut something so beautiful to gain an extra foot and there was solid rock on the other side, so I have just a few inches on each side to where you have to slow down to a crawl.

It wasn't meant as a race track but simply an access road so that I could turn unusable property into usable property and gain access to areas that were too steep to even climb by foot.

It's not all like that for sure, but 80% of it is and there's very few sections where I can afford to veer off the road. By the time you're coming close to getting out of first gear its brake time because you're just coming to a section of road thats not going to take to speed.

I did put the doors on again yesterday which doesn't help, because when I went to check the mail I took the turn a bit fast and almost had a heart attack as I watched my wife lean out and over the side and I am positive if I had not grabbed her by the back of the shirt, which almost ripped off her body, she would've fallen out at 35 miles an hour! She's a girl what can I say! And I care for her full-time she has some issues... So that doesn't help. Yes I know, seat belts.

But knowing that neither of us are going to buckle up for a three minute ride to the mailbox and back I just felt the doors were now a matter of safety for the first time.

If it had not been for my catlike reflexes and snakelike agility that I gained from over 30 years of being a CIA undercover operative trained in over 23 types of martial arts, she WOULD have fallen out.

Anyone gullible enough to believe the above paragraph, please, I have some GREAT investment opportunities for you..

So I have to know, is this kind of engine noise standard for pretty much all UTVs with a larger engine? Or is this a Honda thing because of the new six speed transmission?

In retrospect, I probably would've been better off buying a different machine. I don't see any advantage with this transmission FOR MY USAGE. My Massimo which I assume has the same type transmission that they all had before this new type, was just a low and high and that was it. There was no shifting and you just took off until you maxed out in either. I really didn't have any issues with it.

For my specific use, since I never get out of first gear, I think a regular transmission would have been just fine. Obviously the benefit of the six speed transmission is when you're actually driving at speeds much higher than I can enabling you to utilize it and so there's no advantage of it for me until I trailer this thing somewhere that I can open it up.

But again, engine noise, is this normal? If I bought another model would I have the same noise? And most importantly, is there absolutely anything on earth I can do to make it less noisy? Not even sure why they bother putting a muffler on this thing, as thats not where the noises are coming from.

I've read a lot about insulation but mainly for the heat issues.

Driving along my roads tonight I just couldn't even hear myself think with this thing constantly roaring and rearing up!

I need peace and quiet, is there anything at all I can do or should I just reside myself to understanding I'm stuck with it and no matter what I bought, I would have the exact same issues?

 

[Admin]

 

[Jbird]

I live on a mountain similar to your description of the terrain you drive on and like you I am looking forward to a decrease in noise that supposedly comes after the first service and a couple of hundred miles. I can tell you that you are not driving that unit correctly if you want minimum noise and minimum whine. I believe that you have it in your head that you have to run high revs to stay in the power band and/or to protect the clutches. Put thing in High range and turf mode. It will run slow in the gears without lugging and without harm to the clutches. Just because you are better off not crawling it up hill at 2 mph does not mean you have to sling everyone out of the thing. I do most of my cruising around here in 3rd gear and occasionally drop down to 2nd. I keep in MT mode and shift with the paddles under power and don't let off the gas to shift. Try it. I think you will be surprised how much it helps with the noise and jerkiness. Keep it around 3000-3500 rpm and your world will be a lot more to your liking.

 

[Plumber101010]

I live on a mountain similar to your description of the terrain you drive on and like you I am looking forward to a decrease in noise that supposedly comes after the first service and a couple of hundred miles. I can tell you that you are not driving that unit correctly if you want minimum noise and minimum whine. I believe that you have it in your head that you have to run high revs to stay in the power band and/or to protect the clutches. Put thing in High range and turf mode. It will run slow in the gears without lugging and without harm to the clutches. Just because you are better off not crawling it up hill at 2 mph does not mean you have to sling everyone out of the thing. I do most of my cruising around here in 3rd gear and occasionally drop down to 2nd. I keep in MT mode and shift with the paddles under power and don't let off the gas to shift. Try it. I think you will be surprised how much it helps with the noise and jerkiness. Keep it around 3000-3500 rpm and your world will be a lot more to your liking.

Honestly I'm not really giving it any thought or trying to do anything special. I just put it in low range, automatic, and take off. Hit the gas when I need to and the brakes. I'm not purposely trying to keep it in any RPM range and really I pay no attention to it... But after reading your post, maybe I should?

But this I can tell you, turf mode won't even come close to climbing my access roads (entrance ramps climbing up to get to the roads) even 2 wheel lock won't do it, but once I get to the top there are many level sections that turf mode would work.

Unfortunately, it's not that many roads. I had to guess, I'd say it's a mile of total roads and there's three of them and they all interconnect. So even though I have many level sections, we're talking about something that would take maybe ten minutes to go from one road to the second and then to third and along the way there's too many sections that I would need the 4 x 4 simply because of the angle of the climb.

So the situation would be 4 x 4 to get to the top of the first road, turf mode for a couple of minutes till I get to the second Road, 4 x 4 to the climb the entire second Road, turf mode to get to third Road, 4 x 4 to climb again until top. Now coming down turf mode would def work!

In other words, on the way out, it's too complicated for a ten minute joyride to constantly go between modes.

However, putting it in high is a definite possibility to be honest I don't really think I even tried. These are really super angles that I'm going up, literally, if I were to turn it sideways it would tip over and roll all the way down the hill.

So yes, I did assume that putting it in high would put more wear and tear on the clutches, at least for one third of the whole issue.

Turf modes out, but high is not and I will definitely try that tomorrow and let you know how it does. I didn't really think that high would be any quieter than low but I guess the gearing is 40% higher and so it would have to be

 

[CumminsPusher]

I agree with jbird on that as well just make sure you don't lug it too much I know you're always carting something around. Also try the insulation under the seat and some on the front plastic. A couple people here did and said it makes a difference. Eltobgi just did a write up on this. Try running a heavier fluid in front/rear differentials that did help on mine. It does get smoother and quieter with miles. Compared to any sxs I've been on I feel this is the quietest by far but there are a few ways to quiet it a bit more. By the way beautiful land from the pics I saw and awesome work on your roads really nice job.

 

[Jbird]

Try High and tell me what you think. I know there are a few on here that tail ride in low but I tried it and it drove me nuts. I bought this thing because I can't stand the overwound whine of a CVT transmission. If the bulk of the trails you ride require 4WD to navigate that is some pretty knarly stuff. Our P1k-5 will climb some pretty steep stuff in 2WD. Try MT and High and I think you will enjoy less noise and the smoothness of picking the gear you want to be in without the constant hunting it does in AT mode. Just my experience so far.

 

[Jbird]

Maybe other than stability, sounds like that terrain would be better suited with the P500.

If the paths are as narrow as he describes I was thinking the same thing. A lot of the ATV trails up here in our area are too narrow for our P1k but a P5 might work. We are going to have to spend a lot of time with loppers and a chain saw to ride them all.

 

[Plumber101010]

Try High and tell me what you think. I know there are a few on here that tail ride in low but I tried it and it drove me nuts. I bought this thing because I can't stand the overwound whine of a CVT transmission. If the bulk of the trails you ride require 4WD to navigate that is some pretty knarly stuff. Our P1k-5 will climb some pretty steep stuff in 2WD. Try MT and High and I think you will enjoy less noise and the smoothness of picking the gear you want to be in without the constant hunting it does in AT mode. Just my experience so far.

Did you have any problems at all in manual mode shifting to second gear when you really shouldn't? It just wouldn't go into second unless I sped up and went a little faster with higher rpm's?

 

[Plumber101010]

I agree with jbird on that as well just make sure you don't lug it too much I know you're always carting something around. Also try the insulation under the seat and some on the front plastic. A couple people here did and said it makes a difference. Eltobgi just did a write up on this. Try running a heavier fluid in front/rear differentials that did help on mine. It does get smoother and quieter with miles. Compared to any sxs I've been on I feel this is the quietest by far but there are a few ways to quiet it a bit more. By the way beautiful land from the pics I saw and awesome work on your roads really nice job.

Funny as I just got my first warning light at 20 hours to do my first service but I've only got 25 miles. Guess that gives you an idea how slow I go

Wondering if I should wait to put more mileage on it? Of course I'm going to use Amsoil but I will use Honda Dino first go round as has been recommended here.

But VERY anxious to get synthetic in there to see if a diff. Will use it for differentials but not engine. I'll wait till second service for that.

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

My property sounds like yours Plumber101010 as we have talked about before. I'm usually in low 4wd, and when it's the least bit wet I feel 4wd diff lock and makes me feel comfortable. I've slid down hills sideways heading for trees, and I just stab the skinny pedal and listen to that beautiful engine whined up, and get me out of that situation. I love the engine sound. I think this thing is very loud on the road however, and I can't imagine trying to listen to any kind of stereo while doing so. I have been testing out the turf mode in high, and its pretty impressive what this thing will do in this mode. Anyway I'm an engine guy, and I'm OK with the engine sound in the woods, just not a big fan of it in the road. I hope you can come to some kind of happy medium to make your riding experience enjoyable. Otherwise what's the point.

 

[sthomp54]

You might want to consider an electric bad boy buggy or the like. Cant get any quieter than that unless you are walking.

 

[Plumber101010]

My property sounds like yours Plumber101010 as we have talked about before. I'm usually in low 4wd, and when it's the least bit wet I feel 4wd diff lock and makes me feel comfortable. I've slid down hills sideways heading for trees, and I just stab the skinny pedal and listen to that beautiful engine whined up, and get me out of that situation. I love the engine sound. I think this thing is very loud on the road however, and I can't imagine trying to listen to any kind of stereo while doing so. I have been testing out the turf mode in high, and its pretty impressive what this thing will do in this mode. Anyway I'm an engine guy, and I'm OK with the engine sound in the woods, just not a big fan of it in the road. I hope you can come to some kind of happy medium to make your riding experience enjoyable. Otherwise what's the point.

Funny, as we are the exact opposite there. When I get it on the road is when I absolutely love to hear that engine whine and those crisp gear shifts! Feel like I'm in a hot rod or a roadster!

Listening to that engine wind out and then shift is a wonderful sound to me on the street.

But the constant, nonstop, first to second and second to first gear shifting back-and-forth non stop literally seconds apart drives me insane at slow speeds

 

[CumminsPusher]

Funny as I just got my first warning light at 20 hours to do my first service but I've only got 25 miles. Guess that gives you an idea how slow I go

Wondering if I should wait to put more mileage on it? Of course I'm going to use Amsoil but I will use Honda Dino first go round as has been recommended here.

But VERY anxious to get synthetic in there to see if a diff. Will use it for differentials but not engine. I'll wait till second service for that.

Just for warrentee sake if it were me id do oil /filter change now and document everything. Between you and I, I think we both know it doesn't need it though. I think if you're being easy and not pulling a heavy load you should try high. I should be able to tell if it's not liking it. If it's shifting that much between 1-2 then that's probably not the best on it and if you were in high it wouldn't do that. Also got thinking about your land and and it seems like at least a lot of your land is carved into a hill with with one side going up. This will reflect sound back to you and even though this is quiet in my opinion it's still a 1000 and I think you're getting some of its recoil.

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

Thankfully for my situation I don't do much road riding. I think in my situation also the windshield and roof contribute to cab noise on the road. I bought this P1 to plow, and work around our property, and it has done well. I just delivered 4 loads of firewood to my nearest neighbor, and I think he may be buying one soon.

 

[Crow_Hunter]

I'm never owned a prior UTV as you all may know. My Massimo did qualify I guess but only had it 2 months before the 1000. And it was entry level. And it was a 500 which may make a difference I don't know.

Understanding now why it matters. I live in a pretty peaceful, Zen like atmosphere in the mountains. I like strolling around my roads and perusing the property.

It's peaceful. It's quiet. And I have simply come to HATE the engine noise in this thing. It just roars like a lion and I find myself always in auto mode constantly upshifting to make it quieter but it's not long before it downshifts in to 1st again.

If I put it in manual and try to cruise along in second gear it won't even allow me to do so. I guess I have to be at either a certain speed or rpm before it will let me shift even if it's manual???

Now again, because of my property, this thing never sees over first gear much and spends 95% of its life stuck in first gear. If you were to drive my roads you would understand. There is just no way to go faster without risk of hitting or sliding or falling or tipping.

It's only a 6-7 foot wide road which only leaves me at best a foot on each side. 6 foot plus tall flat mountain wall on one side where the road was cut out at severe angles and trees and drop offs on the other.

In many places the trees were so big I didn't want to cut something so beautiful to gain an extra foot and there was solid rock on the other side, so I have just a few inches on each side to where you have to slow down to a crawl.

It wasn't meant as a race track but simply an access road so that I could turn unusable property into usable property and gain access to areas that were too steep to even climb by foot.

It's not all like that for sure, but 80% of it is and there's very few sections where I can afford to veer off the road. By the time you're coming close to getting out of first gear its brake time because you're just coming to a section of road thats not going to take to speed.

I did put the doors on again yesterday which doesn't help, because when I went to check the mail I took the turn a bit fast and almost had a heart attack as I watched my wife lean out and over the side and I am positive if I had not grabbed her by the back of the shirt, which almost ripped off her body, she would've fallen out at 35 miles an hour! She's a girl what can I say! And I care for her full-time she has some issues... So that doesn't help. Yes I know, seat belts.

But knowing that neither of us are going to buckle up for a three minute ride to the mailbox and back I just felt the doors were now a matter of safety for the first time.

If it had not been for my catlike reflexes and snakelike agility that I gained from over 30 years of being a CIA undercover operative trained in over 23 types of martial arts, she WOULD have fallen out.

Anyone gullible enough to believe the above paragraph, please, I have some GREAT investment opportunities for you..

So I have to know, is this kind of engine noise standard for pretty much all UTVs with a larger engine? Or is this a Honda thing because of the new six speed transmission?

In retrospect, I probably would've been better off buying a different machine. I don't see any advantage with this transmission FOR MY USAGE. My Massimo which I assume has the same type transmission that they all had before this new type, was just a low and high and that was it. There was no shifting and you just took off until you maxed out in either. I really didn't have any issues with it.

For my specific use, since I never get out of first gear, I think a regular transmission would have been just fine. Obviously the benefit of the six speed transmission is when you're actually driving at speeds much higher than I can enabling you to utilize it and so there's no advantage of it for me until I trailer this thing somewhere that I can open it up.

But again, engine noise, is this normal? If I bought another model would I have the same noise? And most importantly, is there absolutely anything on earth I can do to make it less noisy? Not even sure why they bother putting a muffler on this thing, as thats not where the noises are coming from.

I've read a lot about insulation but mainly for the heat issues.

Driving along my roads tonight I just couldn't even hear myself think with this thing constantly roaring and rearing up!

I need peace and quiet, is there anything at all I can do or should I just reside myself to understanding I'm stuck with it and no matter what I bought, I would have the exact same issues?

I don't have one but the one I test drove had a very, very annoying and loud "diesel engine" whine at low speed. I have seen several videos on Youtube that had a similar whine. Enough that my wife basically told me that she wasn't going to ride with me if it was going to be like this. I also noticed the annoying tendency to shift itself in manual mode. My wife also said that it felt like it was going to throw her out when I hit some articulation obstacles. She was grabbing hold of everything. Scared her pretty bad.

Do you have a mostly enclosed cab? The one I tested had a top, hard window and hard back on it which I think contributed to a lot of the noise.

In my experience, the 2016 Teryx and the 2016 Wolverine are both quieter at lower speeds but I have heard they are louder at higher speeds and based on how it was "tuning up" as I gave it more throttle, I definitely believe that. The Wolverine sound is also very close to my right ear, which I didn't like while the Teryx was down below, like the Pioneer but it was much quieter at 10 MPH and less. However, both of them had only a hard top, no front windscreen or back which probably helped on the noise.

I have also heard that after the first service it gets quieter.

You might want to look at the golf cart type buggies as others have suggested or from my research the Can Am Defender seems to be quite a bit quieter. Polaris also makes an electric Ranger that is supposed to be nearly silent.

 

[Jbird]

Did you have any problems at all in manual mode shifting to second gear when you really shouldn't? It just wouldn't go into second unless I sped up and went a little faster with higher rpm's?

No problems in Manual mode High. In MT mode mine does not shift from 1st to 2nd until I shift it. As you know, it defaults back to first gear when you come to a stop but mine shifts smoothly to 2nd gear and stays in 2nd or whatever gear I select until I come almost to a dead stop. Stops all the constant hunting through the gears and clanking when it shifts. Mine is getting smoother overall and I now have about 13 hours and 85 miles on it. If you haven't silenced all 4 doors and the dump bed where it locks down that will make a big difference in the rattling noises.

 

[Jakey]

Try the Kawasaki Mule pro fxt. That thing is smooth and quiet. It's also a beast of a rig. I love the P1K but I am really feeling the kawi will meet my low speed needs better.

 

[Crow_Hunter]

Try the Kawasaki Mule pro fxt. That thing is smooth and quiet. It's also a beast of a rig. I love the P1K but I am really feeling the kawi will meet my low speed needs better.

The used Honda P1000 that I test drove was traded in on a Mule.

The guy originally bought a General, had it 2 weeks and traded it in on the P1000. Drove it about 40 miles and traded it on the Mule Pro because he said the P1000 was too loud according to the dealer. I didn't believe him until I tried it. It was a lot louder that I was expecting it to be.

ETA:

Watched some Youtube videos of the Mule Pro. WOW. That thing is QUIET.

Amazingly quiet and when you gas it, it doesn't sound like a chainsaw/trimmer.

Too bad it is freaking 133" long.

 

[Plumber101010]

CP haven't taken it another drive but will around dusk. But this echo thing you mentioned is actually ingenious

I will say that never even crossed my brain and as I drive it around the driveway and such it doesn't bother me. Or better said, it's always when I hit the roads that it becomes almost unbearable. I wrote that off subconsciously to duration, maybe 10 seconds here to there moving from driveway to storage shop. But longer rides more pronounced. But it may VERY well be sound bounce!

YES! This I will test right off as the reflection of sound is experienced in other areas too. Have a shooting range set up in the back and when I fire each shot sounds like a nuclear blast because of sound reflection. Don't know how I missed that sentence in your post but soon as I did it hit me hard. Prob cuz was 4 am..

I can only imagine the loss I would take trading this thing in like baseball cards.

Can't say it hasn't crossed my mind but feel a purchase this large is just something you stick with like it or not. Least for a few years.

I did just watch several videos on the Kawasaki before posting but like all manufacturers, they are sooooo interested and focused on showing their machine hauling a cab load of people, crossing through rivers, splashing through mud, crashing though forests and climbing up mountains while pulling logs, that I learned absolutely NOTHING about it after watching it...

Except the cargo bed was HORRIBLY small in comparison

I have windshield, doors and SoftWindows. Soft back also but hasn't been on from the day of delivery because I like to turn around to reach for things. Only got it for snow days and rain days

So after reading all of the posts I think I have gained valuable insight and surmised the following. Will do a test run with what I just learned and post back this evening

1) HIGH gear vs low.

2) MT vs auto

3) Check for sound differences on open road versus mountain road for sound bounce.

4) Others have also been irritated by the sound even to the point of trading it in based upon it. So Honda is always going to be noiseER no matter what and at best, learn to live with it or trade it in.

Anxious to ride and test out all this new info (just woke up i'm a night owl)

 

[Crow_Hunter]

CP haven't taken it another drive but will around dusk. But this echo thing you mentioned is actually ingenious

I will say that never even crossed my brain and as I drive it around the driveway and such it doesn't bother me. Or better said, it's always when I hit the roads that it becomes almost unbearable. I wrote that off subconsciously to duration, maybe 10 seconds here to there moving from driveway to storage shop. But longer rides. But it may VERY well be sound bounce!

YES! This I will test right off as the reflection of sound is experienced in other areas too. Have a shooting range set up in the back and when I fire each shot sounds like a nuclear blast because of sound reflection. Don't know how I missed that sentence in your post but soon as I did it hit me hard. Prob cuz was 4 am..

I can only imagine the loss I would take trading this thing in like baseball cards.

Can't say it hasn't crossed my mind but feel a purchase this large is just something you stick with like it or not. Least for a few years.

I did just watch several videos on the Kawasaki before posting but like all manufacturers, they are sooooo interested and focused on showing their machine hauling a cab load of people, crossing through rivers, splashing through mud, crashing though forests and climbing up mountains while pulling logs, that I learned absolutely NOTHING about it after watching it...

Except the cargo bed was HORRIBLY small in comparison

I have windshield, doors and SoftWindows. Soft hasnt been on from the day of delivery because I like to turn around to reach for things. Only got it for snow days and rain days

So after reading all of the posts I think I have gained valuable insight and surmised the following. Will do a test run with what I just learned and post back this evening

1) HIGH gear vs low.

2) MT vs auto

3) Check for sound differences on open road versus mountain road for sound bounce.

4) Others have also been irritated by the sound even to the point of trading it in based upon it. So Honda is always going to be noiseER no matter what and at best, learn to live with it or trade it in.

Anxious to ride and test out all this new info (just woke up i'm a night owl)

Watch this video on the Mule. Really quiet. Too bad it is so long and doesn't have a front locker.

 

[Jbird]

Watch this video on the Mule. Really quiet. Too bad it is so long and doesn't have a front locker.

One of my best friends has the smallest Mule (600 I think) and it rides like a buck board and doesn't have enough power to get out of its own way.