P500 Why buy a P500

[JACKAL]

Well I pulled the trigger on a new 500. Bought a yellow one cause that' s all they had in stock and didn't want to wait. Anyway I just ordered a Strongmade bumper and Superwinch to mount when I get it. Need to get a plow setup also, any suggestions on a plow?
After all that is installed I plan to get a roof, windsheild, back window, gun boot and some type of box for the back rack. Haven't decided yet on what I what back there. Seen some good ideas on this forum. Thanks.

Congrats on the new ride! The P500 is a surprising machine, not bigger but better design for a SXS.

 

[coloradofogey]

The paddle shifter is perfect,I don't even miss auto. If your going to ride a lot of roads the top speed is 42 mph which may be a concern.

Thanks for the feedback. Good news about the paddle shifters. And, speed isn't an issue. There is actually a proposed bill for the next Colorado legislative session that would place a 40 mph speed limit on off-highway vehicles operated on county roads that are open to them. My main concern is having enough power to make it up steeper, rocky trails and four-wheel-drive roads at 9,000 -12,000 feet above sea level. It does sound like the pioneer 500 low gear is very low and the power should be sufficient in low gear to climb most anything. My Honda 230 trail bike never runs out of power. Fuel injection should also help.

 

[Akfishbum]

I'm an older guy going from a lifetime of dirt bikes to something with four wheels. I am down to considering the Pioneer 500 or the Polaris RZR 570 or 900 EPS. The Honda price is more in my retirement budget, but I'm nervous about the power and clearance on the high altitude Colorado roads and trails that can be steep with switchbacks, and very rocky and loose. The dealer I went to this week sells both Honda and Polaris products. The salesman was steering me away from the Honda with comments about being under-powered with much less clearance and remarking about how the paddle shifters don't turn with the steering wheel, thereby causing issues when turning hard on rocks and such, particularly without power steering. The Polaris RZRs have quite a bit more clearance and horsepower, but the low/high transmission feels really weird after shifting gears on a dirt bike for years. Having to stop to shift between low and high seems very inconvenient in difficult situations. I probably won't be able to try both on trails I like to ride. I haven't found anyone yet who has had experience with both. Any feedback on this forum would be appreciated.
I did notice the comments from the Alaska moose hunter who mentioned problems with clearance and such.

Colorado,
First thing I will say is I swapped out my tires for Maxxis Bighorns 26-11-12 on all four corners this makes a huge difference and I would not have wanted to take this machine where we went with the stock tires.

I did have a few issues with dragging on a few trails, but that being said all of the SxS's running these trails were dragging and most ATV's were as well you could see the scrap marks and the narrower width on the P500 allowed me to avoid most deep ruts. The ruts were 12-14" deep and if you could not avoid them you would drag, this was only in the boggy spots on the rocky locations I only had one issue and that was when a tire slipped off a big rock and I came down on the frame....put a small dent in the frame and scratched some paint off the frame no major issue. Overall I would not trade my P500 for any other SxS out there. I have ridden a lot of different machines over some seriously rough trails....I used to survey trails and investigate easement issues for the Alaska DNR and the only two machines I have used that went places I would not take the P500 were the Polaris 6x6's and Argos. Simply put more rubber equals more traction and both the 6x6's and Argos will do things no other SxS or ATV can do. That being said if you have ever run an Argo for a hundred miles at a top speed of 14 miles an hour over downed trees and mounds you will understand why I say I felt like I was going to piss blood for a week when we finished the last survey trip I did with and Argo. The 6x6's are better but if you have the sit on top ATV style they will give you serious are work out.
As for power the P500 seemed fine to me I hauled out a moose and all our camp stuff up with no issues.

The only place I miss power steering is when moving loads around my yard at low speeds.

The paddle shifters are sweet, I love the true engine braking that you get it really helps with heavy loads on a trailer going down hills.
Over all performance is very good on the trails I run here. On narrow twisty trails I have to stop and wait for my buddies, one rides a 700 Grizzly ATV and the other is on a Can-Am SxS (1000 I think I know he toast both of us on the roads but we pass him on the narrow twisty stuff)
Hope this helps if you have specific question message me and I'll see if I can answer them. I hope to get a mount for my camera so I can get some videos soon.

 

[coloradofogey]

Colorado,
First thing I will say is I swapped out my tires for Maxxis Bighorns 26-11-12 on all four corners this makes a huge difference and I would not have wanted to take this machine where we went with the stock tires.

I did have a few issues with dragging on a few trails, but that being said all of the SxS's running these trails were dragging and most ATV's were as well you could see the scrap marks and the narrower width on the P500 allowed me to avoid most deep ruts. The ruts were 12-14" deep and if you could not avoid them you would drag, this was only in the boggy spots on the rocky locations I only had one issue and that was when a tire slipped off a big rock and I came down on the frame....put a small dent in the frame and scratched some paint off the frame no major issue. Overall I would not trade my P500 for any other SxS out there. I have ridden a lot of different machines over some seriously rough trails....I used to survey trails and investigate easement issues for the Alaska DNR and the only two machines I have used that went places I would not take the P500 were the Polaris 6x6's and Argos. Simply put more rubber equals more traction and both the 6x6's and Argos will do things no other SxS or ATV can do. That being said if you have ever run an Argo for a hundred miles at a top speed of 14 miles an hour over downed trees and mounds you will understand why I say I felt like I was going to piss blood for a week when we finished the last survey trip I did with and Argo. The 6x6's are better but if you have the sit on top ATV style they will give you serious are work out.
As for power the P500 seemed fine to me I hauled out a moose and all our camp stuff up with no issues.

The only place I miss power steering is when moving loads around my yard at low speeds.

The paddle shifters are sweet, I love the true engine braking that you get it really helps with heavy loads on a trailer going down hills.
Over all performance is very good on the trails I run here. On narrow twisty trails I have to stop and wait for my buddies, one rides a 700 Grizzly ATV and the other is on a Can-Am SxS (1000 I think I know he toast both of us on the roads but we pass him on the narrow twisty stuff)
Hope this helps if you have specific question message me and I'll see if I can answer them. I hope to get a mount for my camera so I can get some videos soon.

Great feedback - thanks. This, and your prior discussion, are exactly what I was hoping for. I was leaning toward the Pioneer 500, but I'm now pretty certain it is the machine for me. I like gears and shifting and engine braking. I don't need speed. The larger tires make sense. I just have to be careful about exceeding the 50" width. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are sticklers here in Colorado. The limiters installed at some trail heads don't have much wiggle room. Thanks again.

 

[Akfishbum]

Great feedback - thanks. This, and your prior discussion, are exactly what I was hoping for. I was leaning toward the Pioneer 500, but I'm now pretty certain it is the machine for me. I like gears and shifting and engine braking. I don't need speed. The larger tires make sense. I just have to be careful about exceeding the 50" width. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are sticklers here in Colorado. The limiters installed at some trail heads don't have much wiggle room. Thanks again.

Glad I could help. We are not too strict on 50" up here in Alaska....there are some places that limit by weight (1000 lbs or less) so the P500 does not qualify...1010 Lbs with no upgrades.
I see a lot of people go with 26-9-12 all the way around or something similar to stay within 50" limit. I went wider since I ride a lot of areas with tundra that often have no established trails so the extra floatation is nice. The wider tires also cause less damage to the underlying surface so land owners and the DNR have less tendency to complain. I found when I was making my own path this fall I sometimes had a hard time following my own tracks back out if I was rolling over the dwarf birch since it just pops right back up....stuff is almost like coiled wire when it's growing close together and you end up driving on top of it.

 

[scottp500]

I pick mine up Saturday morning. It will be my first SXS. Sold my Rubicon and a POPO 500X2 to get this machine. From the comments I'm hearing from this forum i will not be disappointed.

 

[Moose308]

I pick mine up Saturday morning. It will be my first SXS. Sold my Rubicon and a POPO 500X2 to get this machine. From the comments I'm hearing from this forum i will not be disappointed.

You will be a happy man.

 

[scottp500]

So I bought a P5 about 3 weeks ago and have been busy adding the goodies. So far I've added a Strongmade front bumper, 3500# Super winch, Warn plow and bucket kit, Moose roof and a cargo bed with a drop down tailgate I picked up at a local golf cart dealer, he was having a scratch and dent sale and I got it for 100 bucks, then coated it with bed liner. Gonna get some tires after I wear the stock ones down a bit. So far I love the thing. Got most of the ideas from this forum so thanks guys!