New Honda Pioneer 1000 ticks all the boxes

rmk700 · Oct 25, 2015

I got the red Deluxe 1000 5 a day ago and what a machine. Smooth at many factors, quiet, great engine braking, lots of low grunt, great handling, and a beast. Did hit 63 mph and that was enough for me for now.

Low range 1st gear is not as low as I'd hoped, but it will still crawl very slow by using very little throttle.

I loaded it with 4 adults and a kid, and it felt the same as if it had only one person. The load adjusting shocks work great.

Yeah, pricey but that's all forgot about after some awesome seat time. This ( hopefully reliable)Honda is staying around for a long time.

blackdog2086 · Oct 26, 2015

Really great to hear. There are so few of them out there at this point, that getting any actual user reviews is almost impossible. If I want a red one, I can pick it up on Tuesday, but I'm so busy right now that I won't have time to use it anyway so I'll probably hold off for a silver or camo unit next month. I'm still going to check out the red one on Tuesday because I haven't actually seen anything but pictures.

Piston · Oct 26, 2015

Rmk congrats!! We'd all love to see some photos!

I have a question, Thea the hi/low range work with all 6 gears? In other words, can you be in low, and use all 6 gears, and then switch to hi, and have all 6 gears like normal.

Is there actually 12 gears???

I probably shouldn't have started this thread, I may just talk myself into one

Piston · Oct 26, 2015

blackdog2086 said:
"I read that the 1000 has 78hp, but I didn't see the dimensions or weight listed. Does anyone know where to find this info?" https://powersports.honda.com/pioneer/1000/specifications.aspx And to 4570Man, I agree that most times 20 mph is plenty fast enough. It would be nice to be able to occasionally outrun the wild dog or two that I come across though. It isn't just that the kubota would only do 20 mph, but it took quite some distance to get up to that speed. The Kubota is an absolute workhorse and I love the diesel engine, it just isn't versatile enough for an occasional play machine with the kids and grandkids. The Honda seats 5 without being the length of a crew cab pickup, has a hydrauic assist dump bed (like the Kubota) hauls 1000 lbs in the bed and tows 2000, has hi and lo range as well as front and rear diff locks, and best of all has a 6 speed automotive type gear driven automatic transmission with the ability to shift manually with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. No belts to slip or wear out as on CVT machines. I have to blame this purchase on another TBN member. I didn't know this machine was even in the works until this nameless member posted about it. This site sure is good at getting me to spend my money.

Thanks for posting that link, it's strange, literally the day before I posted this thread I checked the Honda site and that info wasn't up. They either updated it or I'm an idiot, but either way thanks for posting it.

By the way, your description and reasons for liking the 1000 are spot on with mine, except I have my 1 and 3 yr olds right now and not grandchildren. I also agree with the speed, 20mph isn't nearly enough for a top end for my preference. I drive a fair amount on a paved road and would be full throttle all the time at that. However, I like the high hp numbers not for speed but for power. I have no need to do even 50mph though. The top speeds on these are pretty impressive.

This would make a great snow plow rig as well, While being able to bring the kids along.
I think the best part about a side by side for users who already have tractors, is that you can use it for a lot of work, but when you start asking too much of it you can switch over to the tractor for the heavy lifting.

rmk700 · Oct 26, 2015

Piston said:
Rmk congrats!! We'd all love to see some photos!

I have a question, Thea the hi/low range work with all 6 gears? In other words, can you be in low, and use all 6 gears, and then switch to hi, and have all 6 gears like normal.

Is there actually 12 gears???

I probably shouldn't have started this thread, I may just talk myself into one

No pics yet but I did get about 12 miles put on it.

Yes 6 hi and 6 low.

All I can say is...This thing is incredible!

ruffdog · Oct 27, 2015

Here is a good video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgMFLG0FwfI

I don't think it is "tractor like" like the Kubota or Deere but is more like the Polaris.

Piston · Oct 27, 2015

That's a great video ruffdog. It's pretty amazing the technology that goes into these side by sides these days. I thought the dual clutch transmission was pretty impressive when I bought my 2011 VW Jetta TDI, and now I'm seeing it in a side by side only 4-5 yrs later.
I like that it's not "tractor like" as well, most of us already have a tractor.

To be extremely nit picky, it would be nice if it had a "governed" mode, like the Ranger XP900. It has a special key that will cut the power when using that key, good for kids learning to drive at a young age.

rmk700 · Oct 31, 2015

Finally got a pic and made a small video where it easily climbed a hill my Pioneer 700 really struggled with.

https://youtu.be/aduq6FOZGbY

EddieWalker · Nov 1, 2015

While I'm not in the market for another UTV, my mom has pretty much taken over my Mule and it would be nice to have another UTV so we don't have to share. Doubt it will happen because there are so many other things to spend money on, but I still thought it would be nice to look at Honda's website and see more pics of the Pioneer. Seeing that guy sitting in the back seat and there not being any storage room at all is a huge deal killer for me. I guess if you just want something for play, or driving people around without hauling anything, that might make sense.

blackdog2086 · Nov 1, 2015

EddieWalker said:
While I'm not in the market for another UTV, my mom has pretty much taken over my Mule and it would be nice to have another UTV so we don't have to share. Doubt it will happen because there are so many other things to spend money on, but I still thought it would be nice to look at Honda's website and see more pics of the Pioneer. Seeing that guy sitting in the back seat and there not being any storage room at all is a huge deal killer for me. I guess if you just want something for play, or driving people around without hauling anything, that might make sense.

Eddie,

The seats fold sown so you have a regular dump box with 1000 lb. capacity and hydraulic assist. If it couldn't be used as a work machine, I wouldn't have ordered one. It's kind of hard to justify that kind of money for something thats just a playtoy..........for me anyway.