P1000 Pioneer vs Defender

E

ewhite

New Member
May 18, 2021
2
8
3
MO
Ownership

  1. Do not currently own
I know this is a Honda forum, but I'm curious if anyone on here owns a Pioneer and a Can Am Defender. If so, what do you like about each machine? And if you could buy only 1 new machine, which would it be? I've had a deposit on a Pioneer 1000-3 Deluxe for almost 4 months and I can't even get a possible delivery date. We have a couple Can Am dealers close to me, so it may be possible to grab a new Defender.
 
Remington

Remington

POIDH Enforcement Officer
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
Jul 24, 2016
20,256
115,787
113
Michigan
Ownership

  1. 1000-5

  2. Talon X
Buy the Honda! Canned Ham makes a sweet snowmobile, I have 2.
Personally in a SXS I never liked the belt life.
This is a sweet deal! Hurry, wont last long….

 
Lochsa88

Lochsa88

Active Member
Apr 13, 2021
44
154
33
Idaho
Ownership

  1. 1000-3
i really looked at the defender before buying a PK1-3. A lot of guys i ride with have CanAms (mavericks), but i was looking at the more utility defender. also compared the Ranger, but knew i didnt want polaris. anyhow, although i like cab features and comfort of the defender, in the end i stayed with my gut on getting the honda. primarily for the transmission and reliability. Plan to have it a while. We also have yamaha, suzuki, and honda atvs, and was upgrading utv from a yamaha. I ordered our 2021 pioneer in early Feb and didnt take deliver until mid June. At almost 700 miles now and dont regret decision. When i ordered, I added over 5k in accessories, which you'll want to plan for depending on your use.
 
LilRedDonkey

LilRedDonkey

Well-Known Member
Feb 25, 2021
180
613
93
cheesyland
Ownership

  1. 500
I know this is a Honda forum, but I'm curious if anyone on here owns a Pioneer and a Can Am Defender. If so, what do you like about each machine? And if you could buy only 1 new machine, which would it be? I've had a deposit on a Pioneer 1000-3 Deluxe for almost 4 months and I can't even get a possible delivery date. We have a couple Can Am dealers close to me, so it may be possible to grab a new Defender.
put deposit down in feb. and in the middle of may they called and said it was in. one more week i was calling and if i heard it pushed off again i was picking up deposit. i really wanted the p500 but dealers close enough to me were getting machines from other brands and i would have been done waiting on a honda. you getting no clue when, if at all, i personally would move on and get myself a ride thats available and start enjoying it. good luck!
 
Alan_Vander

Alan_Vander

Well-Known Member
Mar 19, 2019
1,547
2,751
113
rosepine,la
Ownership

  1. 700-4
grab the defender its a nice machine. the honda wait nowadays is kinda behind on the other manufacturers. plus youll have a ton more options for aftermarket accessories. i love my honda but im not a fan of the dct trans. for most its a good trans even great . but too me id rather just change a belt. can ams are fairly easy to change on the defender if im not mistaken. but i have 2 buddies with a maverick and defender and they are on the stock belt 4 yrs later.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
 
Ridinfool

Ridinfool

NTC’ s special Ed student of the year
Lifetime Member
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Mar 20, 2020
36,144
386,046
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Western North Carolina
Ownership

  1. 1000-5
Buy the Honda! Canned Ham makes a sweet snowmobile, I have 2.
Personally in a SXS I never liked the belt life.
This is a sweet deal! Hurry, wont last long….

Get your deposit back and do this👆👆👆 this is an awesome deal. Never owned a SXS until I bought my pioneer . I went with the pioneer after driving a friends 7 Hundo a few years back and that’s when I decided on the pioneer. Never liked the belt concept ever, if your wallerin through the mud drive shaft vs belt… which wood you want to get you back to camp? Call me a fan boy that’s fine, I will still pull you back to camp when you cook a belt. My 2cents good luck.
 
tromano1706

tromano1706

Active Member
Jun 21, 2020
38
157
33
Virginia
Ownership

  1. 1000-5
I rented a Defender on vacation and was not impressed with it. I know it was a rental but it felt very poorly put together. Though it was a little smoother than my stock 1000-5, it was noticeably longer which was frustrating at times. If you live in a place with switchbacks like riding Hatfield, even a Talon is too long as you have to do 3 point turns frequently. In my opinion, the DCT in the pioneer is far better than the belt in the Defender. The engagement in the Defender is even clunkier than the Pioneer. Space wise, they felt similar in the front. The rear seats have way more space in the Defender and are way more comfortable (if you are looking for more than a 3 seater). The Defender also has a bed when using the rear seats. Overall, I would never trade my Pioneer for a Defender based on my experience in both. The reliability and capability of the Pioneer is inspiring and confidence inducing. I rented a Pioneer from the same place as the Defender so I know how they both felt as rentals which neither were as good as how mine feels now but both of the rentals had over 6,000 miles on them. I hope this helps as there probably aren't too many people with experience in both machines.
 

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