Well, I finally got to take the thing out and put a few miles on it yesterday. It now has 90 miles. Some observations...
The good
The improve ride I expected over the 500 was right there. And I haven't even pulled a sway bar and I'm still running stock tires. And the larger size helped it do things yesterday that I had never done in the 500.
The water catchment pic I posted in shots from the trail is about 3/4 of the way around a little side chute I looked at several times in the 500, but some rock ledges threatened to tip it over further than I was comfortable with. The 700 walked right up this. This is a major reason I wanted one back.
Yes this machine seems a little quieter than my 2014, but... A few people claim that Honda made noise improvements around 2017. My machine is quieter than my old one, I'm also running a soft top and don't have that big long hardtop over the rear. Honestly, the noise is in line with those two factors.
I have to admit the power steering is awesome. A couple times yesterday I shifted into 4-wheel drive only to look down later and realize I'd left the machine in 4wdrive after clearing a rough section.
The torso bars that look terrible in pictures... I honestly have to say I didn't even notice them. Good job on that, Honda.
The bad
I still don't like the way this thing shifts compared to my 2014. I'm pretty convinced there's nothing wrong with the machine so much as the shift mapping has simply been changed... Perhaps in response to power complaints. For the most part it shifts fine, but it's like it gets stuck a sport or aggressive map, and doesn't come out when it should.
A great example would be climbing up a short Hill, then gaining speed at the top once it's flattened out. It's like the machine senses the extra input from the throttle, and then proceeds to hold that gear even to the point of revving the machine way out. Every now and again to actually takes one or two attempts of backing out of throttle to get to shift. Once it comes out of this state , it shifts perfectly again.
It still probably isn't completely broken in...And it has the paddle shifters which can immediately override it, so I I guess I can understand if Honda made the shifting more aggressive, but in my opinion it's too aggressive. Maybe some more miles will free this up a bit.
I should also note that there is a throttle position relearn procedure in the factory service manual, and I plan to do this to see if it makes a difference.
Okay, so this is the seventh model year of the pioneer 700. And in those years, can you really tell me you couldn't figure out a better way to keep the doors from rattling? I mean, this one is worse than my original one was. The doors rattled off the showroom floor, and the dump box began to annoy me so much on the trail yesterday that I actually stopped and tried to adjust it. I had to do these to my 14, but at least it took a few rides to get to that point. Again, you can't improve this at all, Honda?
Overall is nice to be out on the trail again, and nice to be in a 700 again. I'm sure it's going to be a good ride...
