I did this write up on the Yamaha Viking Forum as well. Hope this helps others trying to make a decisions.
I recently sold my Yamaha Viking and purchased the Honda Pioneer 1000-5. I will post my thoughts and comparisons on this thread.
Preliminary thoughts on the Pioneer vs the Viking. Again, I don't have much experience on the Pioneer but I have played with it enough to get an idea of fit and finish etc...
Cockpit:
DASH: The Digital dash is nice for Honda, but I did like the Viking's better. The pioneer has one button to do everything and the Viking had the three that allowed easier adjustments. (IE. setting the clock) The Viking also had the battery voltage where the Pioneer does not.
LEGROOM: The Viking had a little more legroom, but not enough to really speak of.
SEATS: The Viking seats were more individual seats rather than the bench of the Pioneer. However, I find the Pioneer to be more comfortable. The seating position is more what I like. But this is more of preference. The material on the seats seems to be a little tougher though.
Grab Handle: I miss this from the Viking. The Pioneer has it on the roll cage like in my F250 but you have to lean forward to grab it. We will see what my passengers say when we get into some of the rougher stuff.
Visibility: I LOVE the design of the Honda. The hood is short and there is a lot of visibility of what is in front of you. The visibility while backing is also better than that of the Viking. But... the middle passenger doesn't have a headrest on the Honda where the middle passenger space on the Viking Does. I rarely will ride someone in the middle so I prefer the visibility over head-rest.
Driver Controls : Both are simple and straight forward. The Honda has more drive options. (Turf Mode, 2wd lock, 4wd, 4wd lock, high auto, low Auto, Sport Auto, manual.)
Exterior Design:
Front: With the shorter front end of the Honda and it's stock ride height, the front wheels seems like they will hit the obstacle way before the front end will. Even more so than the Viking. This will be helpful in rocks and other areas.
Protection: The Viking has more protection from the factory. Although plastic, the A-Arm guards on the VIking were much larger and kept more stuff away from the Axle boots. This upgrade is a must on the Pioneer. (IMO of course) The Viking also had more protection underneath. There are more open areas on the Pioneer which I will eventually take care of.
Plastics: I had the camo Viking so I can't really compare the two as I have the Honda in Red. The plastics are going to scratch... But they seem well made. And for the price of wrapping it, I can just get all new plastics.
Roll Bar and Stock Bumpers: They are shiny black on the Pioneer. They look pretty but I'm not sure how they are going to look after a few tree branches. The Viking had the rough texture matte finish that I found to be quite durable.
Rider Experience:
Suspension: Although I have not had it on anything too rough, it already feels as if it has a better ride than the stock Viking. By a long shot actually. It seems to take turns and bumps quite a bit better. The load leveling shocks in the rear actually work too. I loaded it up with a couple of heavy eaters in the back seat and the suspension leveled out pretty quick. I also don't feel as if I will be bottoming out on the front any time soon.
Ground Clearance: The ground clearance on the Pioneer is as advertised. (12.XX inches.) The viking never did sit at that height unless I had just lowered it from the jack. Because of the wheelbase and it's ability to clear my 28 inch tires, I don't think I will be adding a lift to this one.
Turning Radius: Pioneer has a smaller turning radius. But, this was only tried in turf mode as I didn't want to chew up my lawn or tires. When the rear axle is locked, it is very possible that it will be similar to the Viking.
Noise: Pioneer is MUCH quieter and smoother sounding. There is gear whine but I'm okay with that over having to sound proof the thing.
Turf Mode: With 28 inch blackwaters, I can turn my wheel all the way to the right or left and give it some gas without tearing the lawn.
Power: It's awesome... Really... The shifting is a different feeling, but I like it. After the clutching on the Viking, I had a lot of low end power but at higher cruising speeds, it would rev high. The Pioneer allows you to have a lot of low end power, but then the opportunity for some quiet, relaxing, cruising. I haven't tested it in any climbing situations yet, but with the ability to manually shift if needed, it should be fine. I also hooked up my flatbed trailer with my lawn tractor on it. Probably 1500 lbs. I started pulling in automatic low but had to switch to high as it shifted through the gears too quick and still had high RPM. The Pioneer will tow better than my viking did.
Shifting: Its right on. I don't think I could do a better job in manual. Actually, I'm pretty sure I couldn't. (Unless I needed to just hold a gear for plowing)
Low Speed driving: In high gear, you can cruise along very slowly without much jerking motion. In low gear, it is a little more jerky. It's probably me still getting used to it, but it should be noted.
Those are my honest impressions so far. I will say, I absolutely love this machine. The functionality of it is everything that I wanted. There are the little things like the shiny roll cage etc... but that doesn't impact how it works for me. I'm a person who wants function. I drive a diesel truck with cloth interior. I don't care about bells and whistles. I want capability and reliability. You get this with both the Pioneer and the Viking. The Pioneer is just more suited for me; a mid 30's father of two who doesn't have time to wrench on and modify his toys. The Pioneer meets all my needs in stock form and will hopefully do that for quite some time.
I will update more after I get some riding under my belt to talk about reliability and more about how it rides.
I recently sold my Yamaha Viking and purchased the Honda Pioneer 1000-5. I will post my thoughts and comparisons on this thread.
Preliminary thoughts on the Pioneer vs the Viking. Again, I don't have much experience on the Pioneer but I have played with it enough to get an idea of fit and finish etc...
Cockpit:
DASH: The Digital dash is nice for Honda, but I did like the Viking's better. The pioneer has one button to do everything and the Viking had the three that allowed easier adjustments. (IE. setting the clock) The Viking also had the battery voltage where the Pioneer does not.
LEGROOM: The Viking had a little more legroom, but not enough to really speak of.
SEATS: The Viking seats were more individual seats rather than the bench of the Pioneer. However, I find the Pioneer to be more comfortable. The seating position is more what I like. But this is more of preference. The material on the seats seems to be a little tougher though.
Grab Handle: I miss this from the Viking. The Pioneer has it on the roll cage like in my F250 but you have to lean forward to grab it. We will see what my passengers say when we get into some of the rougher stuff.
Visibility: I LOVE the design of the Honda. The hood is short and there is a lot of visibility of what is in front of you. The visibility while backing is also better than that of the Viking. But... the middle passenger doesn't have a headrest on the Honda where the middle passenger space on the Viking Does. I rarely will ride someone in the middle so I prefer the visibility over head-rest.
Driver Controls : Both are simple and straight forward. The Honda has more drive options. (Turf Mode, 2wd lock, 4wd, 4wd lock, high auto, low Auto, Sport Auto, manual.)
Exterior Design:
Front: With the shorter front end of the Honda and it's stock ride height, the front wheels seems like they will hit the obstacle way before the front end will. Even more so than the Viking. This will be helpful in rocks and other areas.
Protection: The Viking has more protection from the factory. Although plastic, the A-Arm guards on the VIking were much larger and kept more stuff away from the Axle boots. This upgrade is a must on the Pioneer. (IMO of course) The Viking also had more protection underneath. There are more open areas on the Pioneer which I will eventually take care of.
Plastics: I had the camo Viking so I can't really compare the two as I have the Honda in Red. The plastics are going to scratch... But they seem well made. And for the price of wrapping it, I can just get all new plastics.
Roll Bar and Stock Bumpers: They are shiny black on the Pioneer. They look pretty but I'm not sure how they are going to look after a few tree branches. The Viking had the rough texture matte finish that I found to be quite durable.
Rider Experience:
Suspension: Although I have not had it on anything too rough, it already feels as if it has a better ride than the stock Viking. By a long shot actually. It seems to take turns and bumps quite a bit better. The load leveling shocks in the rear actually work too. I loaded it up with a couple of heavy eaters in the back seat and the suspension leveled out pretty quick. I also don't feel as if I will be bottoming out on the front any time soon.
Ground Clearance: The ground clearance on the Pioneer is as advertised. (12.XX inches.) The viking never did sit at that height unless I had just lowered it from the jack. Because of the wheelbase and it's ability to clear my 28 inch tires, I don't think I will be adding a lift to this one.
Turning Radius: Pioneer has a smaller turning radius. But, this was only tried in turf mode as I didn't want to chew up my lawn or tires. When the rear axle is locked, it is very possible that it will be similar to the Viking.
Noise: Pioneer is MUCH quieter and smoother sounding. There is gear whine but I'm okay with that over having to sound proof the thing.
Turf Mode: With 28 inch blackwaters, I can turn my wheel all the way to the right or left and give it some gas without tearing the lawn.
Power: It's awesome... Really... The shifting is a different feeling, but I like it. After the clutching on the Viking, I had a lot of low end power but at higher cruising speeds, it would rev high. The Pioneer allows you to have a lot of low end power, but then the opportunity for some quiet, relaxing, cruising. I haven't tested it in any climbing situations yet, but with the ability to manually shift if needed, it should be fine. I also hooked up my flatbed trailer with my lawn tractor on it. Probably 1500 lbs. I started pulling in automatic low but had to switch to high as it shifted through the gears too quick and still had high RPM. The Pioneer will tow better than my viking did.
Shifting: Its right on. I don't think I could do a better job in manual. Actually, I'm pretty sure I couldn't. (Unless I needed to just hold a gear for plowing)
Low Speed driving: In high gear, you can cruise along very slowly without much jerking motion. In low gear, it is a little more jerky. It's probably me still getting used to it, but it should be noted.
Those are my honest impressions so far. I will say, I absolutely love this machine. The functionality of it is everything that I wanted. There are the little things like the shiny roll cage etc... but that doesn't impact how it works for me. I'm a person who wants function. I drive a diesel truck with cloth interior. I don't care about bells and whistles. I want capability and reliability. You get this with both the Pioneer and the Viking. The Pioneer is just more suited for me; a mid 30's father of two who doesn't have time to wrench on and modify his toys. The Pioneer meets all my needs in stock form and will hopefully do that for quite some time.
I will update more after I get some riding under my belt to talk about reliability and more about how it rides.