[teejk]

Hello all...I recently bit the bullet on a Honda Pioneer 700. This is my first venture into ATV/UTVs but being surrounded by a massive state trail system and just having a general feeling to finally buy myself a toy I did it. As for deciding on brand, I looked at a bunch and only got confused. I stuck with Honda because I owned a few of their motorcycles when I was younger and while generally never "sexy", they were reliable.

So I have this Honda...already added a Clearly Tough split windshield and now looking to add on some other stuff...

1) Winch(es)...Front/back or both? Popular aftermarket brands seem to be Warn and Superwinch and in the 4,500lb load rating and using the synthetic cable as opposed to steel wire. Any advice? As far as I can tell the front will require a mount that is not supplied with the winch. Any advice? Rear mounted winch seems to be a hitch receiver thing (i.e. not permanent). Correct?
2) Rearview mirror...sounds like a no brainer but...I think I need one because the trail system occasionally goes to public roads. This Honda sits high and the only mounting place would be on the front top horizontal bar inches above where the mirror needs to be.
3)Roof...this thing sits high and I cringe even pulling it into my garage. How much height do I add with a solid roof? It's the 2 seat model.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[teejk]

Mirror is solely because our trails sometimes "share the road" including county highways with 55mph speed limits. Rear-mounted winch...what do you do if you "stick yourself" front-first and need to get out? Finally, roof...this is Wisconsin. Being cold is not great. Being cold and wet is worse.

 

[teejk]

Winch - Warn is probably the best known and they are good, but my Superwinch does the job just fine for me at half the price. I would think of the winch as a tool to get out of trouble, and the front end mount works most of the time, but you probably want a few shackles too. You probably will not use the winch much unless you mount a plow, and I don't see any big deal over the wire/rope issue. 4000 lb. winch seems to be a bit of an overkill to me (3000 should do the job IMO). You can always use a hand winch in addition to your front mount.

Mirror - on a trail system the mirror might be an advantage, but why not take it out before you make your decision?

Roof - I am having a similar consideration, and I think the roof would only add 1 1/2 inches at most. I think you can get a roof that can be removed quickly and easily. I think Honda's roof offers quick on/off.

Like you I'm a die heart Honda fan for many years for the same reasons.

mirror...we did take it for a ride...most of our trails http://www.co.jackson.wi.us/vertical/sites/{4C09F8F2-A8A2-4929-9E2A-A836851B00CC}/uploads/map.pdf run through state/county forest land but big chunks are swamp and/or involve private land so they go to "road". For the most part it is town road but stretches are county road and it was kind of scary, hence the question about mirrors.

Thanks for the advice on winches...I followed a few other sites on the question and as is typical I suspect that there is a bit of "snob appeal" involved.

Roof...might go bimini (or goof with the garage door stops...it's a 7' door but the door itself stops before that).

 

[teejk]

I'm in a quandary about buying the Honda Pioneer 700 or 1000. The difference in price is about $2,500. I do like the Turf Mode on the 1000 for sure, and it has a lot more power. It appears to be more comfortable, and perhaps offers a better ride.

Since you've had your 700 on a trail system, do you feel the 1000 would be a better machine for that purpose or not?

To be honest I was looking for a smaller machine than the 700 and don't think I looked at the 1000. I looked at the smaller Polaris 570's (dealer not far away) but one of my requirements was leg-room when dressed for Wisconsin deer hunting with a life-long friend that tops the scales at 260lbs. The Polaris failed (they put a shelf into the passenger side that looked like a shin buster). Drove an hour to the nearest Honda dealer (who also sells Polaris and Suzis and a few others) to check out the Honda 500. That one failed also (tiny space I thought). So long story short the 700 is bigger than what I wanted but it performed great on the trails that had been beat up all season and were close to closing for "repairs". The 700 is about 60" wide...the trails are limited to 65" so I am close. I don't know the dimensions of the 1000 and maybe you consider that together with the height of the door you plan on storing it in and the width of your trailer. As an aside, that "turf mode" was a selling point for the Polaris but I wonder how effective it is...I seem to do most damage with the front tires in 2WD! I think the ability to switch to manual trannie on the 1000 would be a great benefit if you wanted to pull a disc or plow so that might be an advantage.

 

[teejk]

Amazon and e-bay for after market everything.. Before buying from dealer do some research on stuff on after marked.. IT COULD SAVE YOU BIG BUCKS.. Check the revues on the stuff. If you go off road at all 4-4500 pound winch mandatory and maybe a come along, just encase you have to go backwards..

Been doing all that (hence the expensive Clearly Tough windshield that according to my hunting friend was worth every penny as we headed to our stands in the dark at 10F). The mirror is problematic because it would have to mount on the Honda cage. That cage sits HIGH! I'm guessing it would need to suspend the mirror about 10" from the mounting bracket, maybe more. Was hoping somebody has been there. Agree that winch selection seems to be an Amazon thing...have yet to see anybody saying I needed to buy the Warn (wonder if their marketing people monitor this stuff)!

 

[teejk]

Just to clarify, the Pioneer 1000 is 63" wide vs. 60" for the 700, but it is not quite as tall by a few inches. The 1000 may be more machine than I need, but it is much roomier than the 700.

Odd about the height but that's a function of the roll cage and perhaps the 1000 being newer might have lowered it. Seems that Honda rarely fools with the dimensions of their SxS (that's what Clearly Tough told me anyway...their windshields fit every 700 ever made I think). Now that I think about it, the dealer might have had a 1000 on the lot. It's technically a 3 seater isn't it? Like I said, the 700 was already bigger than what I intended to buy. Being a 2016 end of model year, when the salesman told me the price I was shocked (in a good way). Was only slightly higher than the Polaris 570 that I though was really tight. Sounds like your biggest concern is your trailer. I had an almost new 10x5.5 landscape trailer but the ramp gate was barely 5' if that...sold that at a loss and stepped up to a 10x6 which is fine.

 

[teejk]

I've been watching the side by side market and I've noticed lots of comments like this about the Pioneer 700...see below...really makes me wonder. I hope you have a great experience with yours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jStkvHpkl60&t=122s

I've only had it for a few months and haven't fully put it through its paces yet. It did fine during deer season in a mix of terrains but certainly nothing like what the guy in the video was doing. I will note that the automatic transmission reminds me of the old Jeep 3 speed automatic where it seemed like it was powered by hamsters on a wheel (hence why very few people opted for the automatic). I think I saw that auto/manual is available as an option on the 700 (might be standard on the 1000). I didn't check it out because I got the last 2016 on the lot and it's the automatic.