P500 New member intro and question(s)

[Prntckt]

Thanks a lot for all of the replies.

Good idea: skinny turf tires are a good idea that might help on both issues.

I'll keep an eye on inventory at local dealer to see if I can find a 520 to measure myself.

Yeah, I'll probably also hang onto golf cart, but was planning to mothball in a corner of a barn (before I go the expense of replacing the 6yo batteries which are pretty spendy these days) if I buy a SxS.

I really would like to have the:

1. turf mode, and
2. low range, and
3. extra room

... of the P1000!

But if I go that route, I'll need to make/buy a new trailer, plus the much higher entry price, so I'll probably be 2X+ more $$$ than the price of a 520. I'm not sure if I've been nice enough lately to qualify for a tool/toy that costs the same as the car my wife's currently driving! 😍

If I could ask another question: I've always had the opinion that any truck/SUV without a low range was not fit for anything but mild trail driving. I like that the 520 has a 5spd instead of the 3spd like the 700. I read somewhere that 1st gear in the 520 is "very low". Is it sufficiently low to make up for the lack of a low range? FWIW, my past 4x4ing adventures were in Jeeps or compact 4x4 pickups on rough timber/mining/FSR trails, some of which were steep and/or rocky enough to require first gear in low range. Wondering if 520cc + 400lb payload (including riders) + high elevation (Rocky mtns) + steep and/or rocky trails might leave me wanting either more gear or more motor?

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

Welcome to the forum from west central Wisconsin. My first UTV is a P1000-3. I have never regretted spending the extra money and that was 7000 miles ago. I have a Talon on order and plan to keep the Pioneer. Let the spending begin!

 

[crewcabrob]

Your wife weighs 360 lbs? HA! Just being a DA! If the P5's would have had a factory bed in 16 that's what we would have, I went with the P1, love everything about it other than the factory recalls. The low and high range transmission is great and the turf mode in either is a great plus. But wide turns are your friend if you don't have turf mode.

Hahaha! There's nothing wrong with being big...

 

[crewcabrob]

My P520 will leave black marks for both rear tires if I turn too sharp... doesn't matter if I'm going slow or fast. If I have to turn sharp on my property, you can see where it chewed up the ground cover. Having no differential action has some negative side effects.

I show way more tread wear on the rear tires than my fronts.

It's still a trade off I am happy to live with to have all the traction at the rear. Now that I have the locker in the front, I feel pretty confident about riding muddy, loose or steep conditions.

Rob

 

[trigger]

Am I missing somthing?
I get the lack of a rear diff will chew up the lawn in a tight turn, but I had my p500 in the yard picking up leaves yesterday (this may be fake news as I do not have a picture).
I don't turn at full lock and I don't have any issues.

So either we have guys that have never driven a p500 on the lawn or I'm 'that' guy down the street that mowes dandelions and crab grass and calls it a lawn.
@Mudder and @tigger what say you?
Is the p500/p520 ok for yard work (As long as you use your head)?

I don't do yard work with mine but I do take it through the lawn occasionally. Keep in mind, my yard is pretty much soft, moist black dirt yr round. It doesn't leave marks too bad if you're being conscience of it. It would be easy to tear the hell out of it if I chose to though.

 

[Mudder]

Sharp 90 turns will leave scuff marks on my concrete driveway. Just take wider turns on grass. My Toro Zero turn tears up more grass than the P500 and no complaints as grass grows back quickly. Looking at your photo seems like you large enough property to deal with it, and try three point turns if in a tight spot. No regrets with the P500 even with 27’s Bighorn style thread tires.

 

[Wallace]

Sharp 90 turns will leave scuff marks on my concrete driveway. Just take wider turns on grass. My Toro Zero turn tears up more grass than the P500 and no complaints as grass grows back quickly. Looking at your photo seems like you large enough property to deal with it, and try three point turns if in a tight spot. No regrets with the P500 even with 27’s Bighorn style thread tires.

My Better Half tears up the yard with the Z-turn. The P500 will do a job on it if you have aggressive tires.

 

[Mudder]

PS. Forgot to say WELCOME @lee .

 

[JACKAL]

Am I missing somthing?
I get the lack of a rear diff will chew up the lawn in a tight turn, but I had my p500 in the yard picking up leaves yesterday (this may be fake news as I do not have a picture).
I don't turn at full lock and I don't have any issues.

So either we have guys that have never driven a p500 on the lawn or I'm 'that' guy down the street that mowes dandelions and crab grass and calls it a lawn.
@Mudder and @tigger what say you?
Is the p500/p520 ok for yard work (As long as you use your head)?

I had the 2015 P500 for 5 years. I used it significantly with a pull behind mower, often turning tight on grass. I do not recall it tearing things up. Maybe ninja magic with the rear sway bar, or the fact is has less torque than a weed eater keeping things sane.

 

[bobr123]

Well fellas, I guess this is the end of the line for me on this board.

After doing more digging, I realized that making an informed decision was only half the battle. There were no Honda 520s available anywhere near me.

So I expanded my list of side by sides that I could be happy with. This helped my search some, but still not good.

As it turned out (and as suggested by KYhillbilly!), the Kawasaki Mules checked *most* of the things I was looking for.

The "SX" (small) Mule runs a 401cc air cooled single and had very little wheel travel (3"!) and limited ground clearance. I don't need a lot of suspension travel, etc, but I'd like a bit more than that. The "MX" (medium) Mule has a water cooled 695cc single and has more travel/clearance. It is too big for my smallest trailer, but I do have a larger trailer I can use.

I picked up this MX 250 miles from home this past weekend:

My one dislike is I really would have liked to have a transmission with gears. For putt-putt-putting along at a leisurely pace, it is nice to run it up until the trans upshifts and then you can just idle down the trail. With a CVT, you're running the same RPM, regardless of speed. I'm not crazy about that, but I guess I'll get used to it.

Another dislike about the Kawasaki is I haven't found any web site that has a dedicated discussion group just for this model (or any other) Mule. The best I've found is kawieriders.com which has a "Mule" section for all models and even at that, they get less than one post per day. Maybe if all of you guys could switch to Mule MXs, we could petition this board to rename this list!?! haha

So I guess that's it. Thanks for the warm welcome and all of the great suggestions. I'll see you out on the trail!

 

[Hondasxs]

My aunt had a Pioneer 700 and sold it 2019 pre-covid.
She then decided she missed it around her small farm late 2020.
By then we were in the Covid pricing ranges so she picked up one of these.
She likes it so far.

 

[Buggyman]

Well fellas, I guess this is the end of the line for me on this board.

After doing more digging, I realized that making an informed decision was only half the battle. There were no Honda 520s available anywhere near me.

So I expanded my list of side by sides that I could be happy with. This helped my search some, but still not good.

As it turned out (and as suggested by KYhillbilly!), the Kawasaki Mules checked *most* of the things I was looking for.

The "SX" (small) Mule runs a 401cc air cooled single and had very little wheel travel (3"!) and limited ground clearance. I don't need a lot of suspension travel, etc, but I'd like a bit more than that. The "MX" (medium) Mule has a water cooled 695cc single and has more travel/clearance. It is too big for my smallest trailer, but I do have a larger trailer I can use.

I picked up this MX 250 miles from home this past weekend:

View attachment 362108

My one dislike is I really would have liked to have a transmission with gears. For putt-putt-putting along at a leisurely pace, it is nice to run it up until the trans upshifts and then you can just idle down the trail. With a CVT, you're running the same RPM, regardless of speed. I'm not crazy about that, but I guess I'll get used to it.

Another dislike about the Kawasaki is I haven't found any web site that has a dedicated discussion group just for this model (or any other) Mule. The best I've found is kawieriders.com which has a "Mule" section for all models and even at that, they get less than one post per day. Maybe if all of you guys could switch to Mule MXs, we could petition this board to rename this list!?! haha

So I guess that's it. Thanks for the warm welcome and all of the great suggestions. I'll see you out on the trail!

you can always stop in for a what's up and enjoy the new buggy

 

[JenElio]

Well fellas, I guess this is the end of the line for me on this board.

After doing more digging, I realized that making an informed decision was only half the battle. There were no Honda 520s available anywhere near me.

So I expanded my list of side by sides that I could be happy with. This helped my search some, but still not good.

As it turned out (and as suggested by KYhillbilly!), the Kawasaki Mules checked *most* of the things I was looking for.

The "SX" (small) Mule runs a 401cc air cooled single and had very little wheel travel (3"!) and limited ground clearance. I don't need a lot of suspension travel, etc, but I'd like a bit more than that. The "MX" (medium) Mule has a water cooled 695cc single and has more travel/clearance. It is too big for my smallest trailer, but I do have a larger trailer I can use.

I picked up this MX 250 miles from home this past weekend:

View attachment 362108

My one dislike is I really would have liked to have a transmission with gears. For putt-putt-putting along at a leisurely pace, it is nice to run it up until the trans upshifts and then you can just idle down the trail. With a CVT, you're running the same RPM, regardless of speed. I'm not crazy about that, but I guess I'll get used to it.

Another dislike about the Kawasaki is I haven't found any web site that has a dedicated discussion group just for this model (or any other) Mule. The best I've found is kawieriders.com which has a "Mule" section for all models and even at that, they get less than one post per day. Maybe if all of you guys could switch to Mule MXs, we could petition this board to rename this list!?! haha

So I guess that's it. Thanks for the warm welcome and all of the great suggestions. I'll see you out on the trail!

🤔....looks to me like ya could've bought that Talon next to it 🤷‍♂️ 😂😂

Hope you enjoy the new buggy, and as long as you like it, that's what counts 👍 at least you bought the fastest color!! 😃

 

[Mudder]

Well fellas, I guess this is the end of the line for me on this board.

After doing more digging, I realized that making an informed decision was only half the battle. There were no Honda 520s available anywhere near me.

So I expanded my list of side by sides that I could be happy with. This helped my search some, but still not good.

As it turned out (and as suggested by KYhillbilly!), the Kawasaki Mules checked *most* of the things I was looking for.

The "SX" (small) Mule runs a 401cc air cooled single and had very little wheel travel (3"!) and limited ground clearance. I don't need a lot of suspension travel, etc, but I'd like a bit more than that. The "MX" (medium) Mule has a water cooled 695cc single and has more travel/clearance. It is too big for my smallest trailer, but I do have a larger trailer I can use.

I picked up this MX 250 miles from home this past weekend:

View attachment 362108

My one dislike is I really would have liked to have a transmission with gears. For putt-putt-putting along at a leisurely pace, it is nice to run it up until the trans upshifts and then you can just idle down the trail. With a CVT, you're running the same RPM, regardless of speed. I'm not crazy about that, but I guess I'll get used to it.

Another dislike about the Kawasaki is I haven't found any web site that has a dedicated discussion group just for this model (or any other) Mule. The best I've found is kawieriders.com which has a "Mule" section for all models and even at that, they get less than one post per day. Maybe if all of you guys could switch to Mule MXs, we could petition this board to rename this list!?! haha

So I guess that's it. Thanks for the warm welcome and all of the great suggestions. I'll see you out on the trail!

Enjoy your ride, a friend has one for chores only. And there is an “Other Brands” category, scroll down on the home page.

Kawasaki SxS

hondasxs.com

 

[futzin]

Too bad it didn't work out for the 520. Yep, this forum is a huge advantage for owning a Pioneer!

Best of luck, and enjoy it.

 

[driller]

My one dislike is I really would have liked to have a transmission with gears.

I sifted through all the small UTV choices and in the end went with the P520 for exactly this reason.

Best of luck with the Mule.