Let’s yak ATV’s , SxS’s (Honda Pioneer 500?)

Howdy, all!

QUESTION: Do any of you have any experience or even second hand knowledge as to whether or not the power, torque, abilities, etc. of a Honda Pioneer 500 are capable and sufficient for enjoying a USFS-designated mountain OHV trail system?

The Admiral and I are looking at a 2020 Honda Pioneer 500 as our “initial”* plunge into off-roading (we finally made it to the new (year-and-a-half) Honda outdoor sports dealership about 1/2 hour from our house, yesterday).

Background: Themnogoodsumsaguns that started the thread about their PA off-roading in the “Events” forums last month probably have NO idea the excitement, adrenalin and “new chapter” of outdoor camaraderie they have sparked in my household! But, we are tempering the forgoing with research, research and more research.

Situation Driver: That aforementioned thread led us to discovering (!) this trail system less than an hour from our front doorstep!

USFS webpage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/null/recarea/?recid=49004&actid=32
USFS brochure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd604184.pdf
Private “ATV Trails” webpage: http://www.atvtrails.org/Carolina_ATVtrails/Brownmountain.html

We figure that, at 50”, the Pioneer 500 will allow us to access at least 28-miles of the 34-mile trail system so we can assess what our next “investments” should be (I.e. “Talon” for her (but, 65” would limit her to only 15-miles - roughly half - of the 28-miles of trails restricted to 50”) and the quad I know Imagonna want...)

Big question in our minds (having as little practical knowledge as we do now vs the veritable MDS mind-trust here!) is:

Does a new Honda Pioneer 500 have the power, torque, abilities, etc. required for the two of us to capably and sufficiently do our initial “scouting” and “scoping out” of this USFS-designated mountain OHV trail system - INCLUDING THE “MOST” DIFFICULT SECTIONS?

NOTE: (A group of incredibly friendly dirt bike riders (the only other souls up there yesterday) told us the two things that make trails “more” or “most” difficult over others are: Sharp Turns Combined With Steep Grades - versus “obstacles”. They definitely cautioned, the closer to 50” you stay the more places you’ll be able to go!

I have a few friends that have the Honda 500 Pioneers. I live in the mountains in Garrett County and they seem to get along just fine everywhere we go. I also have the Foreman 500 and it has plenty of power to do just about whatever I want to do with it. They are not speed demons however. Also, the friends that have the Pioneer 500's main complaint is the lack of a real bed. It doesn't sound like a big issue but that would be the deal breaker for me right there. trying to strap down your cooler and everything else you wanna take with you is a real PITA. Have you considered an upgrade to the Pioneer 700 ?

I also know you can not go wrong buying a Honda. I realize that I am opening a can of worms here ( similar to the Ford, Chevy, Dodge debate) but IMHO I would only buy either a Honda SXS or Yamaha. Can AM also makes a decent SxS although they are pricy for sure. Yes I know Polaris is popular and American made ( but so is the Honda ) I know one place the Polaris is super popular, and that is at my buddies Yamaha Dealership where he also works on Polaris. They keep the repair side of his business hopping in the money for sure.

so a month or so i got a pioneer 700 sxs, 2 seater with back bed. think it weighs 1300lbs. and think it has the identical engine/tranny that's in my honda rincon atv. i took the pioneer elk hunting in colorado and it handled some really nasty trails (tons of football-sized rocks, switchbacks, steep) just fine, although we got the crap bounced out of us. now obviously with >2x the weight of my atv and the same motor, it ain't going to be as fast, but it hauled my wife and i just fine up, over and through everything.

not sure if the 500 has a smaller footprint or not, but it should have enough juice to get you where you want to go, albeit slower.

I had a 2005 Yamaha Rhino back in the day , It was 52 inches wide I believe . The big problem I had on trails wasn't the width but the roll bar got caught on a lot more things than you would think.

Have you looked for other SxS owners who has experience on that trail system? I'm sure if you do a search on any SxS forum someone has rode there. Ask them what the most popular SxS is for that trail. Keep in mind that some trails are just not designed for a SxS. We have plenty in my area that are single track dirt bike only.

Guys, this is ALL great info and MUCH APPRECIATED by us (and hopefully will prove valuable to other members looking at “putting a toe in,” lol!)

I feel ya on not wanting to start a “flame war” but, well, we own “all 3” pwc’s (a Y, a K and a S) and, hands down, THE most bulletproof, problem free, easiest to DIY prev. maint. on has been that Yamaha VXR!!! Dependability, reliability and ease of DIY PM are typically our #1 priorities...

Funny you should mention the 700 cuz, I did not reveal in my OP that, we’re likely gonna have to get TWO SxS!!!! Reason being for the first my 67-yoa wife isn’t interested in a quad, at all. She wants a steering wheel, a bucket to sit in and 4-way restraint system (despite a 7-year difference in birthdays, my net worth dictates she and try survive me, as much as she can! :-O and REASON for #2 is this is someth8ng we’re gonna want to take our 2 grandkids (9 & 13yoa) with us the dozen or so days a year they’re down here, visiting (when it’s just me and the wife, I eventually WILL BE on a quad (FourTrax Foreman, Rancher, Rubicon, etc.)

And, the Pioneer 500 does NOT have power steering as an option whereas the 700 Deluxe does.

So, we’re likely going to - eventually - ALSO end up with a 700 OR . . . a Talon (Yipes!!!!!!!! :-O for her (in her heart she WANTZZZZZZZZ that Talon X now but, she is listening to her head in that, only being able to access 15-miles of trails may not justify a $20k outlay.

I dunno, those of you who ride: Roughly speaking, What does 15-miles of combined “Easy” and “More” Difficult” trails equate to, In say, hours? Just an hour or two? or, 1/2 a day? (half a day would be perfect for us as, she really wants her First Mate with her but, if not advisable then, we never leave a Jack Russell mix alone for more than 5 hours ever (he’s great house trained but, we’ve found their personalities lend toward total depression and true sadness when left behind by their “pack” for more than 5-hours :-(

Right now, having not been on any of this trail system yet, we just need SOMETHING that will get us to all of the ~28 miles not restricted to trail bikes so we can assess the trails and which our second purchase should be - another 50” wide or, “Go For It!” and a 65” wide (get Mama her Talon, swallow!)

ktm rider said:

Have you looked for other SxS owners who has experience on that trail system? I'm sure if you do a search on any SxS forum someone has rode there. Ask them what the most popular SxS is for that trail. Keep in mind that some trails are just not designed for a SxS. We have plenty in my area that are single track dirt bike only.

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Excellent point and, as a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to accomplish that for a couple weeks now, with no real success. It seems the 4-wheelers who ride this USFS system either come there from afar (and, if they “flock” anywhere online Ive yet to locate that forum ...) and our “good ol’ boys and girls” friends who ride local have their own properties (or those of families) and mostly just hunt and they don’t have much input into this USFS-maintained area ...

The dirt bike trail riders we did hang with in the parking lot yesterday summed it up, “You’re gonna have to get out on the trails yourself, no matter what - just DO NOT “go wide” until you see and ride the trails not restricted to trail bikes, for yourselves!”

ktm rider said:

I have a few friends that have the Honda 500 Pioneers. I live in the mountains in Garrett County and they seem to get along just fine everywhere we go. I also have the Foreman 500 and it has plenty of power to do just about whatever I want to do with it. They are not speed demons however. Also, the friends that have the Pioneer 500's main complaint is the lack of a real bed. It doesn't sound like a big issue but that would be the deal breaker for me right there. trying to strap down your cooler and everything else you wanna take with you is a real PITA. Have you considered an upgrade to the Pioneer 700 ? ...

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^^^ This ^^^ is REALLY APPRECIATED and I have to go back and check the width on the 700 - if it is 50” then I have to admit I may have been underestimating the advantages of a rear bed (vs a pretty paltry, flat tubular “rack” ... also the 700 has power steering as an option. One thing my wife noticed sitting in the 700 vs the 65” Talon (= only 15-miles of trails :-( was how much “higher” up it felt like she was, in the 700 ... may not be a real concern, neither she or I really know, just a glaring observation on her newbie part ...

Oh yeah, and I don’t think there’re too many “straight-aways” or any other sections that would allow anything close to “wide open throttle” on these mountain razor-backs and switch-backs so, for the foreseeable future I don’t think we are going to miss “going fast”.

Word is on these trails it is all about torque, not high-end mph ...

Its funny you should mention the reliability of your Yamaha VXR, I am a huge Yammie fan. I have owned and raced a ton of them although my primary race bike is a KTM as you can tell. My primary go anywhere ride right now is a Yamaha Super Tenere which I love.
Have you considered the Yamaha Wolverine R spec? I rode in one my friend just bought last week and it is awesome. It isn't too wide for our trails at least and rides smooth as glass. I usually stay away from anything belt driven but the belt on the Wolverine has a 10 year warranty. I think If I was looking to do both trail riding and open fire roads I would go with the Wolverine over the Honda Talon. Price and size being the biggest factor. Not to mention the Talon doesn't seem to do the greatest in super tight trails. It is more a flat out speed buggy which would be great for the deserts out west bot not tight east coast trails..

https://www.atv.com/comparisons/201...uxe-vs-yamaha-wolverine-r-spec-by-the-numbers

Ha-ha, there’s a sales rep. at our local Honda dealer that’d probably like to throttle you right now cuz:
a) NO, we had NO idea about that Yammie; and,
b) we also have an existing and great relationship with the Yama dealer down in Lowell, NC (sad, they are over an hour away but, we cannot do biz with the YamKawSuz dealer 1/2 hour from us as their Service Dept is a literal wreck on wheels (they crunched a SXR-1500 I was literally just about to take delivery on when I crawled under it to measure the chimes so I could adjust the bunks on my trailer, waiting outside when I discovered the HOLE IN THE HULL Since then I’ve either outright met or learned of at least half a dozen others whose bikes “fell” or WaveRunners were “dropped” while in for service there ...

Big turn of events today; we finally ran into some locals, longtime friends we haven’t seen in like forever who were actually “warning” us to NOT ride anything 4-wheeled at that only location within reasonable distance to us - were telling us the trails are hazardous at best and downright dangerous, etc., etc.

These same friends are past experienced SxS and quad riders but, otoh, they are also the ones swearing we need to try “candle waxing” our ears, to draw ear wax out of our ear canals. (My sweet young audiologist countered, “Puhleeze DO NOT do that ... !

So, the wife and I are gonna take another day-trip up there, without the pooch; and, if the parking lot is as empty as it was yesterday, we’re gonna hump one of the shorter moderate trails to see for ourselves ...

As a Honda fanboy (hell, even my mower is a Honda!), if you have a good relationship with the Yamaha dealer to get a price you can live with then I too very, VERY strongly recommend the Wolverine. It's the right combination of price, capability, utility (it has a full bed) and reliability in my opinion.

My buddy has the previous generation single cylinder model (his is the Type R) and its a beast. We've taken it to Ride Royal Blue in TN twice now and the ONLY trail that beat us was a completely washed out trail (like literally post storm) with a mud pit on both sides that we just didnt have enough clearance to get past. Once we winched past a small section, we were good to go.

It's almost amazing how you look at the Wolverine, look at the situation up ahead and say "there is no way in hell this is making it through" but it does. We did every trail that the rest of the crew (all Polaris 1000cc, two of them brand new turbo models) did. Maybe not as fast, but we still did them

We even did the dragons back and widowmaker, which are huge rock mountain areas. Again, we were slower and had to get some more tire grounding help than the rest of the machines, but made it through everything.

Everyone was impressed with what the Wolverine could do on those trips.

Top speed on his stock was ~53MPH. We definitely couldn't keep up with the 1000 turbos on the road or a straight-away if that's a factor for you (guessing not, as the Wolverine is a good bit faster than the Pioneer).

The new model Wolverine with the twin cylinder seems like everything he has and more. Should be more power all throughout the powerband and the bed even has a dump feature (awesome!).

It looks like all of the Wolverines have power steering now - the previous generation did not. I strongly recommend PS for trail riding (probably not as big of a deal on a farm or something).

Happy to convey any other feedback if you have specific questions on the Wolverine.

The fellows we ran into at Hatfield McCoy two weeks ago w/ Yamahas said to buy CanAm (instructed us to "do as I say, not as I do"). Their buddies w/ CanAms had a lot less problems / more capablity. Everyone we ran into was super nice. There was a lady w/ a little single seat RZR that looked fun as heck. Her husband says the farthest he's allowed to drive it is off the trailer There was some SERIOUS hardware there. Was neat to see first hand what a top $ SXS could do. They sure had less bruises than us folks on 2 wheels

ZeroCool, what a great (and INFORMative) Post - Thank You!

smdub, “Chicks Dig Scars” (or, so ive been told! )

Man, my head is actually hurting, from comparing the 50” and R class offerings (First World problems ...