educ8tedguess
Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
It has been about a week and 1/2 since I did my first ride on the P500. I usually wait a bit until the excitement calms down and I can do an honest and fair review. So I will do my best. The reason I write these is so others can get honest info when doing their research prior to buying. But that assumes everyone is an crazy as me when purchasing something 
Terrain: Off road park in Northern Illinois. Some steep climbs, lots of narrow trail that required crawling through, deep frozen ruts to challenge the tip over factor, and plenty of normal trail obstacles like logs, rocks etc...
Temp: Mid to high 20's
Mods: 26x12x9 (f) 26x12x11 (r) Kenda Bearclaw HTR.
Year: 2016
Rider: 35 year old Male, 5ft 11 in, 196 lbs
The Good:
Comparison's to other current SxS's I have owned.
Yamaha Viking vs P500: I owned the Yamaha Viking the first year it came out. It was a solid machine with a similar top speed as the p500. The Viking was much louder than the 500 but had more room for people (three across) and obviously the bed in the back for your gear. In order to get the viking to have the feel I wanted, I needed to put 28 inch tires on it and then a clutch kit. The clutch kit was easy to install but I was always maintaining it to make sure it was clean, adjusted correctly, etc... The viking was also very wide. There are a lot of trails that I can go down with the 500 that I couldn't do with the Viking. With 26 inch tires on the p500 and 28 inch tires on the Viking, I feel that I have more capability with the p500. They are similar in comfort except the Viking had a lot more leg room for the drivers left leg. The p500 is cramped for the driver on the left side whereas the Viking had plenty of room. For climbing stuff, the Viking needed more wheel speed to get up some of the steeps. It handled it fine but I'm not a fan of how a belt driven machine feels. I'm not knocking it as Yamaha makes a great CVT; I just prefer the Honda system. Overall, these machines are similar in quality and ability. One is just much larger than the other. The p500 is more fun for me because I like tighter trails in the woods and don't need all the bed space of the viking. I think both of the machines have work in mind with trail riding as a secondary. After pulling my aluminum trailer, I would take the smaller p500 over the Viking (again, preference toward gears rather than belt)
Honda Pioneer 1000-5 Deluxe vs Honda Pioneer 500.
There really is no way to compare these two as they are completely different machines. The 1000, in my opinion, is the biggest and best. It is reasonably quick, it shifts well, it's comfortable, its capable, its fun to accessorize, and it's another really solid machine. It is more comfortable to drive, to ride in, and it holds a lot of people and stuff. It's great for larger trails in the woods and a lot of the open type trails that I experienced in Northern Wisconsin. I was able to keep up with my friends on their sport machines (most of the time) and went through anything they went through and more. I loved the 1000-5 except for the price tag, the door rattles, and the fear of the clutch issues (Which have now been fixed)
For small trails, the p500 is the better choice. It can go pretty much anywhere.
For open trails or needing to cruise at 45+, the 1000 is your machine.
Hauling: The 1000 was awesome with the auto leveling shocks and had tons of power. BUT... I couldn't go too slow because of the DCT. The P500 is able to creep at really low speeds. When I did this on the 1000, I was worried I was going to cause damage to my clutches, especially when in reverse.
Reliability: To early to tell on the P500 for me. From what I read, it seems extremely reliable and closer to "Old Honda" than the 1000. But the 1000 never left me stranded. I had the clutch issue that was somewhat corrected with a reset at the dealer. The thing that drove me nuts on the 1000 was all the rattling. The doors, seats, bed all rattled from day one. I went through and was able to calm much of it down but the p500 did none of that. (It also has two less doors and 3 less seats.) The 1000 also had a heat issue when driving through water. I did not feel that yet on the p500 but time will tell.
For someone who likes simple, capable, and reliable, the p500 is a good choice. I know I can take my son out on it and have a blast all day long.
For someone who likes to have the best, the 1000 is hard to top. It may not have the navigation systems or suspension of the Polaris vehicles but it does have a lot of great features.
If comfort is your thing, the 1000 is leaps and bounds above the p500. I don't mind the utilitarian feel of the p500 but others might. For me, it's like the difference between a jeep wrangler from around 2005 compared to a jeep wrangler now.
With all of that said, I can honestly say I would recommend all three of the SxS's mentioned above. I had great experiences with all of them and each one has it's quirks.
Viking: Great machine if you want to take another person or two with some gear. Reasonably priced. It will get you there and get you home. If you want bigger tires, plan on a clutch kit or at least a slug kit for the wet clutch. And unless they have fixed the noise issue, you will want to invest in some sound cancelling materials.
Pioneer 1000: Great if you have extra $ to spend on something awesome. It's comfortable, reasonably quiet, and will haul your family around with ease. It's powerful and relatively efficient as well. I will say, for an 1800 lb machine, I would have assumed it would have come with tougher tires from the factory so this may be something you would consider adding at some point. Also, this was the only ATV/UTV that I ever felt I needed to give someone instructions to drive. "Don't go below 4 mph, keep it in low unless you plan on going over 20 mph, etc..."
Pioneer 500: Awesome if you like to ride standard ATV's but want to bring someone else along. It goes down the tight trails and is an easily driven and capable machine. You lose the comfort you have with the other two but that's not to say it's uncomfortable. I don't have back issues (yet) and am still youngish so maybe my opinion may change in the future. If you don't need to keep up with others and don't get your high from being able to slide through a corner, the p500 is great. Also a good machine if you are like me and like the simple nature of Honda machines that made them reliable and popular "back in the day." The one thing you may want to plan on adding to the cost is a decent set of tires. While the 4 ply tires should hold up okay, they look really tiny on the machine and made 1st gear almost entirely useless. Going with 26's made it feel more capable, gave it additional ground clearance, and I like the looks better.
I hope this information helps someone that's considering a new SxS. The good thing is, the market has a bunch of options to meet many different styles. The bad thing is, it is tough to make a decision. At the end of the day, ride what you like; you're the one paying for it.
All of the information above is my opinion. And I believe there is a saying that compares opinions to a part of the human anatomy but I'm not sure that belongs on the p500 review section.
Terrain: Off road park in Northern Illinois. Some steep climbs, lots of narrow trail that required crawling through, deep frozen ruts to challenge the tip over factor, and plenty of normal trail obstacles like logs, rocks etc...
Temp: Mid to high 20's
Mods: 26x12x9 (f) 26x12x11 (r) Kenda Bearclaw HTR.
Year: 2016
Rider: 35 year old Male, 5ft 11 in, 196 lbs
The Good:
- Plenty of power in 1st gear, even with the heavier tires. Still started off in second on most everything and was able to cruise through tight trails in 3rd. Feels as if this machine was made to have a tire of this size/weight on it.
- Awesome climber. I have had a variety of atv's and sxs. The machines with belts will climb faster and allow for more wheels speed. But, the P500 allows you to crawl up technical climbs with ease. The only things that limited me on climbs was traction on loose stuff (still made it but a locker would be nice) and my own courage. In other words, it will do anything I am willing to try. If it can't, I have no business trying it anyway. (I must be getting old)
- Noise: I did not find the P500 to be noisy in any way.
- Durability: Although it was only a day of riding, this thing feels solid. I hit a rock hard enough to dent the lip on the driver side front wheel but no damage to any steering components or anything else. No obnoxious rattles or anything else like that.
- Fun: I bought this because I like technical trails. I gave up on speed a long time ago. If you want speed, you will need to look elsewhere. What makes this fun is the fact that it is so small and has paddle shifters. You can navigate technical trails well and it is nimble enough to get around a lot of the trails I never thought I would be able to travel down with a sxs. Although the top speed is low, it get's moving quickly which makes navigating tighter trails fun.
- Simple: I always put the simplicity of a Honda in the good category. This machine does not have the creature comforts that my P1000-5D had but I also don't have to worry about much going wrong.
- Suspension: The suspension leaves quite a bit to be desired. Again, I'm not trying to carry speed through a lot of rough areas but it likes to bounce around quite a bit. I haven't had any issues with bottoming out although I'm sure it's coming.
- Wear your seat belt: I left my seat belt off for a few minutes. Hit a bump and hit my head on the top cross bar on the ROPS. I always wear a helmet so it didn't do any damage to me but still something to consider.
- Top Speed: I don't care that it's slow but others will. If you ride a lot of open trails with folks who go fast, you will be disappointed with the p500. It is not fast nor does it pretend to be.
- Tippy: I hesitated to put this in this section as it is something you would expect from such a small machine. I also went a little larger on tires without going with wheel spacers so I'm kind of asking for it. But, It should be noted that it has the tip factor of a standard "throw your leg over" atv but you don't have the same amount of body control. Large ruts made by jeeps/trucks/large sxs's can put you on your side. (I was close a couple of times)
- I waited 2 years to buy one
Comparison's to other current SxS's I have owned.
Yamaha Viking vs P500: I owned the Yamaha Viking the first year it came out. It was a solid machine with a similar top speed as the p500. The Viking was much louder than the 500 but had more room for people (three across) and obviously the bed in the back for your gear. In order to get the viking to have the feel I wanted, I needed to put 28 inch tires on it and then a clutch kit. The clutch kit was easy to install but I was always maintaining it to make sure it was clean, adjusted correctly, etc... The viking was also very wide. There are a lot of trails that I can go down with the 500 that I couldn't do with the Viking. With 26 inch tires on the p500 and 28 inch tires on the Viking, I feel that I have more capability with the p500. They are similar in comfort except the Viking had a lot more leg room for the drivers left leg. The p500 is cramped for the driver on the left side whereas the Viking had plenty of room. For climbing stuff, the Viking needed more wheel speed to get up some of the steeps. It handled it fine but I'm not a fan of how a belt driven machine feels. I'm not knocking it as Yamaha makes a great CVT; I just prefer the Honda system. Overall, these machines are similar in quality and ability. One is just much larger than the other. The p500 is more fun for me because I like tighter trails in the woods and don't need all the bed space of the viking. I think both of the machines have work in mind with trail riding as a secondary. After pulling my aluminum trailer, I would take the smaller p500 over the Viking (again, preference toward gears rather than belt)
Honda Pioneer 1000-5 Deluxe vs Honda Pioneer 500.
There really is no way to compare these two as they are completely different machines. The 1000, in my opinion, is the biggest and best. It is reasonably quick, it shifts well, it's comfortable, its capable, its fun to accessorize, and it's another really solid machine. It is more comfortable to drive, to ride in, and it holds a lot of people and stuff. It's great for larger trails in the woods and a lot of the open type trails that I experienced in Northern Wisconsin. I was able to keep up with my friends on their sport machines (most of the time) and went through anything they went through and more. I loved the 1000-5 except for the price tag, the door rattles, and the fear of the clutch issues (Which have now been fixed)
For small trails, the p500 is the better choice. It can go pretty much anywhere.
For open trails or needing to cruise at 45+, the 1000 is your machine.
Hauling: The 1000 was awesome with the auto leveling shocks and had tons of power. BUT... I couldn't go too slow because of the DCT. The P500 is able to creep at really low speeds. When I did this on the 1000, I was worried I was going to cause damage to my clutches, especially when in reverse.
Reliability: To early to tell on the P500 for me. From what I read, it seems extremely reliable and closer to "Old Honda" than the 1000. But the 1000 never left me stranded. I had the clutch issue that was somewhat corrected with a reset at the dealer. The thing that drove me nuts on the 1000 was all the rattling. The doors, seats, bed all rattled from day one. I went through and was able to calm much of it down but the p500 did none of that. (It also has two less doors and 3 less seats.) The 1000 also had a heat issue when driving through water. I did not feel that yet on the p500 but time will tell.
For someone who likes simple, capable, and reliable, the p500 is a good choice. I know I can take my son out on it and have a blast all day long.
For someone who likes to have the best, the 1000 is hard to top. It may not have the navigation systems or suspension of the Polaris vehicles but it does have a lot of great features.
If comfort is your thing, the 1000 is leaps and bounds above the p500. I don't mind the utilitarian feel of the p500 but others might. For me, it's like the difference between a jeep wrangler from around 2005 compared to a jeep wrangler now.
With all of that said, I can honestly say I would recommend all three of the SxS's mentioned above. I had great experiences with all of them and each one has it's quirks.
Viking: Great machine if you want to take another person or two with some gear. Reasonably priced. It will get you there and get you home. If you want bigger tires, plan on a clutch kit or at least a slug kit for the wet clutch. And unless they have fixed the noise issue, you will want to invest in some sound cancelling materials.
Pioneer 1000: Great if you have extra $ to spend on something awesome. It's comfortable, reasonably quiet, and will haul your family around with ease. It's powerful and relatively efficient as well. I will say, for an 1800 lb machine, I would have assumed it would have come with tougher tires from the factory so this may be something you would consider adding at some point. Also, this was the only ATV/UTV that I ever felt I needed to give someone instructions to drive. "Don't go below 4 mph, keep it in low unless you plan on going over 20 mph, etc..."
Pioneer 500: Awesome if you like to ride standard ATV's but want to bring someone else along. It goes down the tight trails and is an easily driven and capable machine. You lose the comfort you have with the other two but that's not to say it's uncomfortable. I don't have back issues (yet) and am still youngish so maybe my opinion may change in the future. If you don't need to keep up with others and don't get your high from being able to slide through a corner, the p500 is great. Also a good machine if you are like me and like the simple nature of Honda machines that made them reliable and popular "back in the day." The one thing you may want to plan on adding to the cost is a decent set of tires. While the 4 ply tires should hold up okay, they look really tiny on the machine and made 1st gear almost entirely useless. Going with 26's made it feel more capable, gave it additional ground clearance, and I like the looks better.
I hope this information helps someone that's considering a new SxS. The good thing is, the market has a bunch of options to meet many different styles. The bad thing is, it is tough to make a decision. At the end of the day, ride what you like; you're the one paying for it.
All of the information above is my opinion. And I believe there is a saying that compares opinions to a part of the human anatomy but I'm not sure that belongs on the p500 review section.
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