BF Goodrich KO2 on a Talon?

[CID]

I do not have door lowers. Before I got my Talon, those were near the top of my list of stuff to buy. I thought it was just stupid to leave that hole. After I got the Talon, I thought I would just wait and see. I was looking hard at the EMP lowers, as they could be easily removed with just 4 screws. On that ride last week, I got just a small amount of mud in through the lower door openings, but it really wasn't much. I don't seem to get a lot of air in there either. I have crossed the door lowers off my list for now.

Yes, I am a little uncertain about the colors on the Rokblokz. All of their pictures seem to show gray front lower mudflaps, which I don't really care for. I am guessing that the gray is the "Accent Color". I am going to call them for clarification before I order. I think LilSteve said his were all black?

I am interested in the tunnel blocking mod. I don't think that is what is shown in the pic in your link? I am looking forward to riding this summer in shorts and t-shirts, which I would never do on an ATV. Nevertheless, I think we are going to cook here in AZ!

Thanks!

Tom

Oops, BRB. 😊

Corrected link, post #11.
Cab dust control - The Honda Side by Side Club! (hondasxs.com)

My Rokblokz are also all black and I think that's the default when ordering but check to be sure. Steve takes his Talon to the high country in the summer, it's too hot to ride in the Phoenix area. I found that 80* is plenty HOT for a day long ride with the tunnel open (stock). I had to abort one of my last summer rides because of the heat, I was getting hyperthermic. At Steve's suggestion, I've added water to my things to carry - to drench my clothing (I don't drink water, ick).

If I ever decide to add door lowers, they'll have to be removeable without taking the door skins off which you can't do with the Super ATV lowers I had before. The door skins are secured with self tapping screws into molded in plastic posts, when I removed mine, at least one of the screws came out with a plastic curl of stripped threads from the factory so a seasonal removal is a bad idea. I agree that even with the door openings, there isn't much air transfer but it's better than with lowers.

As a retired off road motorcycle rider (ATGATT - all the gear all the time), driving the Talon in shorts, a tee shirt and tennies is a revelation in comfort, I love it.

 

[Boundertom]

Hmmmm. Still not seeing a tunnel mod? 🤷‍♂️

ETA: You fixed it!

 

[CID]

Hmmmm. Still not seeing a tunnel mod? 🤷‍♂️

ROFL - I'll do this til I get it right. 🤪
Cab dust control - The Honda Side by Side Club! (hondasxs.com)

 

[Lil_Steve]

Yes, I am a little uncertain about the colors on the Rokblokz. All of their pictures seem to show gray front lower mudflaps, which I don't really care for. I am guessing that the gray is the "Accent Color". I am going to call them for clarification before I order. I think LilSteve said his were all black?

Yes, mine are all black. There seem to be more color choices now than when I ordered mine.

 

[Boundertom]

ROFL - I'll do this til I get it right. 🤪
Cab dust control - The Honda Side by Side Club! (hondasxs.com)

All right! Third time is the charm! I will have to study this project, but it looks like a good idea for AZ. If I could figure out a way to put a remote control vent in there for winter, it would be awesome!

 

[CID]

All right! Third time is the charm! I will have to study this project, but it looks like a good idea for AZ. If I could figure out a way to put a remote control vent in there for winter, it would be awesome!

YAY - perseverance.

#metoo I'd love to be able to open it when it gets downright cold. A removeable panel might work, something you could slide in and out but then you'd have to store it during the ride.

Your riding conditions are going to be much warmer than mine, I'll be at 10k + all summer. Remember that with the radiator up front, you'll always be heating the cab to some degree, you 'might' never need to open it up for more and you can dress for those days. For reference, I'm still wearing tennies at 30* temps.

 

[HavasuDave]

Another little update. The 5th wheel and the RB3 wheel spacers arrived Friday. The spacers are a work of art! Very nicely machined. Too bad they are going to be hidden. I mounted up the last tire by myself, easy peasy. Of course, I had to mount them up to see how they looked. I didn't want to get the tires and wheels dirty before I took them in to be balanced. So I just went for a quick blast up the highway. The tires ran very smooth, with just a little bit of vibration. I didn't perceive much difference in acceleration, but braking power was diminished with the heavier wheels and tires. I don't feel like that will be a problem. I took RPM readings at various speeds. At an actual 55 mph (on the GPS) the RPMs dropped from 6300 to 6000. At an actual 65 mph, RPMs dropped from 7500 to 7100. It is a very noticeable and welcome difference.

I took the 5 wheels and tires into Big O this morning to be balanced. I feel like they bent me over on the job, at $16 each, but there are few local options. I didn't want to drive 45 miles one way to the city.. Anyway, it has been raining all day. When I got home, I decided to wait until the rain let up before I unloaded the tires. I heard the rain apparently stop, so I headed out to unload. Well, the rain stopped, because it started SNOWING! Now, we do get snow once or twice a winter in my location, but it usually comes at night. Oh well, it isn't much. I used to love winter and snow, but I used to be into snowmobiling.

I will post again when I get it out for a good ride.View attachment 250995View attachment 250997

That looks great! Hey, on a safety note, I mounted my rotopax on the outside like you did. I had a bunch of people I respect really urge me to move it to the inside. They had seen people roll even on sand dunes, and have their gas tanks break open. Even a tree branch could break it open. Part of why I bought a 10+ gallon Trailtank, and replaced the OEM. I now only carry my rotopax if the ride will be longer than 120 miles.

 

[HavasuDave]

Oops, BRB. 😊

Corrected link, post #11.
Cab dust control - The Honda Side by Side Club! (hondasxs.com)

My Rokblokz are also all black and I think that's the default when ordering but check to be sure. Steve takes his Talon to the high country in the summer, it's too hot to ride in the Phoenix area. I found that 80* is plenty HOT for a day long ride with the tunnel open (stock). I had to abort one of my last summer rides because of the heat, I was getting hyperthermic. At Steve's suggestion, I've added water to my things to carry - to drench my clothing (I don't drink water, ick).

If I ever decide to add door lowers, they'll have to be removeable without taking the door skins off which you can't do with the Super ATV lowers I had before. The door skins are secured with self tapping screws into molded in plastic posts, when I removed mine, at least one of the screws came out with a plastic curl of stripped threads from the factory so a seasonal removal is a bad idea. I agree that even with the door openings, there isn't much air transfer but it better than with lowers.

As a retired off road motorcycle rider (ATGATT - all the gear all the time), driving the Talon in shorts, a tee shirt and tennies is a revelation in comfort, I love it.

i have the SuperATV lower doors and they are very high quality and would advise against the four screw type. That said last summer I toyed with removing them due to the heat(also in AZ) guys on the forums without them didn’t seem to get much air in, so I decided too much hassle for not enough benefit. I did find a cool device that helped a bunch. It props the door open and give a nice flow at all speeds even up to 65 mph, without being too much.

I also sealed the tunnel and all holes and places I could to keep the hot air from the radiator out.

KEEP COOLER IN PASSENGER COMPARTMENT TALON AND PIONEER

It’s warming up and I can’t believe how much heat the Talon puts out. No wonder I was so comfortable in colder weather. I was thinking about removing my lower doors, I thought what a hassle that would be and would it make a difference? Then I remembered my buddy has a device on his RZR that...

hondasxs.com

 

[CID]

i have the SuperATV lower doors and they are very high quality and would advise against the four screw type. That said last summer I toyed with removing them due to the heat(also in AZ) guys on the forums without them didn’t seem to get much air in, so I decided too much hassle for not enough benefit. I did find a cool device that helped a bunch. It props the door open and give a nice flow at all speeds even up to 65 mph, without being too much.

I also sealed the tunnel and all holes and places I could to keep the hot air from the radiator out.

KEEP COOLER IN PASSENGER COMPARTMENT TALON AND PIONEER

It’s warming up and I can’t believe how much heat the Talon puts out. No wonder I was so comfortable in colder weather. I was thinking about removing my lower doors, I thought what a hassle that would be and would it make a difference? Then I remembered my buddy has a device on his RZR that...

hondasxs.com

View attachment 252732

Have 'em, like 'em, recommend 'em. 👍 I had one concern, on my rocky rides, I don't like the doors hanging from the hinges with no support at the latch.

From the inside, mine are the fastest silver color.

 

[Boundertom]

That looks great! Hey, on a safety note, I mounted my rotopax on the outside like you did. I had a bunch of people I respect really urge me to move it to the inside. They had seen people roll even on sand dunes, and have their gas tanks break open. Even a tree branch could break it open. Part of why I bought a 10+ gallon Trailtank, and replaced the OEM. I now only carry my rotopax if the ride will be longer than 120 miles.

That is a good point, Dave, regarding safety with the RotoPax. Of course, I am not planning on rolling my Talon, so no problem! I doubt if the cans will fit inside the cage and still let the box open, but I will check it out. I do have another RotoPax for the other side, just waiting for the Deluxe Mounts to arrive. I know that I also have to be careful about the cans leaking onto a hot engine/exhaust. I probably won't carry them all of the time. Thanks!

 

[Boundertom]

i have the SuperATV lower doors and they are very high quality and would advise against the four screw type. That said last summer I toyed with removing them due to the heat(also in AZ) guys on the forums without them didn’t seem to get much air in, so I decided too much hassle for not enough benefit. I did find a cool device that helped a bunch. It props the door open and give a nice flow at all speeds even up to 65 mph, without being too much.

I also sealed the tunnel and all holes and places I could to keep the hot air from the radiator out.

KEEP COOLER IN PASSENGER COMPARTMENT TALON AND PIONEER

It’s warming up and I can’t believe how much heat the Talon puts out. No wonder I was so comfortable in colder weather. I was thinking about removing my lower doors, I thought what a hassle that would be and would it make a difference? Then I remembered my buddy has a device on his RZR that...

hondasxs.com

The door lowers are definitely on the back burner for now. I just don't feel much air movement through the openings, and I don't see a real benefit to adding them. I just installed the RokBlokz, so hopefully they will keep the mud out of the cab. Everything is open for re-evaluation at any time!

I did just order the Easy Cool Latches, as they seem worthwhile.

I will have to investigate sealing up the tunnel and insulating the coolant tubes. I probably should have done that before I put the Trail Armor skids on! I think I will need all the help I can get, if I want to ride in the AZ summer!

 

[JACKAL]

I had a great time! I just felt bad for holding everybody up, because of a bad tire choice. I now have a aggressive tire and rrb will be dryer than a popcorn fart this year.

Don't worry. It gets easier from here 🤣

 

[Boundertom]

I haven't had a chance to put a lot of miles on the new tires and wheels, but I have had it out 3 times now. The longest ride was only about 55 miles, but included most of the terrain that I will commonly ride: paved roads, dirt/gravel roads, sandy washes, sandy/rocky trails, and one good long hill climb. On that ride I had all tires at 12 PSI, which is what I was running in the stock tires. I didn't feel a huge difference in ride, but it was a bit harsher on small bumps. I later dropped the pressure to 10 PSI and that made a noticeable difference. It now rides very much like on the stock tires at 12 PSI. So, ride quality is really not an issue. At an indicated 63 MPH, I am now running about 65 MPH, per GPS. RPMs dropped from 7500 to 7100, which is very noticeable. At an actual 60 MPH, RPMs are about 6500 which felt reasonably comfortable for a cruising speed. RPM readings are only approximate, as it is very hard to get a precise reading with the stock tach. I think that tire noise on pavement was slightly lower, but with the engine and gear noise, it is hard to tell. I didn't feel any real difference in acceleration. I did notice a slight loss in braking performance with the heavier wheel/tire combination. On pavement at low speeds, there is an increase in steering effort. The tires aren't much wider than stock, but they do put a lot more rubber on the ground. This was not noticeable off pavement. There is a little more chirping from the rear tires during tight turns on pavement. Traction was not an issue on any of the surfaces that I was on. I am sure these are not great dune tires, but I don't ride the dunes. Likewise, I am sure they will not be great in mud, but I avoid mud as much as possible!

We did one rocky, fairly rough, fairly steep hill climb, nearly a half mile long. There were a couple of little ledges, and the Talon crawled up it effortlessly. I have climbed this hill many times on several different ATVs. The Talon just made it SO EASY. When we got to the top, I asked my wife how she felt about the Talon vs our ATVs now. She said, "I am really liking the Talon!". Happy wife.............

I have re-torqued the beadlocks, and perhaps 30% of the bolts needed a bit of tightening. I will keep an eye on them. It only took about 15 minutes to hit all of the bolts with a torque wrench.

Based on my rides so far, I think I will be very happy with the KO2s. I believe they will do everything I need them to do. At $148 each, I think they are a great value. I like that they are DOT tires, and I feel safe running them on the highway at 60+ MPH. Only time will tell how they hold up. If anything changes, I will post it here.

 

[McCarthy]

The KO2's will grip better than just about anything on slick rock as they have more surface area. Bear in mind while they are DOT, they're designed to run at 35+ PSI on pavement unlike a s x s tire, so watch for overheating at 10 on pavement.

 

[CID]

The KO2's will grip better than just about anything on slick rock as they have more surface area. Bear in mind while they are DOT, they're designed to run at 35+ PSI on pavement unlike a s x s tire, so watch for overheating at 10 on pavement.

But the Talon only weighs 1600 pounds, approximately 55% on the rear axle = 880 pounds / 2 = 440 pounds per tire.

 

[Boundertom]

The KO2's will grip better than just about anything on slick rock as they have more surface area. Bear in mind while they are DOT, they're designed to run at 35+ PSI on pavement unlike a s x s tire, so watch for overheating at 10 on pavement.

Yes, I will watch the tire temperature. I am used to doing that with my trucks, trailers, motorhomes, etc. FWIW, I have been running a 14" LT tire on my 1000 Touring ATV for about 8,000 miles. I run 7 to 8 PSI in those. Surprisingly, they don't heat up much. Thanks.

 

[HavasuDave]

The door lowers are definitely on the back burner for now. I just don't feel much air movement through the openings, and I don't see a real benefit to adding them. I just installed the RokBlokz, so hopefully they will keep the mud out of the cab. Everything is open for re-evaluation at any time!

I did just order the Easy Cool Latches, as they seem worthwhile.

I will have to investigate sealing up the tunnel and insulating the coolant tubes. I probably should have done that before I put the Trail Armor skids on! I think I will need all the help I can get, if I want to ride in the AZ summer!

Yeah, that’s when I did mine after I took off the stock skid plate and before I put on the super ATV skid plates. Don’t worry, when summer comes, your inspiration will return.😝🤣😎👍🏻 But seriously, blocking the air from coming up through the gear shift is major, as are the drain holes and the holes in the fire wall. I would like to say I got it all, but there are so many areas the heat travels through I had to live with good enough🤔😮😎

i only put the lower doors on because I needed them on my RZR. With the RokBlokz, , I don’t think anything comes through there. A bunch of the accessories I put on were because I had them on previous vehicles.

 

[CID]

I took this photo last Friday to show how clean the Rokblokz keep the door area around that opening, they're very effective.

 

[Dankathy]

Like others have posted here, i am currently running the km3 utv tire in the 32in size. Will go back to 30's when these are gone. At speed (12psi) i get more squirm than i like, but more importantly to me is the effect on down hill braking and the raised (faster) low speed crawling speed. Lt ko2 would be a good choice, but for me the goodyear authority from walmart at abut $110 delivered (10.5×30.5?) Will get the nod. If they ride stiff, keep airing them down. Whenever we take the jeep out, i run 12-13lbs without bead locks and have had no problems. I dont expect heat would ever be a problem on a 1500lb sxs. One other thing i should mention.. about the km3 is the bead rings are very thick. I now know what "coneing" of the bead lock rings is ( thanks paulf) and i have broken 5 or 6 of the bead lock bolts due to the bending moment. Yes, i use a torque wrench and have never gone above 15lbs. As always, your milage may vary.

 

[Lil_Steve]

I took this photo last Friday to show how clean the Rokblokz keep the door area around that opening, they're very effective.

View attachment 252989

I agree, they're very effective. This doesn't happen to me anymore, and it was when I decided to buy the Rokblokz. The lower doors did their job before I got the Rokblokz.