– New Sport Honda Side by Side coming in 2017 / 2018? –
July 14, 2015 | With the excitement of the newly announced 2016 Honda Pioneer 1000 spreading like wildfire some of us have something else on our minds. Something that may be possibly closer than ever…
If you’re anything like me you’ve been patiently waiting for Honda to enter the extremely competitive sport side by side market. When Honda entered the utility market back in 2009 with the Big Red it gave us hope. Maybe. Just maybe… Honda has something in the works I thought to myself.
Fast forward a few years and Honda has expanded and improved their SxS model lineup ten-fold since that day they entered the scene. We still don’t have a true sport model but we may be closer than ever to seeing one now with the announcement of the 2016 Pioneer 1000 & 1000-5. You may ask “What does that have to do with a sport UTV?”. Speaking hypothetically it could have a lot to do with a sport model. Honda has seen for years and years now that we want more power than what the 700 class engine has. The Big Red, Pioneer 700, Pioneer 700-4 all shared that same engine and they are capable machines but not quote powerful enough for some of us. The Pioneer 500 was a step in the right direction with offering a different transmission setup than any other model on the market but still neutered in the power department.
1990 Honda Pilot FL400R
We could be closer than ever now to seeing a sport SxS / Side by Side ATV because Honda NOW has an engine they can use. A 1000 class engine that in its detuned form creates 77 horsepower. With Honda throwing more of a performance oriented tune at it there’s no reason it couldn’t see 100+ horsepower. Another piece to the puzzle is the drivetrain. Honda’s transmissions used in the past Pioneer utility models couldn’t handle that kind of HP. Now, we have the DCT (Dual-Clutch Transmission) Honda developed for the Pioneer 1000. Something that can handle serious abuse while putting 100+ horsepower to the tires while being abused off road. When you add in the fact that you can row through the six-speed transmission via paddle shifters it takes the fun level up quite a few more notches.
1990 Honda Pilot FL400R
1978 Honda Odyssey FL250
1982 Honda Odyssey FL350R
Many people born in the last couple decades forget that Honda created this market many many years ago. Back in the 1980’s Honda brought us the Pilot and Odyssey. They were waaaay ahead of their time! Many said they were over-engineered and while that may be true that’s what I love about Honda as a company. I would rather pay that extra few bucks $$ for something over-engineered than purchase a machine that can’t handle normal use and a little bit of abuse. I won’t name any names but there’s a couple of manufacturers that put out products that have questionable histories when it comes to being reliable.
They fizzled off because of not being accepted in large numbers like you would have expected. The price tag at the last model year of the Pilot in 1990 had grown to $5,999. With an MSRP that high you could get faster machines for less $$ so that didn’t help sales. They have grown rather large followings at the start of this century and even to this day. It’s about like finding a needle in haystack though to find one that’s not a basket case. That $5,999 price tag in 1990 would tally up to $10,000+ in today’s money. We all know that people don’t mind paying big bucks today for a sport / performance orientated side by side. The 1000 cc machines today exceed $20,000 without even blinking an eye.
1985 Honda Odyssey FL350R
Check some video’s out on YouTube of old school Pilot and Odyssey models with larger engines thrown in them. Some have even went to the extreme and crammed 600 / 1000 cc sportbike engines in them. I don’t know if I could think of a offroad machine that would be more fun than a Pilot with a CBR600RR engine in the back. Mmmm that would be ridiculous!
I got a little off topic but my main reason for mentioning the Pilot & Odyssey was to remind the naysayers. Remind those that say Honda can’t build a sport side by side etc – they can! They did it long before anyone else. The big kicker though… will Honda do it again?
SEMA UPDATE November 4th, 2015:
Honda and HPD (Honda Performance Development) teamed up with the 2016 Pioneer 1000 and built a more performance driven sportier UTV / Side by Side to toy around with at Baja. It’s pretty cool to see Honda is tinkering around with the new Pioneer 1000 and performance parts…
Who would like to see Honda bring us a sport SxS / UTV for 2017?
What kind of horsepower and features would it take from a Honda sport side by side to make you forget the other brands from Polaris, Arctic Cat, Yamaha, Kawasaki etc?
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Honda Pioneer 1000 & 1000-5 Link Index / UPDATED Blog Posts with More Detailed Information
New Pioneer 1000 Drive Review – Click Here for my first impressions after putting some time in driving the All New Pioneer 1000-5 Deluxe:
Honda Pioneer 1000 & 1000-5 pages detailing Spec Sheets, Features, Horsepower and more:
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 / 1000-5 Spec Sheet, Dimensions, Weight, Height, Width – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 / 1000-5 Detailed Frame, Engine, Interior Pictures – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 / 1000-5 Horsepower – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 vs 700 vs 500 Horsepower | Power-to-Weight Ratio / Performance Comparison
Honda Pioneer 1000 & 1000-5 Model Pricing and Release Dates:
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 / 1000-5 MSRP Price List – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 / 1000-5 Release Date Update – Click Here
Honda Pioneer 1000 & 1000-5 Part & Accessory Information:
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 Accessories Overview / Pictures – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 Custom Accessory Packages – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 Accessories Price List – Click Here
Misc Honda Pioneer 1000 & 1000-5 Information:
- 2016 Pioneer 1000-5 Patent Application Documents – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000-5 Demo Ride Pictures – Click Here
- Custom 2016 Pioneer 1000 BAJA / SEMA Pictures – Click Here
- 2016 Pioneer 1000 Acceleration Video / MPH – Click Here
