P500 ugh I got work to do

[ohanacreek]

I am going to make a WILD ASSUMPTION,
The Honda SPORT will be designed to take all YOU @jak9922 can dish out and be a leader in the class.

I have a feeling Honda is going to drop a bomb on the industry when they release the SPORT.

BUT THESE are WILD ASSUMPTIONS.

 

[jak9922]

Won't get burned at the stake, P500 wasn't designed for fast trail riding 35+

but i want it to be lol its so much fun and so easy and comfortable to drive i need it to go faster and mostly handle better suspension wise

 

[jak9922]

I hope so but again im limited to the 50" wide because of trails not restrictions but just plain size

 

[jak9922]

But thats why god made chain saws lol

 

[jak9922]

The Honda SPORT will be designed to take all YOU @jak9922 can dish out

Ive heard many women make that claim too hahahahahah but havent met one to handle my right foot to well

 

[Lucas]

Lucas- got any videos of this?

We ride in logging areas almost exclusively, and they have lots of water bars. Was almost ready to pull the trigger on a P500 and get rid of my RZR, but want to know it will handle the terrain we ride...

Sorry to say no vids of my adventures (yet!). However, I think your riding style will have much to do with how happy you will be with the P500. There are a lot of things to consider that are different from a RZR... shifting, the short travel suspension, no glove box and the 40mph top speed at the annoying rev limiter come to mind. Then there's all the money to spend after the initial sale on better tires, roof, windshield, storage, power steering if you want it, etc. However, the P500 is after all a Honda so reliability and durability are built in. I like the gearbox and paddle shifting personally and have the most fun riding steep technical trails. So to answer your question, the P500 can handle any terrain you want it to, it just depends on how fast you plan to run it. I'm slamming into water bars at 35+ mph that I didn't see in time (has great brakes too by the way)... and that's why I'm stuffing the front end... not the machine's fault really... just having too much fun to slow down!

 

[JACKAL]

I might get burned at the cross for saying this here burn unless aftermarket picks up in next few mths i will prob buy a cat trail for my fast riding and keep the p5 for adventures camping hunting fishing family time

If you luv the Honda may wait a bit, I strongly suspect the P500 will be getting an evolutionary upgrade in the upcoming few model years, don't know if the top speed will get bumped up but there will be noticeable changes.

 

[jak9922]

If you luv the Honda may wait a bit, I strongly suspect the P500 will be getting an evolutionary upgrade in the upcoming few model years, don't know if the top speed will get bumped up but there will be noticeable changes.

The top speed really i can deal with only time its a prob are back dirt roads but the suspension kills me like i was saying on adventure days out cruising this thing is great with a set of quality shocks it will be amazing

 

[Lucas]

The top speed really i can deal with only time its a prob are back dirt roads but the suspension kills me like i was saying on adventure days out cruising this thing is great with a set of quality shocks it will be amazing

I agree totally with this... for most riding the suspension is adequate. The 50" width comes with the compromise of shorter A-arms and a shorter shock stroke. I think Honda engineers did pretty well considering the limitations of a short travel suspension and keeping the overall cost of the machine down. While a better shock would be an obvious solution, I think for me at least I would be satisfied with something cheaper like a bolt-on component that just protects the front suspension from bottoming so hard at times. Urethane stoppers that don't compress as easily as rubber does come to mind for instance. Hard impacts can lead to things breaking, even on a Honda.

 

[hambone]

I agree totally with this... for most riding the suspension is adequate. The 50" width comes with the compromise of shorter A-arms and a shorter shock stroke. I think Honda engineers did pretty well considering the limitations of a short travel suspension and keeping the overall cost of the machine down. While a better shock would be an obvious solution, I think for me at least I would be satisfied with something cheaper like a bolt-on component that just protects the front suspension from bottoming so hard at times. Urethane stoppers that don't compress as easily as rubber does come to mind for instance. Hard impacts can lead to things breaking, even on a Honda.

Well there is always the issue of the weakest link.
If you make the front plate stronger, what is next to bend?
Remember it was $8499 and less than a Rubicon. Which is why i own one.
Yes, my front is bent, twice now. Live and learn. I am not going to a SxS show! I am going to the woods!

 

[Lucas]

Well there is always the issue of the weakest link.
If you make the front plate stronger, what is next to bend?
Remember it was $8499 and less than a Rubicon. Which is why i own one.
Yes, my front is bent, twice now. Live and learn. I am not going to a SxS show! I am going to the woods!

While I do agree with you in theory, a new front bumper is $100 from Honda and takes 5 minutes to replace, while a new frame is $1,350 and would probably take days to swap everything over if it got trashed. The $8,499 price is what got me into the dealer, but is a far from what I have into my machine... so I want to protect it the best I can while still being able to ride it in style without worry of real damage.

The frame cross-member behind the bash plate is vulnerable since the bumper/plate doesn't do a lot to protect it from hard impacts and that in my opinion is the real issue and the point, I assume, of jak9922's original post. I consider the front bash plate to be a sacrificial component (especially now that it's "bashed" lol) that I'd like to beef up some if possible. Not concerned with appearances as much as I am with survivability and having never had to walk out of the woods in my 40 years of riding Hondas I don't plan to start now... and the main reason I bought another Honda!