P700 Paddle shifters, EPS and other questions on 700-4

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Afwilson

Member
Oct 12, 2021
18
58
13
South Carolina
Ownership

  1. 700-4
Love the PS . Haven’t driven one without it so not sure what that’s like. I love the paddle shifters. Mainly allows shifting into higher gears at slower speeds. Great for cruising at lower speeds and keeping noise to minimum.
 
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ADK_XJ

Member
Aug 30, 2021
37
91
18
Saratoga Springs, NY
Ownership

  1. Do not currently own
Installed my first mod today, right from the Club Store here - works great, so easy:

PXL 20211204 193034445PORTRAIT
 
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ADK_XJ

Member
Aug 30, 2021
37
91
18
Saratoga Springs, NY
Ownership

  1. Do not currently own
Nice! Yeah, it works great as a worklight when I'm loading wood at dusk or just backed up into the machine shed. I may add the second when I add the switch, although it's working just fine for me to pop it in R and then pull the Parking brake....
 
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A

ADK_XJ

Member
Aug 30, 2021
37
91
18
Saratoga Springs, NY
Ownership

  1. Do not currently own
And, a word on performance, this "little" machine had blown me away during firewood season - I have a heavy duty 3x8 farm trailer (on an old Willy's jeep axle and wheels) that I have completely filled with green rounds of oak and hauled out of the woods over steep hills, in snow and soupy, greasy mud.

I put it in diff lock for the hills but otherwise no problem...

PXL 20211209 172117019
 
Last edited:
A

ADK_XJ

Member
Aug 30, 2021
37
91
18
Saratoga Springs, NY
Ownership

  1. Do not currently own
A

ADK_XJ

Member
Aug 30, 2021
37
91
18
Saratoga Springs, NY
Ownership

  1. Do not currently own
It's been just shy of 6 months since I picked up my 700-4, I've put 135 miles on it and just over 60 hours of ride time, most of that done while I was in between jobs during the holidays.

I have to say, pretty much every single element of the Honda has blown me away. To answer one key question I had while I was in my buying process: I do not miss not having the power steering. I just don't. I am sure it would feel different if I were coming from a utility vehicle with EPS but we have (very) tight wooded trails with tons of switchbacks and sharp inclines that I'm often hauling wood or maple sap on...and I've managed it just fine.

Other things that have impressed me are the engine braking, it's really excellent and not letting me free wheel down a steep incline even with a pretty heavy load. I like the overall setup of the cab and the instrumentation as well, it's "sparse" to say the least but my take on that is "less to break."

And the overall performance is just excellent. I had four grown, adult males in it on Easter and did some trail riding...we went across a pretty sketchy portion of a bog that my neighbor recently had to winch out of with his Suzuki 700cc King Quad and I just dropped it into diff lock with no issues crossing in the same spot with almost 1000 pounds onboard.

A windshield and roof package are clearly must-haves, cannot believe I thought I'd get by for a while without them.

If you're hauling a lot of stuff in the winter, like I do, then you definitely will want tire chains and I would suggest getting sort of cargo mat (I used a horse stall mat cut to size) to cover the back dump area so that wood chips and spilled chainsaw fluids don't accumulate in the cold weather and make a HUGE mess.

Pretty much the only true-blue downside? Accessories. I just wish there was more selection out there, perhaps not as much but on par with Polaris would be great. I would totally shell out for some modular storage options or more interior enhancements. I will likely add a speaker of some kind, maybe just to the roll bar but I've found roll bar add-ons loosen up too quickly...

All-in-all, I would buy the 700-4 again 10 times out of 10. Sure, if money were no object I would consider upgrading to the 1000-5 but it would not fit on our trails as things stand so it'd be useless to shell that money out now. Great buy, great company, great time with it!
 

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