P500 New owner, fender question

[KyGal83]

Also here is a thread Futzin' did comparing his 2 buggies on the trails with and without Mudbusters...

P500 - Why Mudbusters?

One with front and rear, the other with none. Same trails over three days. :)

hondasxs.com

 

[pappyo]

1st welcome from upstate central New York

Many good people and information on Honda Forum
fyi: A Few are more full of themselves than others

Mud Guards
Driving Style desides <> Want <> Need <> Like
Pro's & Con's have already been. pointed out.

Being a Senior "SOS" group member (SLOWER <> Older <> Smarter ) working on that last one?
Donot Like when Mud gets Personal !!!

If fabrication is your thing SAVE a Few $$$ <> made a Few out of Truck Box Liner ( sending pictures soon )

Enjoy the Toy & Make Memories

 

[pappyo]

1st welcome from upstate central New York

Many good people and information on Honda Forum ( they like Pictures ) Easier to Read.
fyi: A Few are more full of themselves than others

Mud Guards
Driving Style desides <> Want <> Need <> Like
Pro's & Con's have already been. pointed out.

Being a member <>Senior "SOS" group (SLOWER <> Older <> Smarter ) working on that last one?
Donot like it when Mud gets Personal !!!

If fabrication is your thing <> included pictures of some made out of Truck Box Liner

 

[TwoTonNewt]

Welcome to the club from East Tennessee.

I'm running 27x9 and 27x11 on mine with 1.5" spacers all the way around.

I've read many times that if you go up, you want to go out. Meaning, if you raise the center of gravity you want to widen the stance. I don't really have to worry about width, but in the mountains, I'm glad for the extra stability.

I don't have fender flares on mine, and like others have said if you don't mind a little mud in the the buggy, and on you, or occasionally in the face your fine.

But:

I have put soft doors on ours. On our last ride, in the rain, and snow, and a mud covered trail, in a very short time I was literally unable to see anything on either side of the vehicle (I hope my wife or someone got a pic of what it looked like). We were not hitting mud holes or anything, it was just trails muddy from the rain and I realized just how mud we would have eaten that day. Usually it's not really a problem but for those muddy (and cold) days I think you would wish you had them: I know I do.

Again welcome to the club.

Edited to add:
Something I did notice on this last ride was, with the mud flaps @futzin had the stuff on the back of his buggy stayed a whole lot cleaner than the stuff on the back of mine, so that did make a big difference.

Was the stuff covering your side doors coming from the front mostly, or did the rear kick it up a lot?

 

[Red500]

Hey, I found one.

 

[Red500]

Was the stuff covering your side doors coming from the front mostly, or did the rear kick it up a lot?

Both, I think. But I'm sure the stuff on the back came from the rears.

 

[TwoTonNewt]

Hey, I found one.
View attachment 420619

Well.....that would definitely be a good endorsement for the Mudbusters....lol

I guess I probably will have to get them at this point. Last thing I want to do is have to putt the dirt roads to my hunting spot after a heavy rain. I always putt along on the trails, but it would take way to long to have to putt on the road.

 

[KyGal83]

Hey, I found one.
View attachment 420619

Red ... I have door envy now after that weekend. Haha...

 

[Red500]

They worked great unless you wanted to see out the side.

Well.....that would definitely be a good endorsement for the Mudbusters....lol

I guess I probably will have to get them at this point. Last thing I want to do is have to putt the dirt roads to my hunting spot after a heavy rain. I always putt along on the trails, but it would take way to long to have to putt on the road.

Just to clarify, this was a really muddy day.

 

[futzin]

For a comparison ... these two buggies with Mudbusters where on the same ride. Also the front buggy only has the front ones installed. The 2nd buggy has the full set.. front, rear wings and inserts.

You can see the difference.. Front buggy mud is high on the box, rear panel and on the ROPS near the driver. The mud does get flung up and forward. That is strictly from not having the rear set installed. (Which I will be adding.)

My buggy (Front) has the 27x11-12 rears on 5+2 offset.

Couple of other thoughts from that weekend:
- KyGal's buggy missed the Saturday fun
- We were traveling pretty fast much of the time over two days

- This stuff can be added pretty much any time really. I can't think of anything that might make it tougher doing it down the road, so to speak. Take a few rides 'naked' to feel it out maybe.

 

[Remington]

promise to get pictures, but unless you just wanna see a pretty much stock one

Yes we like stock ones!
Some even get rock hard over them!
NOHMO

 

[TwoTonNewt]

Well dang guys, making me want to get another just so I can take comparison pics!

Can’t wait to get it on the trail. Added side mirrors, some upper storage bags, removed the sway bar, and stiffened the rear shocks tonight.

I love the new tires, think it will help stability and everything, but dang it drives different. From what I have read, they are not out of the ordinary, meaning others have the same size. But the steering is obviously harder, but the backend seem to grab more also when turning.

Not complaining. Have not had to use 4wd at all around here yet. So that’s a positive.

Mudbusters ordered. But I am tapped out for a while. This dang rig is going to bankrupt me.

 

[futzin]

Power steering is a nice upgrade. 😄

 

[TwoTonNewt]

Power steering is a nice upgrade. 😄

It was ordered first, on the way. Lol

Seriously though, once I had it on my ATV I knew I’d always want it.

I know it will help. Just interesting how much different the tires make it feel. Makes sense why the stock tires are what they are.

 

[futzin]

More sidewall will yield a better ride.
26s on 14s look good, but will likely ride a bit rough. But hey, tires are crazy high...so I totally get it. They look really good.

 

[TwoTonNewt]

More sidewall will yield a better ride.
26s on 14s look good, but will likely ride a bit rough. But hey, tires are crazy high...so I totally get it. They look really good.

Yea, I figure once they wear down I’ll get 27’s, maybe a bit narrower?

So many options and ways to customize. Just excited about the machine in general to be honest. Going to make a big difference in the woods and around the house.

 

[Remington]

Well dang guys, making me want to get another just so I can take comparison pics!
View attachment 420700

View attachment 420701

Can’t wait to get it on the trail. Added side mirrors, some upper storage bags, removed the sway bar, and stiffened the rear shocks tonight.

I love the new tires, think it will help stability and everything, but dang it drives different. From what I have read, they are not out of the ordinary, meaning others have the same size. But the steering is obviously harder, but the backend seem to grab more also when turning.

Not complaining. Have not had to use 4wd at all around here yet. So that’s a positive.

Mudbusters ordered. But I am tapped out for a while. This dang rig is going to bankrupt me.

That aint stock!
Nice buggy tho. I bet them thin tires with those stock shocks got you going to the dentist to get your fillings re aligned after a ride 😂

 

[Buggyman]

Thanks for letting me join the group! I will try to keep this as short as possible!

I am a new P500 owner, 2023 model. First ever SxS to boot(except a broken down CF Moto I traded for). I have always had an ATV because of where I ride, and how I ride, SxS are just too big. But low and behold, last fall I was putting through the woods on the way to check out my hunting area, and I run into two 'micro' SxS on the trail. Love at first sight. Never knew these existed till then.

So, after drooling over them for the last 6 months, I couldn't take it and got one. Needless to say....I have gone off the deep end with adding things to it. Well, they are not all on it yet, but parts are coming in daily and I should have it trail ready in a few weeks. I will post pictures once I am there!

However, in the meantime, I have a quandary. I took the tires/rims off the CF Moto I had sitting there and put them on the P500. Good fit, great look. They are 26-9-14 up front and 26-11-14 on the back. Increased the front track width to 52" and rear to 50". I do want a bit more width so I got the RB3 kit for 1" front and 1.5" back. I need to keep it as narrow as possible, but with some of the trails I ride I want stability(even though it did not feel too bad stock).

That brings me to my main question. Do I really need extended fender flares?

I could not find a straight answer just searching. I do not mud, I do not drive fast(max 20'ish on dirt roads), I just like to putt around especially on trails. Literally, I think 1st gear is going to be perfect for a lot of the small off road trails I ride, definitely nothing more than 2nd. I am not limited to a specific width, but some trails are narrow and I do encounter a lot of little trees along side of the paths.

So I am on the fence about the need of fender flares. I like being able to see exactly where my tire is at, so with them sticking out even more after the spacers it will be great. I feel like the flares will hinder that. Most likely I am going to take it out on a trip before I make a decision, but if others could chime in on their experience, in similar use to mine, before and after flares, I would appreciate it.

I would just buy them and stick them on now, since everything is all nice and clean at the moment, but I have spent a boatload on all the other stuff and am now running into budgetary concerns. 🤣

Welcome from Ohio

 

[trigger]

and stiffened the rear shocks tonight

I take it you were bottoming out? I know you said that you mainly putt around but be careful adding too much preload to the rear, at higher speed it can turn into a pogo stick.
Nomo

 

[futzin]

Yea, I figure once they wear down I’ll get 27’s, maybe a bit narrower?

My choice is 12" wheels, 4+3 offset. 27x9x12 tires on front, 27x11x12 on rear. No spacers needed. Very happy with it. Others run four 10" wide tires, non-directional. They can then rotate tires to extent tread life. I've been running a set of directional Bearclaw HTRs for 4+ years, they are wearing evenly thus far.
Not sure the offset of the 12" factory wheels, if you decide to keep those.
If you want to keep your 14" wheels, you can run 28" tires with the 1" Forward Offset A-arms from Super ATV, in order to clear in front. Or 27s on the 14s, maybe.