Just got back from my first brief ride with the new shocks. Need to start off by giving a HUGE THANK YOU to Jay for all of his testing, research, and guidance.
When I bought my P500 there were three things that made it the best choice for me.
1) SIZE. I go through the woods quite often where there are no trails. The P500 fits in between trees where other larger buggies won't go.
2) HONDA RELIABILITY. Nuff said.
3) PRICE. As far as UTV's go, the P500 is a bargain and maintenance costs are minimal because the damn thing is tougher than an anvil and nothing ever breaks.
I bought one of the first P500's that my local dealer got and have never regretted my purchase. But...after a few miles of riding locally and couple of trips to Hattfield-McCoy in West Virginia, it was obvious that Honda did cut a few corners to keep the price down. The one big fly in the ointment was the shock absorbers. I knew before I bought my buggy that it was not gonna ride like a new Cadillac. It has a short, narrow wheel base and a very limited amount of suspension travel. But even with all of those things factored in, I still thought that it rode rougher than a hay wagon at elevated speeds and that Honda really dropped the ball with those abominations that they say are shock absorbers. But that one main shortcoming did not outweigh all the other great things that I liked about my little buggy.
So, when Walker Evans Racing decided to make shocks for the P500 I was very excited. They are expensive but I plan on keeping my buggy for a long time so I took the plunge. Today I got them installed and dialed in. I took a brief ride up in the wooded hills behind my house to switch memory cards in my game cameras. Then I rode wide open through a rough and bumpy hayfield. Then for the first time I intentionally jumped the buggy over a big hump in my neighbors yard at about 30 mph and managed to get all four wheels off the ground. The landing was cushy but my Boston Terrier/navigator/shed antler hunter "Lucille The Wonder Dog" did not care much for the Evel Knievel like stunt driving.
Here are my initial thoughts on the WE shock upgrade...they are a big improvement at any speed and the faster you go the more improvement you will notice. The ride is less jarring, more controlled, and plusher than the stock setup. Do the new shocks magically transform the P500 into a machine that rides as plush as a pure sport buggy with two feet of suspension travel ? No, but I did not expect that to be the case. It is a huge improvement. But the nature of the P500's design does have limitations that would be hard to overcome without major modifications. Are they worth the money ? For me...yes. It does address and improve on the one big complaint that I had about the P500. I hope to share more about the performance of the WE shocks after I get more seat time with them. But for now, I am happy with my purchase.
When I bought my P500 there were three things that made it the best choice for me.
1) SIZE. I go through the woods quite often where there are no trails. The P500 fits in between trees where other larger buggies won't go.
2) HONDA RELIABILITY. Nuff said.
3) PRICE. As far as UTV's go, the P500 is a bargain and maintenance costs are minimal because the damn thing is tougher than an anvil and nothing ever breaks.
I bought one of the first P500's that my local dealer got and have never regretted my purchase. But...after a few miles of riding locally and couple of trips to Hattfield-McCoy in West Virginia, it was obvious that Honda did cut a few corners to keep the price down. The one big fly in the ointment was the shock absorbers. I knew before I bought my buggy that it was not gonna ride like a new Cadillac. It has a short, narrow wheel base and a very limited amount of suspension travel. But even with all of those things factored in, I still thought that it rode rougher than a hay wagon at elevated speeds and that Honda really dropped the ball with those abominations that they say are shock absorbers. But that one main shortcoming did not outweigh all the other great things that I liked about my little buggy.
So, when Walker Evans Racing decided to make shocks for the P500 I was very excited. They are expensive but I plan on keeping my buggy for a long time so I took the plunge. Today I got them installed and dialed in. I took a brief ride up in the wooded hills behind my house to switch memory cards in my game cameras. Then I rode wide open through a rough and bumpy hayfield. Then for the first time I intentionally jumped the buggy over a big hump in my neighbors yard at about 30 mph and managed to get all four wheels off the ground. The landing was cushy but my Boston Terrier/navigator/shed antler hunter "Lucille The Wonder Dog" did not care much for the Evel Knievel like stunt driving.
Here are my initial thoughts on the WE shock upgrade...they are a big improvement at any speed and the faster you go the more improvement you will notice. The ride is less jarring, more controlled, and plusher than the stock setup. Do the new shocks magically transform the P500 into a machine that rides as plush as a pure sport buggy with two feet of suspension travel ? No, but I did not expect that to be the case. It is a huge improvement. But the nature of the P500's design does have limitations that would be hard to overcome without major modifications. Are they worth the money ? For me...yes. It does address and improve on the one big complaint that I had about the P500. I hope to share more about the performance of the WE shocks after I get more seat time with them. But for now, I am happy with my purchase.
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