I finally stepped up to a Pilot

[Rarerat]

Hi guys,
its been a while since I have been on the board, but I thought you all might like to see my new buggy, an 89 Honda Pilot. I drove out to Escondido, CA Thursday morning picked it up, and hauled tail back home Friday. Nothing like a quick little 1680 mile road trip to chase down your favorite buggy right? .

I have been riding my FL350 Odyssey with a friend that has a couple Pilots and after riding his Pilots, it was really hard to get back into my pogo stick Odyssey. The suspension is just flat incredible on the pilot's over the Odyssey's and they just handle so much better in general. Power wise I would say they are petty close because on a flat out drag race my 350 would run right with his Pilot, but put them in the deep whoops and I just flat couldn't hang with him. It seemed like I would blink and he would be 3 turns ahead of me. anyhow it looks like my 12 year old daughter will no be the primary rider of my old FL350, and I will ride this...

[olderthan]

nice

[chuckorlando]

I want one man. So sweet

[Rarerat]

Thanks guys, they really are amazing machines.

[ckau]

Hey nice find! That pilot looks practically brand new I'm amazed that it is in such good condition. Last one I checked out looked like it had been beat with a sledge hammer! That's the nice thing about finding a deal in the desert parts of the country. machinery doesn't deteriorate near as bad or fast and the terrain is more forgiving. Is it as mechanicaly sound as it looks?

[Rarerat]

Thanks, It seems to be pretty sound. I need to do a little PM on it and get some dirt tires, but other than that it should be good to go. I have been looking for a couple of months now & this one was by far the cleanest of all the Pilots I looked at.

[BuggyMaster]

Man are you going to have some fun. Loved ours. Not the most neighbor friendly but many are they awesome.

[EJ Mac]

Man how did I miss this. Congrats that thing is sweet. I have never driven one of them, but have always liked the looks of them. If I ever find one when the money is right I will jump as well. Please report back with a full performance report and enjoy that sweet ride.

[Rarerat]

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately i broke my video camera when I had it mounted to the front of my FL350. I guess I made one to many hard landings with it.

Here is a video I made running with my friend Steve & his Pilot a couple months ago. That day I ran my 350 lean and melted the piston and ended up having to be towed about 4 miles out of the canyon.

Enjoy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28TR8vo_iJA

[EJ Mac]

Awesome. Here is a sweet one if anyone is looking for one with a ton of upgrades http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-...item43a3018bba

[Rarerat]

Originally Posted by EJ Mac

Awesome. Here is a sweet one if anyone is looking for one with a ton of upgrades http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-...item43a3018bba

I saw that one on egay, seems like a good deal.

[SYCARMS]

Sweet ride.

[Rarerat]

Originally Posted by SYCARMS

Sweet ride.

Thank you

[joshstep1]

Dude, I am so jealous.

[Baja Rick]

Sweet Pilot!!

[Rarerat]

Thanks guys.

[Rarerat]

Originally Posted by EJ Mac

Man how did I miss this. Congrats that thing is sweet. I have never driven one of them, but have always liked the looks of them. If I ever find one when the money is right I will jump as well. Please report back with a full performance report and enjoy that sweet ride.

Ok guys,
today was the first real riding day for me in the new Pilot. As for power, I would rate it an 8 out of a scale of 1-10. Just from the ole butt-o-meter it doesn't feel quite as fast as my FL350, however I could be wrong because the suspension on this thing is so smooth & it soaks up the deep whoops and ruts so well that the actual speed can be very deceiving. Today I breezed up some very big sand hills that my 350 was unable to climb, however just from the seat of your pants the 350 feels faster. I need to brake out the GPS and do a few WFO speed runs and that will end the guessing, my 350 clocked 67.8 mph.

Now on to handling & suspension, It took me a little bit to get a good feel for the Pilot in the tight corners. the front end is a bit wider than my 350, so it took a little getting use to before I was comfortable to just keep the throttle pinned though the tight turns. My Pilot also has an aftermarket rack & pinion set up on it so it takes a bit more muscle to turn it than my Odyssey, however there is zero bump steer when you hit a deep rut or rock. The rack set up seems to absorb the shock and you dont feel it in the wheel like you would in the Odyssey. Here is a quick example, the last time I rode my Odyssey out at the place I went today i blipped the throttle over a jump and came down right front tire first and tagged a rock that was in the path. It hit so hard that I thought I broke my thumb when the steering wheel kicked from the impact. Here is what was left of my front wheel & tie rod...



Now in all fairness I didn't land on any rocks today but I blasted over some serious ruts without feeling anything through the wheel, so for the handling I would give it a strong 9 or maybe even a 10.

Now onto the suspension. this Pilot has the stock shocks on all 4 corners and it is freaking amazing over the endless deep whoops out here. I have never been able to go even remotely close to this fast over the whoops in my Odyssey. This thing you can just pin the throttle and hang on. i would hit one whoop and jump completely over the next one and then just do it all over again. It was so easy to get into a rhythm thought the whoops in the Pilot that I could never begin to do while riding my Odyssey. Now mind you my ody handles well, but this thing is freakin amazing!! No comparison, Nope not even close!! I thought I was pretty fast driving my Ody though the whoops... Nope! But in this Pilot, I challenge anyone to try & keep up. On the suspension for a stock buggy, I rate it a 10.

It must be pretty obvious after reading this I was impressed with the Pilot, guys if you ever get a chance to ride one don't pass it up, they are an amazing machine.

[metalstudman1]

Nice review and love all that excitement! I'd be stopping people on the street to brag about owning and experiencing a Honda Pilot(especially yours-it's as clean as a new one), Has your daughter left the Yerfdog behind for the 350 yet?

[chuckorlando]

Man your making me drool.

[Rarerat]

Thanks guys, yes she has been riding the Odyssey quite a bit lately. I worry about her in it a bit because she only weighs about 80 lbs and that Odyssey is quick with my 235 pound butt in the seat, but so far she seems to handle it really well. My wife and youngest daughter will be the primary riders in the yerf. It is really nice to have the extra buggy again, because now we can all go out & ride as a family.

[EJ Mac]

Awesome review. I know I would never pass up an opportunity to slide behind the wheel of one.

[Katzinger]

Nice ride Rarerat.. My messed up my rim worse than that. Looked more like a egg than a circle when i was done with it. Note: Don't ride high on a sand bank, tends to suck you into trees.. lol..