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Here’s Everything on Our Massive Honda Pioneer Build

By Kavan Wright | News on March 9, 2018
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This 2017 Honda Pioneer 1000-5 has been reborn as a work/play mud dominator.

Hot off the heels of SuperATV’s over-the-top Turbo mud build, we’ve got a 2017 Honda Pioneer 1000 ready to tear through some serious mud holes. If you want this build, it’s easy to get. Here’s the full breakdown.

A Suspension Overhaul for Max Ground Clearance

When you do mud, you want some serious ground clearance. There’s no better way to get your side-by-side stuck in the mud than to let your belly drag through it. To make this working man’s machine into the working man’s mud dominator, we needed clearance, clearance, clearance.

So first thing’s first: let’s lift this beast.

A 6″ Lift Kit to Ride High

We started with SuperATV’s Honda Pioneer 1000 6″ Lift Kit. It comes complete with front and rear A-arms with SuperATV uniballs and studs preinstalled, our gusseted Z-bend tie rods, and lift brackets—all of which come with a lifetime warranty, by the way.

And of course it comes with a set of our industry-leading axles—you choose between Rhino Brand Axles or Rhino 2.0 Axles. You won’t get too far running stock.

Rhino Axles installed on Honda Pioneer 1000
We used Rhino Brand Axles for this build because of their brute strength. These axles are engineered to stand up to tons of trail abuse and extreme suspension angles.
Photo by SuperATV

What we’re after here is clearance and that’s what we got—17-1/2″ of clearance, to be exact. It’s a good start, but if we’re going to be waist deep in mud, we’ll need to go even higher.

Going Even Bigger with a 6″ Portal Gear Lift

How do you go higher when you’ve already got a 6″ lift installed? Easy—with a Gen 2 GDP Portal Gear Lift from SuperATV.

For this build, we went with the 6″ portal gear lift because we wanted that 45% gear reduction and the extra 6″ of clearance. That brought us up to 23.5″ of clearance, but there’s more to portals than just lift.

GDP Portal Gear Lift installed on Honda Pioneer 1000
If you’re going for maximum clearance, you’ve gotta get yourself some portals. Installing a Gen 2 Portal Gear Lift on this build gave us a 45% gear reduction and an extra 6″ of clearance.
Photo by SuperATV

That 45% gear reduction means we can turn bigger tires through thicker mud more easily. The proof is in the pudding (er, mud) and this Honda pulls through the thickest peanut butter like a hot knife through butter. These portals are no joke.

Intimidator Tires—More Than a Mud Tire

Remember when we called this the working man’s mud dominator? Maybe we should have called it a mud intimidator because it’s running 36″ Intimidator Tires on 18″ Healy Fast Series Wheels. Intimidators are top-of-the-line mud tires featuring deep lugs and an aggressive, self-cleaning tread pattern.

Intimdator Tires and Healy Fast Wheels on Honda Pioneer 1000
You can’t call it a mud dominator if it doesn’t have a set of SuperATV’s Intimidator Tires on it. These top-of-the-line mud tires have deep lugs and an aggressive, self-cleaning tread pattern.
Photo by SuperATV

The thing about Intimidators is that they love to rip on every terrain—not just mud. We can get some work done around the farm then head down our favorite mud trails without compromising our traction anywhere. No matter what surface you’re driving on, Intimidators get the job done.

By the way, with these 36″ Intimidators installed, we now have 28″ of clearance. That’s more than double stock and gives us tons of room to play in the mud.

Even a Beast Needs Protection

This thing is gonna get messy—that’s why we made it—but we still want it to look pristine when we spray it down at the end of the day. That’s why we made sure to get some serious protection to keep our Pioneer 1000 in one piece.

Rear Bumper for Towing Our Buddies

Our rear bumper gets a lot of work done. It gives our Pioneer some extra protection and provides us with two clevis tow hooks, all while allowing us to continue using the dump bed and tailgate. The tow hooks are really handy for rescuing those people who didn’t quite upgrade enough to make it through.

SuperATV Rear Bumper on Honda Pioneer 1000
Don’t forget about the rear! A strong rear bumper with tow hooks is exactly what you’ll need when your buddies get stuck in the mud.
Photo by SuperATV

Finishing Touches

We’re not quite done yet. There are a couple more things we added that make this Honda Pioneer even better for hauling hay, flinging mud, and everything in between.

Full Windshield to Ride in Comfort

We had to have some nice polycarbonate on this machine—how else are we supposed to keep all that mud out of our teeth? We grabbed SuperATV’s scratch-resistant polycarbonate full windshield for some extra style and protection. It will keep out the elements and all of the rocks, dust, and debris that can be found at our favorite riding spots.

Honda Pioneer 1000 with SuperATV 6" Lift Kit and Portals
A scratch-resistant full windshield lets us ride hard through any conditions—rain, mud, wind, you name it. And because it’s made with 1/4″ polycarbonate, we’re confident it won’t break.
Photo by SuperATV

A Tinted Roof Keeps the Sun Out

We added a little more polycarbonate in the form of a heavy-duty tinted roof. It’ll protect us from those harsh rays on sunny rides without making the cab feel too closed in. Poly is perfect for builds like this, where getting rowdy is a given—that’s because it won’t break. Since going hard is all we know, we needed a windshield and roof that are as tough as the rest of this machine.

Honda Pioneer 1000 with SuperATV Tinted Roof
This durable tinted roof will keep the sun off our faces while we’re bombing mud pits and bounty holes. It also adds just enough style to complete this head-turning build.
Photo by SuperATV

It’s a Beast

That’s a wrap on everything we put on this Pioneer 1000-5. It’ll make your knees weak if you’re not the one behind the wheel, and you can bet we have a ton of fun riding it.

Check out the video below to get a closer look at this custom build, and then head over to SuperATV.com where you can find everything you need to turn your own machine into a beast.

RELATED CONTENT: custom builds13 Honda Pioneer18 mud14
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2 Comments

  1. Avatar for mason deshotel mason deshotel says:
    October 11, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    love this build

    Reply
    • Avatar for Tyler Lichlyter Tyler Lichlyter says:
      October 11, 2021 at 2:59 pm

      Thanks, Mason!

      Reply

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