Honda’s Kevin Aschenbach described the
Honda Big Red as Honda’s way of putting
their toes in the water and check things out,
but now Honda is ready to jump in and the Honda
Pioneer represents them jumping in full steam
ahead, and it is priced to sell. The Honda Pioneer
700 is value priced at just $9,999 and the four
passenger Honda Pioneer 700-4 is priced at just
$11,699, which was the same as the Big Red.
With more than 900 dealers ready to take charge
of the sale of this machine it is destined to
get around, and they are already on back order
because consumers are quickly seeing the great
value in the Honda Pioneer 700.
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The
new 2014 Honda Pioneer 700 4 replaces
the Honda Big Red & features more
aggressive styling, more, power, smoother
ride, with room for four! |
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| The
Honda Pioneer 700 is powered by a fuel
injected 675cc SOHC engine, which has
a 3 speed transmission |
Looking at the Pioneer you see a totally new machine
with a very attractive look and features that
any work minded SxS owner would need. The engine
in the Pioneer is the same 675cc single that carried
the Big Red to town and it is sporting a single
overhead cam with an automotive style transmission
with gears and not a belt commonly found on other
SxS vehicles.
As you may know, the gas burning single cylinder
engine is a revamped version of the engine used
in the Honda’s ATV line. The electronics
have been adjusted to give this Pioneer a little
more power to pull the loads that Utility SxS
would be used for and with liquid cooling this
machine should perform well in many conditions.
The 3-speed automatic transmission also comes
with a reverse for getting out of the tough
stuff you can get into on a working farm or
even on a dead end trail when going through
is not an option.
The hydraulic torque converter clutch in the
transmission also allows for several drive selections
including 2WD, 4WD and 4WD differential lock.
Honda claims the transmission is built to last
the life of the Pioneer SxS and to outlast most
belt drive systems in general.
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The
Honda Pioneer's automatic transmission
has a dynamic shift map, which changes
based on your driving style to determine
when the transmission changes gear |
The Honda Pioneer has an automatic shift mode,
which uses several variables including speed,
acceleration, RPM, and to name a few, but it
uses this information to change the shift maps,
so at low speeds with slow acceleration, it
is going to shift sooner, but at high speeds
with fast acceleration, it is going to shift
later at higher RPMs for a more sportier feel.
The power of this big single is laid to the
ground through Pioneers four-wheel independent
suspension. The 7.9-inches of travel in the
front and 9-inches in the real allow the Pioneer
to traverse many different terrains with a flexible
chassis and A-Arm design, which provide plenty
of suspension travel for the target market.
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Although
the shocks on the Honda Pioneer 700 are
fairly basic, they still provide a smooth
ride & they soak up the terrain even
when landing off a jump! |
The shocks on the Pioneer are nonadjustable
gas charged units, and with a load capacity
of 1,000 lbs and a towing capacity of 1,500
lbs, which we feel was a heavy load for the
standard gas charged suspension, but we would
like to see Honda have an upgraded model that
offers higher performance suspension. Even though
the shocks don’t have any bells or whistles,
they did perform well during our ride.
