P1000 Question for the Viper Winch Owners

[Nvrgiveup]

I’ve decided on the Viper V2 from the club store for my P1K3, and have a couple questions for others who’ve gone the Viper route….

1. What size did you get?
2. Are you happy with its performance?
3. Do you wish you’d gotten the next size up from the one you chose?

 

[Admin]

 

[Dirtstiffs-1000]

6000#
Yes
Got it

 

[Gabbas]

I’ve decided on the Viper V2 from the club store for my P1K3, and have a couple questions for others who’ve gone the Viper route….

1. What size did you get?
2. Are you happy with its performance?
3. Do you wish you’d gotten the next size up from the one you chose?

5k
Love it
Never had a problem. Has worked great for getting unstuck and for plowing.


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[bumperm]

Viper 10-lb with ratchet handle assist (8 D-Cell model, no wiring required). Hopelessly underpowered. Not recommended, though might work better with a snatch block.

 

[Gabbas]

Viper 10-lb with ratchet handle assist (8 D-Cell model, no wiring required). Hopelessly underpowered. Not recommended, though might work better with a snatch block.

I think this is a joke.

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[bumperm]

I think this is a joke.

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Ya think?

 

[Gabbas]

Ya think?

Was really hoping. You never know in today's world.

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[Soaz1000]

6000#
Yes
Got it

X2

 

[Dirtstiffs-1000]

I love the ignore button.

 

[StewB]

I think this is a joke.

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He didn't mean 8 D-cells, he really wanted you to go for the 6v alkaline model.

 

[Sarbuck]

I’ve decided on the Viper V2 from the club store for my P1K3, and have a couple questions for others who’ve gone the Viper route….

1. What size did you get?
2. Are you happy with its performance?
3. Do you wish you’d gotten the next size up from the one you chose?

I bought the 6000 lb for my 1000-5. Just finished install tonight. No winching experience, but I’d never buy it again. Why?
1. Terrible instructions. They are for previous model and poorly done. Had to get help on wireless remote programming since nothing included in instructions. wire colors not right. I could go on.
2. Broke a cheap bolt on winch itself…cheap and I wasn’t even ratcheting hard.
3. Mount holes not right on mounting plate.
4. I had to wait for a replacement gear set since V2 doesn’t free spool easily. Honda 4x4 forum club store got it to me fast, but nonetheless. Had to bolt V2 against shop post and use Warn winch on 2008 Yamaha grizzly to get synthetic rope off V2. Ridiculous to say the least.
5. During gear replacement, I discovered 1 M4 bolt stripped by factory.
6. Wireless remote antenna literally broke off wireless receiver while I was determining mounting location. During testing before finale connections, it would only winch in not out With wireless remote. Won’t do anything after cheap antenna broke.
7. Switch Runs winch but not backlit.

Bottom line this is cheaply made and not worth the premium price. I should have bought a Warn. I recommend against this winch, even though many on this forum are happy with Viper. IMO…it’s a $600 POS. Very disappointed.

 

[Nvrgiveup]

I bought the 6000 lb for my 1000-5. Just finished install tonight. No winching experience, but I’d never buy it again. Why?
1. Terrible instructions. They are for previous model and poorly done. Had to get help on wireless remote programming since nothing included in instructions. wire colors not right. I could go on.
2. Broke a cheap bolt on winch itself…cheap and I wasn’t even ratcheting hard.
3. Mount holes not right on mounting plate.
4. I had to wait for a replacement gear set since V2 doesn’t free spool easily. Honda 4x4 forum club store got it to me fast, but nonetheless. Had to bolt V2 against shop post and use Warn winch on 2008 Yamaha grizzly to get synthetic rope off V2. Ridiculous to say the least.
5. During gear replacement, I discovered 1 M4 bolt stripped by factory.
6. Wireless remote antenna literally broke off wireless receiver while I was determining mounting location. During testing before finale connections, it would only winch in not out With wireless remote. Won’t do anything after cheap antenna broke.
7. Switch Runs winch but not backlit.

Bottom line this is cheaply made and not worth the premium price. I should have bought a Warn. I recommend against this winch, even though many on this forum are happy with Viper. IMO…it’s a $600 POS. Very disappointed.

This is the exactly the kinda info I was looking for. Real-world personal experiences from normal, everyday folks.
Thank you so much for being honest.


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[SH21]

5000lb narrow spool
Yes
No

Install was easy and straight forward for me, including wireless programming.

 

[Sarbuck]

As @SH21 points out, the wiring is very straightforward...which is why I'm so frustrated with the wireless remote issues and switch not being backlit. I'm hopeful the winch itself will be reliable for the long haul. It should be at this price point. I'll be reaching out to MotoAlliance to see what they are willing to do. However, everything is wired and zip tied up and I dont' really want to uninstall and send back. I may just move on, maybe add a wireless remote from Amazon.

You may have a great experience with the V2, but my experience was disappointing. Good luck in your decision @nvrgivup!

 

[Hondasxs]

As @SH21 points out, the wiring is very straightforward...which is why I'm so frustrated with the wireless remote issues and switch not being backlit. I'm hopeful the winch itself will be reliable for the long haul. It should be at this price point. I'll be reaching out to MotoAlliance to see what they are willing to do. However, everything is wired and zip tied up and I dont' really want to uninstall and send back. I may just move on, maybe add a wireless remote from Amazon.

You may have a great experience with the V2, but my experience was disappointing. Good luck in your decision @nvrgivup!

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I agree on the instructions being for the older models. As with most winches they are all fairly the same with the exception being the wireless unit.

Freespool issue has bee resolved and works great now. Ya, it was a PITA before.

Mounting pattern is standard widespool. I switched mine out without no issues. I know some required drilling a hole bigger for a larger bolt but I don't recall that on my install.

The switch should be backlit.
Double check to make sure the loose black wire is grounded.

Motoaliance should send you a replacement wireless unit. If they don't, let me know I have a extra un-used one.
Remote come pre-linked, but you have to "turn it on" by holding the red button a few seconds.

Thanks.

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[P1000_DLux]

Have a Viper Elite
#5000
Happy with winch

Currently though I am having an issue with intermittent power flux causing slow winching and looking to figure out if I can add a capacitor to fix this issue. This is not a winch quality issue. I have used the winch to pull my 1000-5 out about 4 times, three in snow and 1 on a steep uphill with a massive rut/root just three days ago and it worked great, save for the power flux problem.

 

[Sarbuck]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I agree on the instructions being for the older models. As with most winches they are all fairly the same with the exception being the wireless unit.

Freespool issue has bee resolved and works great now. Ya, it was a PITA before.

Mounting pattern is standard widespool. I switched mine out without no issues. I know some required drilling a hole bigger for a larger bolt but I don't recall that on my install.

The switch should be backlit.
Double check to make sure the loose black wire is grounded.

Motoaliance should send you a replacement wireless unit. If they don't, let me know I have a extra un-used one.
Remote come pre-linked, but you have to "turn it on" by holding the red button a few seconds.

Thanks. View attachment 321875

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Thanks @Hondasxs. I will say YOUR customer service has been top notch and I appreciate all the help you've provided. I am using the Moto Alliance harness and switch. Moto Alliance will send me a replacement wireless receiver so good there. They said the ground is why the switch won't backlight. So I went out to my shop, pulled the switch panel, removed the winch switch, passed it all through to the battery area, and connected ground in multiple places and tried the switch. It runs the winch fine, but doesn't backlight and only lights up when winching in...not out. I've checked the harness plug wires and they all feel firmly connected. Not sure what to try next. Any suggestions or ideas? At this point I'm wondering about having you send me another harness with premium switch and just start over, as long as it will work with the new V2 winch.

 

[bumperm]

Have a Viper Elite
#5000
Happy with winch

Currently though I am having an issue with intermittent power flux causing slow winching and looking to figure out if I can add a capacitor to fix this issue. This is not a winch quality issue. I have used the winch to pull my 1000-5 out about 4 times, three in snow and 1 on a steep uphill with a massive rut/root just three days ago and it worked great, save for the power flux problem.

A capacitor behaves like an electricity storage device, sort of like a battery, but almost instant to charge (given available energy) and similarly quick to discharge. However, most capacitors don't hold very much energy, at least not compared to a battery, and will not be suitable to your purpose.

First, I'm not sure what you mean by "power flux" in this application, as the term is normally used when speaking of radiation strength, not the more simple, voltage, current, resistance, and battery capacity we are dealing with. If your winch is slowing way down under load, I suggest the following:

Use a voltmeter (digital volt meters are inexpensive, even the junko sub $10 variety from Harbor Fright are quite accurate, though everyone should have a Fluke ). Hook the meter leads up directly to the terminals of your winch and see what you are getting for voltage when the winch is under load. Compare that to voltage measurement at the battery terminals when the winch is under similar load. This will tell you if the problem is with the battery, the wiring, or the connections. I.e. if the battery and winch voltages are significantly different, you'll want to consider upgrading the wiring. If the battery voltage drops way low (<10 volts would be my guess), the a newer, bigger, or LiFePO4 battery should work wonders.

Adding a capacitor for your winch application would only help if you are somehow experiencing very rapid fluctuations in battery output (and I've not seen that) . . . as the super cap will absorb energy when the power "spikes" and deliver it during the "dips" to smooth out the flow to the device being powered - this is why it's used in audio systems. But big DC powered devices on our sxs don't normally work that way, nor do batteries.

 

[bumperm]

I love the ignore button.

It'd be handy if some folk came equipped with a big red one in the middle of their forehead.

 

[Paxpop]

Just installed a 4500# V2 in my 2021 1000-5 last week. Picked up the mounting plate from the club store. Everything went in just fine, including the remote install. I didn't use the included switch, as I ordered a orange 7 pin rocker to match the other switches on my plate. The winch free spooled fine. I ran the entire cable out and winched my rig up a hill to eliminate cable slack and everything was good. I have had no negative issues.