P500 Truth about....P5....Locker

[rocmar]

My 2 cents.....
having alot of knowledge...after
crashing & having to fix...front
end...
Most of us...push the p5...father
than..wat is meant..to do..
a locker..would cause much damage
...to the weak...frame...lack of
travel..in shocks...
Bottom Line....
Honda Pioneer 500....cant..
handle a Locker...
Those words.....are truth...
...climb under there....look
around...quality. .is mediocre
.....At best..
Been 4 yrs....no locker from Honda..
...Nothing but crickets...from
Honda....
.....There not gonna say...P5
can't handle a locker...

 

[JACKAL]

Really it's simply a matter of the P500 being a price point model with features (or lack thereof) to match.

If power steering, locking differential, better suspension were added the price would push past a P700. That's how Honda sees it. Apparently the fact it would be 50" and still 1000 lbs. is lost on them that people wouldn't necessarily mind having those options in a $10,499 MSRP 50" machine.

But it is what it is while the exact features they put on the 500 Rubicon ( locking differential, power steering, 35% more suspension travel) all still on a 49" wide ATV with the same engine and transmission. While it's not a matter of they cant do it, they won't for reasons of economics for their target prices. Like when they added the auto shift feature, that was only a $6 part and an ECU flash for a $200 bump in msrp.

 

[swsebek]

I bet Honda and a majority of 500 owners don't even think it needs one... The 500 is an amazing rig. I laughed at them at first.My sister and her fiancé have 2 and With the right tires I was amazed what they do...Some times I wished I had a pair of them too. So we could separate and explore different trail routes...I am surprised with the popularity that there has not been more of an after market

 

[KYhillbilly]

I had a 350 Rancher for years without a locker and went every where i wanted and a few places i shouldn't have. There are a couple times i wish i had one on the P500 but i have never been stuck yet so guess i really didn't need it. If it get stuck i will just winch it up it or out of it.

 

[JACKAL]

I bet Honda and a majority of 500 owners don't even think it needs one... The 500 is an amazing rig. I laughed at them at first.My sister and her fiancé have 2 and With the right tires I was amazed what they do...Some times I wished I had a pair of them too. So we could separate and explore different trail routes...I am surprised with the popularity that there has not been more of an after market

Well I have stared a few uphill rock faces, slippery as all get out and no way could I get up and over. Just one front tire spin. I resented that I had to waddle my fat arse uphill to secure my winch line for seemingly small ledges.

 

[100Acre]

In the near 1,400 miles I've put on it since may and in greatly varying terrain across the country, I’ve never felt the need for a locking diff really. It has gotten me into and equally out of some amazing country without a hitch. Sure a locker’d be nice but like I’ve said, I hadn’t needed it yet.

 

[ncred02]

I bet Honda and a majority of 500 owners don't even think it needs one... The 500 is an amazing rig. I laughed at them at first.My sister and her fiancé have 2 and With the right tires I was amazed what they do...Some times I wished I had a pair of them too. So we could separate and explore different trail routes...I am surprised with the popularity that there has not been more of an after market

a very underrated SXS

 

[Bad_bowtie]

While the p5 is a very capable rig for what it is, where we ride, a front locker would be really nice. Most of the trails we ride are steep, rocky, rutted, and usually covered in mud. Lots of trails/spots we have to avoid or go around in the P5. It's hard to go very far when your only front tire with power to it is floating in the air.

Granted this isn't the type of riding the p5 was designed for either. I do enjoy trying to keep up with the bigger boys sometimes but if I had it to do over with again, I would have gotten a P1k. Hopefully by the time Honda releases the Talon or whatever their sport model is, I'll be in a better position to upgrade.

 

[pFive]

For me to continue to follow the crew I ride with a locker is turning into a "Must have".
Rolling down the hill and crushing the stock cage is a thing I don't want to experience because one wheel decided to lift just slightly.
Air shocks have helped immensely (Thanks to JWB) however I still think I could hit that failure point (that an RZR 800 would go over) and fall behind or roll down a hill and get hurt. But, to be fair I would not buy a can-Am with a visco lock either. I love the low cost-high torque adventure, but my riding conditions have outgrown not having a serious 4x4 system.

 

[100Acre]

While the p5 is a very capable rig for what it is, where we ride, a front locker would be really nice. Most of the trails we ride are steep, rocky, rutted, and usually covered in mud. Lots of trails/spots we have to avoid or go around in the P5. It's hard to go very far when your only front tire with power to it is floating in the air.

Granted this isn't the type of riding the p5 was designed for either. I do enjoy trying to keep up with the bigger boys sometimes but if I had it to do over with again, I would have gotten a P1k.

Ditto, but then there’s still many of the trails I’ve ridden out west were reall tight even for the P5. No 1000 could’ve easily done some of what I just did in Colorado with @SouthParkColorado. Personally I’d love to have both the 500 & 1000. If the 700 had better ratings too, I’d probably go that route because it’s just me and me dag. Recently I sat in all the new Honda 2018 models and they all had slightly better leg room for my right leg but, for the left, they’re all about the same. Darn short Asians need to start designing for us larger Americans. Rant over...

 

[Ragincajun92]

I can Guarantee if someone builds a locker for the p500 I will buy one. How a locker could tear up a frame I just really don’t see it. But if it does then I’ll just fix it better and stronger

 

[DG Rider]

I had mine unloaded all of 5 minutes before i found one front tire in the air spinning wildly, saying "wow...no locker sucks". Would it have gotten me through? Dunno...but not having it certainly made it harder than it should have been. Short, narrow vehicles with stiff suspension that lift tires need them worse than bigger ones with more travel.

I could understand the price point argument if Honda didn't already have the diff in production under the front of the 700. A gearing change, 2 universals in the front shaft, and moving the diff to the left is all it would take. Charge extra, if you must (500 Deluxe).

Most people don't need it most of the time (some never need it). You also don't "need" a 60" 4K tv or a $400 action cam.

Should have never been brought to the market without it, and the promise of one forthcoming is a big reason i pulled the trigger. If the frame can't handle off roading with a locker, its not strong enough to do so without it.

 

[trigger]

I bet Honda and a majority of 500 owners don't even think it needs one... The 500 is an amazing rig.

That's why it's worth waiting for a bullet proof designed locker. I've been stuck with mine before and I just want every tool available to stop that from happening again.

 

[rblack22]

My 2 cents.....
having alot of knowledge...after
crashing & having to fix...front
end...
Most of us...push the p5...father
than..wat is meant..to do..
a locker..would cause much damage
...to the weak...frame...lack of
travel..in shocks...
Bottom Line....
Honda Pioneer 500....cant..
handle a Locker...
Those words.....are truth...
...climb under there....look
around...quality. .is mediocre
.....At best..
Been 4 yrs....no locker from Honda..
...Nothing but crickets...from
Honda....
.....There not gonna say...P5
can't handle a locker...

Was thinkin the same thing

 

[Stoney]

I spend most of my time in the P5 scouting and hunting behind my house. I encounter a variety of terrain. Most of the time it gets slow, steep, muddy and snowy over a layer of rocks. Many times I find myself hoping large rocks and downed logs. I absolutely need a locker. Not want, need. At this rate to get where my critters are or my base camps I'm going to start burning through winches or heading downhill on my roof. Forget adding the weight of recovering the animal.

Sent from my SM-T900 using Tapatalk

 

[TeamCheap]

All this locker talk has me very worried and wanting a locker now but me being cheap and the lack of a locker as yet got me looking at installing a VW brake steer lever to the front brakes so I could at least put the brakes on the wheel that is just spinning thus transferring drive power to the wheel in contact with the ground.



If it wasn't for stupid idea's I wouldn't have any idea's at all.

 

[CptOvo]

Even if Honda never makes a P500 with a locker, I'd buy an after market unit.

I've learn't to drive to the limits of the machine and can avoid getting stuck most of the time but I did invest in a good winch (number one accessory for any UTV). But where the diff lock is really needed is the hills and they cannot be avoided sometimes. In mud, snow and sand the P500 struggles with traction on an incline. I've watched Rzr570's blow up the same hill and me left to winch to the top.

I don't think the chassis strength has anything to do with a diff lock - all you are doing is distributing the same power but more evenly.

 

[HP5NC]

I’ll be the first to say Honda should have NEVER brought the pioneer 500 to the market WITHOUT A FRONT DIFF LOCK. Period. They could have put one in from day one and still kept cost under 10k easy. BUT we all know Honda and their ways. This hasn’t stopped a many a people from purchasing one. These things are TANKS! We or I bought my P5 cause it’s a Honda and I know it will last. And because it has a real geared tranny in it. If lockers are that important to folks the market is wide open with machines that have them...

Put a good winch on. That’s why winches were invented. Or take your little 50” tank and find another way to navigate your trail. I rode atvs for years without a diff lock an never encounted a problem. Given the option for one would I take it? You betcha every single time. But let’s not bash our P5 cause it doesn’t have one. We knew that when we bought it and the rare limitations it could cause the unit to have in some sceniors. I love everything about my P5 and would buy one again over an over.

BUT hopefully fingers crossed the aftermarket will deliver on a locker for us all.