P1000 White Lightning Build

[dswv42]

You’ll be fine with factory tabs, throw some gussets on and save yourself a LOT of work.

I wouldn't be so sure. As I said, some WV trails can be brutal, and I sometimes love to play in the mud. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Admin]

 

[snuffnwhisky]

I wouldn't be so sure. As I said, some WV trails can be brutal, and I sometimes love to play in the mud. Better safe than sorry.

If u have saw all of my build thread, im still running stock tabs with gussets. I do have all the tabs designed to beef it up more if I break but not needed yet. Probably the most aggressive and beat on rig on the forum so far... Thanks @joeymt33 lol

 

[JTW]

I wouldn't be so sure. As I said, some WV trails can be brutal, and I sometimes love to play in the mud. Better safe than sorry.

I’ve beat the absolute f*** out of mine with these guy.. you’ll be fine!

 

[joeymt33]

If u have saw all of my build thread, im still running stock tabs with gussets. I do have all the tabs designed to beef it up more if I break but not needed yet. Probably the most aggressive and beat on rig on the forum so far... Thanks @joeymt33 lol

You told me to test your design and figure out what needed to be improved. I am at your service sir. Haha

 

[snuffnwhisky]

You told me to test your design and figure out what needed to be improved. I am at your service sir. Haha

You have been a great test dummy. I thank u are alive still!

 

[joeymt33]

You have been a great test dummy. I thank u are alive still!

Hopefully I will be the dummy pilot for my own pretty soon. I’m just wondering how many miles do you have to put on mine to make it even?

 

[dswv42]

If u have saw all of my build thread, im still running stock tabs with gussets. I do have all the tabs designed to beef it up more if I break but not needed yet. Probably the most aggressive and beat on rig on the forum so far... Thanks @joeymt33 lol

I'm primarily concerned with the stock upper front control arm tabs, which have failed under some pretty light use, like the guy in another thread who was crossing a hayfield and hit a small rut.

 

[joeymt33]

I'm primarily concerned with the stock upper front control arm tabs, which have failed under some pretty light use, like the guy in another thread who was crossing a hayfield and hit a small rut.

I have personally ridden with and watched several upper a-arm tab failures. I think some of them or most of them were probably miss placed welds. But with that said, it never hurts to add some extra strength.

 

[dswv42]

I have personally ridden with and watched several upper a-arm tab failures. I think some of them or most of them were probably miss placed welds. But with that said, it never hurts to add some extra strength.

Indeed, and while nothing I plan to do requires the kind of extensive modifications you guys do, I do find them to be a great source of inspiration to fix any problems I might encounter. I also look for crash pictures, which might seem like a strange thing to do, but it helps to reveal any weaknesses that might get me killed. For example, I like the fact that Honda put gussets and cross bracing on the cage, but I'm not sure I trust it after seeing how it can fold up in a crash.

 

[joeymt33]

Indeed, and while nothing I plan to do requires the kind of extensive modifications you guys do, I do find them to be a great source of inspiration to fix any problems I might encounter. I also look for crash pictures, which might seem like a strange thing to do, but it helps to reveal any weaknesses that might get me killed. For example, I like the fact that Honda put gussets and cross bracing on the cage, but I'm not sure I trust it after seeing how it can fold up in a crash.

After chopping my cage I saved a cross-section cut of it just to show people. Here is a picture of it. I can crush it just by putting a small amount of weight on it under my foot.



I’ve seen several stock cages get bent severely with just a small layover on the side.



That’s a picture of some tubing that was placed inside of all six vertical pillars of my roll cage. It is now triple the wall thickness but I’m still not sure if that’s enough.



This new center section was also added which should help greatly. This is not all totally my design as there was some village idiot that helped me.

 

[joeymt33]

Indeed, and while nothing I plan to do requires the kind of extensive modifications you guys do, I do find them to be a great source of inspiration to fix any problems I might encounter. I also look for crash pictures, which might seem like a strange thing to do, but it helps to reveal any weaknesses that might get me killed. For example, I like the fact that Honda put gussets and cross bracing on the cage, but I'm not sure I trust it after seeing how it can fold up in a crash.

Folding up in a crash is a good thing in a frontal collision but the cage crushing in and intruding on the passengers “could” be a problem so I chose to reinforce mine.

 

[dswv42]

After chopping my cage I saved a cross-section cut of it just to show people. Here is a picture of it. I can crush it just by putting a small amount of weight on it under my foot.

View attachment 212175

I’ve seen several stock cages get bent severely with just a small layover on the side.

View attachment 212176

That’s a picture of some tubing that was placed inside of all six vertical pillars of my roll cage. It is now triple the wall thickness but I’m still not sure if that’s enough.

View attachment 212177

This new center section was also added which should help greatly. This is not all totally my design as there was some village idiot that helped me.

No doubt, the thickness of the stock cage is scary, and I will most likely replace it at some point in time. Heck, I think the exhaust pipe may actually be thicker.

 

[joeymt33]

No doubt, the thickness of the stock cage is scary, and I will most likely replace it at some point in time. Heck, I think the exhaust pipe may actually be thicker.

Haha! That’s a good and probably true

 

[dswv42]

Folding up in a crash is a good thing in a frontal collision but the cage crushing in and intruding on the passengers “could” be a problem so I chose to reinforce mine.

This is what can happen to the stock cage, and while I know nothing about what actually happened, it appears to be a simple rollover accident. Combine this with the weak upper front control arm tabs, and considering that these machines can do 60 MPH, it's not hard to envision being killed after one failure cascades into another one.

After thinking about it, I'm convinced that SXS manufacturers design these machines in a vacuum, with little to no consideration of just how safe they really are, or in this case... aren't. For example, here are some pretty basic questions that have been part of basic vehicle design for more than 50 years. What happens if someone hits a pothole at or near the vehicle's top speed? What happens during a rollover accident? What happens if the brakes fail completely? What happens if it jumps out of gear while parked on a hill? What happens if the exhaust gets too hot during a misfire? What happens if you hit something while driving and it flies up and hits the firewall or wheel well? It ain't exactly rocket science.

Granted, SXS manufacturers must do whatever they can to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible, while creating a product that people want to buy. However, most of the problems plaguing the Honda Pioneer 1000 could have been easily solved by simply using a little common sense and basic testing procedures. Better yet, they should have come up with designs, built reasonably safe production prototypes, then put them into the hands of people like us who would use and abuse them, seeing what works and what doesn't. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than the damage it can do to their reputation, let alone the cost of litigation if a child were to die due to faulty designs.

Personally, I'd like to see less "recall, recall, recall", less "cha ching, cha ching, cha ching", and more "fun, fun, fun".

 

[joeymt33]

This is what can happen to the stock cage, and while I know nothing about what actually happened, it appears to be a simple rollover accident. Combine this with the weak upper front control arm tabs, and considering that these machines can do 60mph, it's not hard to envision being killed after one failure cascades into another one.

View attachment 212178

That’s a good one right there.

“White lighting”....this build thread.....barrel rolled down a rocky hill in the fall of 2017. It rolled over twice. As you have probably noticed, it has a custom roll cage and it suffered absolutely zero damage with the exception of a cracked wheel spacer. The occupants were wearing their harnesses and there was no injuries.

I probably should do a new roll cage someday but I should first get it rolling again.

 

[dswv42]

That’s a good one right there.

“White lighting”....this build thread.....barrel rolled down a rocky hill in the fall of 2017. It rolled over twice. As you have probably noticed, it has a custom roll cage and it suffered absolutely zero damage with the exception of a cracked wheel spacer. The occupants were wearing their harnesses and there was no injuries.

I probably should do a new roll cage someday but I should first get it rolling again.

I read about that, and recall seeing some video about it, but not of the actual incident itself. Being that I was already somewhat concerned about the cage, it caused me to take it much more seriously than I had previously. I like living, and plan to keep on not dying for as long as possible.

 

[dswv42]

Aluminum flatbed is started.

View attachment 96706

View attachment 96707

Got any closeup pics of the air filter box snorkel mod? How did you penetrate the cover while ensuring an air tight seal? I think I've found a slick solution to the manifold heat problem so many people have experienced, which also reduces heat coming through the dash, but I need to figure out how to relocate the poorly designed factory air intake, and believe the cover is a good place to start. The Honda engineers who designed that intake system need their heads examined.

 

[snuffnwhisky]

Got any closeup pics of the air filter box snorkel mod? How did you penetrate the cover while ensuring an air tight seal? I think I've found a slick solution to the manifold heat problem so many people have experienced, which also reduces heat coming through the dash, but I need to figure out how to relocate the poorly designed factory air intake, and believe the cover is a good place to start. The Honda engineers who designed that intake system need their heads examined.

The later models have a different cover over the air intake under the hood. I haven't really saw any issues after that providing your not in deep water or pushing water over the hood. The front intake helps a lot keeping the filter clean vs behind the cab like I have now. U kinda get a low pressure area back there and dust swirls around.

 

[dswv42]

The later models have a different cover over the air intake under the hood. I haven't really saw any issues after that providing your not in deep water or pushing water over the hood. The front intake helps a lot keeping the filter clean vs behind the cab like I have now. U kinda get a low pressure area back there and dust swirls around.

Indeed, as any pickup truck owner can attest, there is a low pressure area behind the cab, but it can be mitigated with some creative engineering. Personally, I believe the frontal air intake location virtually guarantees water ingestion, even with the Honda modifications, and since there is no drain, it's simply a matter of time. That being said, I think the air intake can be relocated behind the front seats, it's tight, but doable.

 

[joeymt33]

Indeed, as any pickup truck owner can attest, there is a low pressure area behind the cab, but it can be mitigated with some creative engineering. Personally, I believe the frontal air intake location virtually guarantees water ingestion, even with the Honda modifications, and since there is no drain, it's simply a matter of time. That being said, I think the air intake can be relocated behind the front seats, it's tight, but doable.

I’m still using the stock location air intake and play in the water a lot. Never an issue with the through hood snorkel. Just snorkel it and forget it.