Honda Pioneer 500

[gatorguy7]

That's an awesome Christmas present Gem99! I actually built a wooden bed while I waited for the aluminum one.


Building the wooden one helped me visualize the dimensions i wanted and other features I would find useful. I got the light bars from Superbrightleds.com. I recommend the accessory wiring harness From Honda. Its about $8 and gives you key controlled power. The install is really simple- it just plugs into the back of the cigarette lighter.

I'm glad you found my thread useful. Happy riding and wrenching!

 

[ultrarunner]

Any issues with the Pioneer Paddle shifters?

I like technology but tend to own for decades... so reliability is paramount.

 

[gatorguy7]

No issues with the paddle shifters. They are very simple in design and function. Also, I would imagine they are basically a modification to the electric shift buttons from the Honda utility fourwheelers. That system has been around for over a decade so its pretty reliable as well. The beauty of the P500 is it has the engine and drivetrain from the Honda Foreman so it is a time-tested with no first year gremlins like the P1000 is experiencing.

 

[Clifffox]

Do you have plans/design for the custom bed?

 

[gatorguy7]

Do you have plans/design for the custom bed?

I made the plans in excel. I have it saved at work and I'm on vacation for a few days. I'll share them on here when I'm back in the office.

 

[gatorguy7]

Sorry for the delay! I forgot to do this when I came back from vacation. Let's see if I can upload a pdf. Looks like it worked! I got the pictures from someone else's post on the Honda Pioneer Forum. It was helpful to show to my fabricator what I was thinking.

View attachment Pioneer 500 Bed.pdf

 

[Clifffox]

Thanks, got the pdf download.

 

[gatorguy7]

Good deal! Good luck with it. That bed has made my P500 invaluable on the ranch.

 

[gatorguy7]

I wanted to do a quick update on my P500. I've owned my Pioneer for over 6 years now. I only have about 1,500 miles on it. I use it for work mostly - spreading fertilizer, spraying herbicide etc. After purchasing my SxS, I have had 4 other family members go out and purchase their own as well. The P500 is a good size. Its narrow like a four wheeler. Its really convenient as I can drive down cow trails through the woods. You could not do this with a 700 or 1000 since they are up to 66" wide vs 50.

The P500 is very stable. I can ride it all day without any fatigue compared to a four wheeler like I used to have. I really like the transmission and the low end grunt that this unit has. My cousin has Rangers and he has to be careful not to smoke the belt when he is working his machine like I use mine. The new 520 model has added a dump bed but I think that bed is actually smaller than the aluminum bed I made for my Pioneer. I added some Elka stage 1 shocks last fall and that was a huge improvement in ride and handling. It provides performance which you wouldn't think 5" of travel could produce!

Here's my P500 with 400lbs in the fertilizer spreader and 400lbs in the bed.

 

[Rdrcr]

Thanks for the update!

Mike