Hello all,
A couple years ago I saw two Honda Pioneer 500s at the campsite across from me at Warm Lake Campground, located near Cascade, Idaho. One was red and one was blue. They intrigued me with their compact size, but I truly thought they were the most unusual looking atv/utv/?? whatever kind of vehicle I had ever seen. I come from the atv world, own four atvs and have been riding a Yamaha Grizzly 700cc atv for years, and am used to riding pretty aggressively. I asked the folks that owned the Pioneers all kinds of questions, mostly about how they handle the trails. I then researched the heck out of the little utvs for the next year and decided to finally purchase one. Of course, the next model year offered the 520 with more power and a dump bed with better shocks, but I still like the 2020.
I only had the Pioneer 500 out on the trails a few times but I am impressed with how it manages the trails. I am in my late 60's and don't ride as fast as I used to, so the Pioneer suits me fine. I don't even miss the power steering, but might add it later. The power it has for the small displacement was a pleasant surprise. Going up steep hills is no problem.
What I really, really like is that my wife likes to ride with me now. She never was comfortable riding on the back of the big grizz, or riding her 350 grizzly beside me. Even more shocking is that she likes driving the Pioneer 500, and now claims it is "her ride." Since she allowed me to spend the cash to purchase it, I will let her think it is "her ride." She likes the automatic mode and I like taking it through the gears.
Two of my biggest complaints after first riding it, is that 1. the tires suck, and 2. the shocks suck. I put 26" bighorn 2.0 tires on the 500 almost immediately, and have some front Walker Evans shocks ordered for the front. I also added a 4500 lbs. winch, a half windshield, Honda soft top, black center caps for the stock wheels, some awesome side mirrors, a rota-pax gas container and mount, a roll bar storage bag, and some large plastic tool boxes for the rack.
I am anxious to learn all I can from all you folks about this great little machine.
Idahotruckman
A couple years ago I saw two Honda Pioneer 500s at the campsite across from me at Warm Lake Campground, located near Cascade, Idaho. One was red and one was blue. They intrigued me with their compact size, but I truly thought they were the most unusual looking atv/utv/?? whatever kind of vehicle I had ever seen. I come from the atv world, own four atvs and have been riding a Yamaha Grizzly 700cc atv for years, and am used to riding pretty aggressively. I asked the folks that owned the Pioneers all kinds of questions, mostly about how they handle the trails. I then researched the heck out of the little utvs for the next year and decided to finally purchase one. Of course, the next model year offered the 520 with more power and a dump bed with better shocks, but I still like the 2020.
I only had the Pioneer 500 out on the trails a few times but I am impressed with how it manages the trails. I am in my late 60's and don't ride as fast as I used to, so the Pioneer suits me fine. I don't even miss the power steering, but might add it later. The power it has for the small displacement was a pleasant surprise. Going up steep hills is no problem.
What I really, really like is that my wife likes to ride with me now. She never was comfortable riding on the back of the big grizz, or riding her 350 grizzly beside me. Even more shocking is that she likes driving the Pioneer 500, and now claims it is "her ride." Since she allowed me to spend the cash to purchase it, I will let her think it is "her ride." She likes the automatic mode and I like taking it through the gears.
Two of my biggest complaints after first riding it, is that 1. the tires suck, and 2. the shocks suck. I put 26" bighorn 2.0 tires on the 500 almost immediately, and have some front Walker Evans shocks ordered for the front. I also added a 4500 lbs. winch, a half windshield, Honda soft top, black center caps for the stock wheels, some awesome side mirrors, a rota-pax gas container and mount, a roll bar storage bag, and some large plastic tool boxes for the rack.
I am anxious to learn all I can from all you folks about this great little machine.
Idahotruckman
