Honda Pioneers

[dj1701]

Was looking at Kawasaki Mules, now I am kinda liking the Honda Pioneers. Was looking at the 520, then the 700, now I might be in love with the 1000 Deluxe. Anyone have experience with these.

Thanks
Dave

 

[RalphVa]

Hard to find Honda units around here. Not sure how they are on going down hills. Think they're geared but must have centrifugal clutches because no second pedal.

Went with a Kubota RTV 520, delivered today, because it has a hydrostatic drive system. Retards very well on hills.

 

[Rdrcr]

I have a Pioneer 520. It’s fantastic. I bought it for recreation purposes but, I use it way more on my property than I anticipated. It’s a great machine, I highly recommend it.

It fits through all the tight spaces in my heavily forested and hilly property. Stock ground clearance is good and if you wish more ground clearance, larger tires and/or wheels are readily available. The traction is really good, but the turning radius isn’t great though. The transmission shifts hard and aggressively when new, but begins to smooth out after the first service. The ride can be a little rough with the small tires and factory shocks. However, if not not traveling quickly, you’ll hardly notice.
The gearing is super low so the transmission is always busy shifting at low speeds. Top speed isn’t great but, very few complain about it.

Overall, it’s a great SxS. You can’t go wrong with any of the Honda Pioneers.

Mike

 

[MSU 21]

Bought a used 1000 with 600 miles. Really impressed. The noise is much less than my old Polaris. It doesn’t handle mud as well as the Polaris did. The Polaris had mud lights vs stock on the Honda. It does shift hard as Rdrcr said. Power steering is great. It doesn’t have much storage space in the cab. The gas pedal could get tiring on long rides.

 

[tradosaurus]

I bought a 2019 Honda Pioneer 700 new. We test drove a Kawasaki and felt the Pioneer rode better.
If you have the money just go for the Honda Pioneer 1000.
My 700 tops out at 43 mph and gets noisy reaching that speed. But we mostly use ours around our property. The dump bed comes in handy.

 

[Boss 302]

Probably can't go wrong with Honda, I am currently waiting on a new Can Am defender to arrive.

 

[Rdrcr]

I bought a 2019 Honda Pioneer 700 new. We test drove a Kawasaki and felt the Pioneer rode better.
If you have the money just go for the Honda Pioneer 1000.
My 700 tops out at 43 mph and gets noisy reaching that speed. But we mostly use ours around our property. The dump bed comes in handy.

I'm not sure about the 1000 but, the P520 is also really noisy at top speed (mine does 42 mph with my wheel/tire setup).

Mike

 

[Code54]

Had a 500 and it is a nice machine but very small and a bit tippy on the hills. I have run a 1000 a lot and it is a very nice machine, good trail rider and overall solid. I own a Mule FXT Pro - a BIG machine that hauls betters than a Pioneer 1000, rides great but is not the best on trails due to its size and lower clearance

 

[2515R Dude]

After long reserch a bought 1000 because it has a true gear, not a belt driven trans.
I have it for over 2 years now, more than 1,700 miles so far.
Since it is a true gear, not a belt driven, it jumps a little till you get used to it.
Extremely strong machine, i tow a 14' trailer full of wood up to a very steep hill with no problem as long as wheels hold the ground, but 4x4 helps in such situations.
Had 2 issues, a neutral switch gave a ghost ($17 and less than 10 minutes work) and an idle valve stopped working, no replacement needed, just cleaned it with carburetor cleaner and reinstalled.

 

[BuggyMasters]

Had the 700. Not a bad machine but it made me nervous with the 3 speed auto grand regarding how expensive it would be to fix. The belt drive machines are way cheaper and easier to fix. Also the pioneer had a notable lack of suspension travel.

 

[2515R Dude]

Also the pioneer had a notable lack of suspension travel.

Dont know what it is, never noticed it, i guess mine does not have it at all

 

[mikester]

Covid made new machines almost impossible to find and used ones cost more than new. Hopefully the "supply chain" gets resolved soon. We need a new car but I'm waiting for a recession instead of the two year car wait list where I have to deposit $1,000 and I don't know the final price or model year of the car I'm getting. WTF

 

[Gem99ultra]

I've had a Pioneer 500. I preferred the smaller model due to narrow trails and bridges around my place. Absolutely zero problems in the last 7+ years of use. One of the best options that I had added was the winch. Super handy for dragging out my mower from soft spots.
I did add 26" tires to correct the speedometer error. 27's would have been a better choice.

 

[MGH PA]

I've heard a lot of good things about them. When I was shopping, it was between the 1000-5 and the Mule Pro FXT. Those I knew who had the 700 wished they had gotten the 1000, so that was what I was looking at. Ultimately, lack of availability and pricing led me to the Mule Pro FXT I bought used. I'm very happy with my decision as I wanted something more geared toward work, had better passenger capacity as well as better cab options. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[ovrszd]

I bought my first Honda in 1967. I'm a huge fan. When the transition from ATVs to UTVs happened Honda executives were on vacation. By the time they came back to work they were hugely behind. They've never caught up.

I "want" a 1000 Pioneer. I have 100% faith in their powertrain. It's a dramatic improvement over belt drive. Too much maintenance with belt drive. Especially when you pay $30K.

With all that said,,,, I'm soooo disappointed in the Honda in regards to a cab on the Pioneer. If the execs would all come back to work and look around they would realize they are still decades behind in this regard.

If you question that, look at a Polaris Northstar. Or better yet, look at the premium cabbed UTV, Can Am Defender H10.

Come on Honda!!!! Wake up!!!!

 

[Tinhack]

Wow, they sure are piling on the extra charges. Those are higher than a new automobile.

 

[Code54]

Wow, they sure are piling on the extra charges. Those are higher than a new automobile.

View attachment 782120

Wait until you look at the more expensive SxS. I have seen over $2500 in fees on Talons. Some dealers are still taking advantage of the lack of new machines. I bought a Talon back in 2019 and they are still selling used for more than I paid for it. Slowly the prices are coming down but it seems the dealer is much quicker to raise their prices than drop them. Go figure...

 

[showcattle]

I bought a 700 new in 2019. It is a great machine. I use it mostly around the farm checking cows, riding fences, hauling feed and firewood. It goes very good through our hills. On the road, I wish it was faster, but I rarely use it there. A few things I do wish it had was two more gears, one lower and one higher. It could use turf mode too. One thing I was greatly surprised by, is it's a tank pushing snow.

 

[kwbretired]

I test drove a 2023 pioneer 1000-6 deluxe yesterday, very impressive performance. The only negative thing l noticed was the turning radius of 18.7’. I think it will work good on my place as the trails are fairly wide. There might be one or two places where l might have to stop and back up then go again. The electric power steering was great. Out the door price was $26,382.68. No sales tax due to farm exemption. Now just have to justify it to my other half.

 

[Code54]

Not sure about the 1000-6 as I have not looked at one yet but my Mule pro is also a big 6-seater. If I unlock the rear and have it in 2wd the turning radius is significantly reduced. In 4wd with the rear locked it adds significantly to the room I need to make a turn.