P500 Mountian Riding and Rollovers

[JWB]

@JWB,

Nice skidder!!! How thick did you go on that? The LLeft side wrap up is killer. I'm gonna make me one too. Mind if I copy your wrap idea?

Thanks,

WB

Thanks! I used 3/16" diamond plate, smooth side down. I used the diamond plate because it is stiffer and harder than the closest reasonably priced sheet I could find. It was hard as hell to bend- I really don't have the tools for that, but it worked out pretty good. I bought a 4'X8' sheet, and used the stock plates as templates for all the holes and cut-outs, and just didn't cut off the sides. Then I bolted it to the machine and started trimming and bending to fit. Go ahead and copy! That area under the drivers seat is nothing but open and begging to hurt the driver, let alone how quickly that would fill up with mud and debris. Almost nothing ends up in that space now, and with a little more work will make a great storage area. The plates also added weight down low and helps to lower c.o.g.= better stability.

 

[Admin]

 

[rocmar]

Thanks! I used 3/16" diamond plate, smooth side down. I used the diamond plate because it is stiffer and harder than the closest reasonably priced sheet I could find. It was hard as hell to bend- I really don't have the tools for that, but it worked out pretty good. I bought a 4'X8' sheet, and used the stock plates as templates for all the holes and cut-outs, and just didn't cut off the sides. Then I bolted it to the machine and started trimming and bending to fit. Go ahead and copy! That area under the drivers seat is nothing but open and begging to hurt the driver, let alone how quickly that would fill up with mud and debris. Almost nothing ends up in that space now, and with a little more work will make a great storage area. The plates also added weight down low and helps to lower c.o.g.= better stability.

Props...on your work

 

[JWB]

Props...on your work

Thank you! I was just watching one of your vids

 

[rocmar]

Thank you! I was just watching one of your vids

Kool
...enjoy..,waiting for others
to upload..
Stay tuned....ain't rode in a month..
Wat a blast....riding with PoPo,s
& all....

 

[Johnsee]

Planning a trip from Silverton around the alpine loop with excursions. Then off to Ouray and Imogene Pass, hopefully go down black bear and sneak out of Telluride. P500 the whole way. That should a good test for the 4 wheelin go cart. Long way to roll down the side of the mountain if it fails, but no guts no glory.


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How did the 500 hold up on this trip?

 

[Johnsee]

Just returned from 10 day elk trip in Wyoming. The P500 Rocked!!!!!! The amount of stuff it would do even impressed the other guys in camp. I realized that I have made a great choice after this trip. Climbed/pulled/ snow/mud/ sips gas, handles Tight trails. I honestly believe this is the most capable versatile little sxs out there and without a question the most bang for buck View attachment 54580View attachment 54581View attachment 54582


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you should start a thread on your rack system. looks great!

 

[Bruce4795]

To me..p5 best trail machine..out there..
not a Honda guy..I go by..my needs..
get offset tires...spacers..I did..
I'm 58"wide...there's seatbelts...crash helmets
....you can make the p5 wat you need...tranny
brake....best out there...for trail riding..
IMO...got the 2015 Original P5...
Never looked back.....haha
no need to look back..I'm always the last
guy...View attachment 42967

I have to agree. My P5 has 26 inch Big Horn tires, 12 inch wide on the rear. It also has 2 inch spacers all around making it about 56 inches wide. I’ve done a lot of math on the CG and roll over angles. The tires increased my ground clearance by 1.5 inches to 10 inches from 8.5 inches. WE shocks all around also, but kept same preload as stock shocks. Working backward from the original 33.5 inch roll over angle, my new roll over angle is 35.3 degrees. This assumes a fully loaded vehicle and rack load.
I recently slid into a deep rut on an off camber desert road section with just me and a moderate load in my Tractor Supply storage box. My inclinometer read 35 degrees, so I gently stepped off the rig and it was stable. I put some rocks in front of the right front tire that was turned into the rut and I was able to drive into the rut and straddle it to get out of it. I was really impressed with the P5’s capability on that side slope. I looked at it while dismounted and it seemed unreal that it was still stable at such an angle.
My hints for increased stability include: carry heavy items like recovery gear and tools on the passenger floor, increase the width, install an inclinometer on your dash, and carry a handheld angle finder to check side slopes if in doubt.

 

[Bruce4795]

Actually these dealers carry multiple brands of UTV's and have them lined up in rows to pick from. I suspect it has something to do with keeping the service department busy year around. One actually stated to me how the Honda's aren't built like they used to be,,,blah,blah,blah. I will believe it when I personally have seen it, my three wheelers, ranchers, foremans have been bullet proof going on 20 years I have owned them.

when I went to buy my P5 the dealer wanted to sell me a RZR. Took it for a ride. Didn’t like the engine winding up so high when barely moving. Bought the P5. 2 inch spacers all the way around, Walker Evans shocks and 26 inch Big Horn tires make it nearly unstoppable. It gets great gas mileage on rough trails......typically 25 mpg. I’ve had it at 35 degrees when a rear tire slid into a rut. Still pretty stable, but pucker factor was pegged. I keep my anti sway bar connected to help out on off camber situations. Run tires at 8 psi or lower and the ride is not bad.

 

[Alan aka Davinci]

when I went to buy my P5 the dealer wanted to sell me a RZR. Took it for a ride. Didn’t like the engine winding up so high when barely moving. Bought the P5. 2 inch spacers all the way around, Walker Evans shocks and 26 inch Big Horn tires make it nearly unstoppable. It gets great gas mileage on rough trails......typically 25 mpg. I’ve had it at 35 degrees when a rear tire slid into a rut. Still pretty stable, but pucker factor was pegged. I keep my anti sway bar connected to help out on off camber situations. Run tires at 8 psi or lower and the ride is not bad.

Cool!!! I thought I was the only one that keeps my anti-sway bar connected for off camber situations.

 

[trigger]

Cool!!! I thought I was the only one that keeps my anti-sway bar connected for off camber situations.

Just you and the new guys Alan. 🤣
I actually think it handles off camber better without the ASB. Even watching videos you can tell when someone has it hooked up, looks very rigid and wheels come off the ground a lot. Unless you're corner slinging, then leave it on.

 

[Bruce4795]

Just you and the new guys Alan. 🤣
I actually think it handles off camber better without the ASB. Even watching videos you can tell when someone has it hooked up, looks very rigid and wheels come off the ground a lot. Unless you're corner slinging, then leave it on.

leaving the ASB in place reduces the flexibility of the suspension as you noted. I’m not totally sure about taking the ASB off would help the off camber performance...still thinking about it. One one hand it would allow the wheel dropping into a rut to reduce body roll up to a point at which the suspension can’t go any more assuming no ASB. Once the suspension can’t absorb the travel anymore, then you accelerate the body roll since the wheel is falling into the rut or hole. If one has a lot of travel in the suspension it seems leaving the ASB off would help by allowing the wheel dropping into the rut to keep some contact and support the rig to some extent. Of course this has diminishing returns as the wheel travels further into the rut since the spring is exerting less pressure the further it drops.
Leaving the ASB on would allow the uphill tire to push less on the ground tending to reduce the roll over force. BTW, roll over due to high speed cornering and roll over due to off camber are the same. If one had an inclinometer it would read the same if high speed cornering or an off camber caused it.....it would read the same on your inclinometer as it started to go over for both events. Remember Einstein’s famous thought experiment when he realized that gravity and acceleration are one and the same.

It would be interesting to see if anybody would do an experiment for the P5 to check roll over angles with and without the ASB in a static test.

 

[trigger]

Exactly! I'll let that wheel drop in the rut with hopes of the other 3 staying on the ground. With the ASB hooked up it lifts on the opposing wheel, increasing the chance of a roll over. Wouldn't be bad if we had more travel but these machines do better without it.

 

[Bruce4795]

Exactly! I'll let that wheel drop in the rut with hopes of the other 3 staying on the ground. With the ASB hooked up it lifts on the opposing wheel, increasing the chance of a roll over. Wouldn't be bad if we had more travel but these machines do better without it.

actually with the ASB hooked up it tends to reduce the overturning force from the uphill tire. When the downhill tire goes into the rut, that spring compresses since it is supporting more weight as the rig rolls into the rut, pushing the sway bar up which tends to reduce the uphill tire force on the rig which in turn reduces the overturning moment on the rig.
You see, in reality, if the ASB helps with high speed roll over protection, it is a physical law that it also helps with off camber roll over.
As you noted, it lifts the uphill wheel a bit which means that wheel is pushing less on the rig which also means it is less inclined to roll over. You want the uphill wheel pushing less and the downhill wheel pushing more.

 

[gmacaluso]

Live in Colorado and did part of Imogene Pass, all of Yankee Boy, and parts of Governor s pass outside Ouray last
summer. I'm stock tires and suspension with skids and had a great time. Went slow picked careful lines and went fine. Rocks and travel was in question but power, torque and engine braking were all very solid.

 

[solrus]

Would be riding in different parts of Summit,Eagle, Clear Creek and Park counties, depending on year and tags that I have in pocket. I hunt Colorado every 2nd or 3rd season, this year is Wyoming. The downhill is a huge factor out there also and the engine braking is a huge consideration, rocks start slipping,brakes grab, then your sideways moving fast to keep from tumbling on the wheeler. Dealing with that on side by side is one of my concerns. My hunting partners father lost his life a few years back on a downhill on wheeler. Have you added the spacers to your machine or are there tires to run which help with stability using stock rims? Can a load be carried on rack or does it make the machine more tippy? I get on fence and ride it for a while, test drove the 1000-5 a few weeks ago, nice but just too big for much of my hunting ,many of our trails on properties I hunt are only big enough for a wheeler. I also do not want a bigger trailer just for hauling the 1000. Tossed the idea around about just getting new foreman, but I take the kid along hunting with me and need to ride 2 . The only thing holding me back on 500 is the fear of the rollover, especially if I have the kid on board hunting out there with me. I really don't see that many 50 inch trails with restrictions, but the trails Back East here I see kinda restrict ya without restrictions. Self recovery of the bigger units can be a complete pain in the buttocks in some mud holes we have down here.

I live in Montana, why I chose P500
1. Small, easy to haul, any toyhauler would fit it. I'm about to start conversion of 7*14 enclosed trailer into toyhauler camper

2. I hunt solo or with my dad only.

3. I use 26*12*12 tires for extra height and width and aftermarket wheels with extra offset. Since I got initially 9" wide for the front , I've added 2" spacers. I think now I'm 54-56 " wide. All Forrest atv gates at least 56" wide not 50" as stated.

4 . I catch myself speeding if my car permits , same with atv, sxs, so p500 is good limiting factor for my habit.

5. Super low gear, plenty for all steep climbs

6. With all time invested and add ons, I find hard even to think to sell it .

7. Changed suspension to aftermarket to make better ride.

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[Mike Martsolf]

View attachment 42979
pic of us on our way...to golf..hehe
the course is on top of the...Mesa
Mesa..is flat top mountain ..p5
gets us there...haha..

I am adding 3" to each side-ride a lot in Arizona with mid/full size sis. leaned it over 1 time on a severe wash out-tipped it up & drove out.
We ride 50" trails also so the spacer was best alternative for us(can not afford 2 machines).The little guy performs right with its larger competitors but the fuel economy is well worth it! Also thinking about 14" tires? 8750 miles & still going strong on our 2015 P5

 

[100Acre]

Before spacers....

 

[trigger]

Before spacers....
View attachment 199825View attachment 199826View attachment 199828View attachment 199829

Perfect example for those that believe they can add taller tires and maintain 50"! And weren't you running 25's then?

 

[100Acre]

Perfect example for those that believe they can add taller tires and maintain 50"! And weren't you running 25's then?

I was running 25's

 

[Splorin]

Yeah, but I got to check out his skidplate😳