I just bought my Talon 1000r last month and have 32" tires on it. I have been reading up on doing such and found several articles stating that the tire size plus everything else could cause the frame to bend or become weak. I found that SuperATV sells a "Frame Stiffener/Gusset" which is supposed to do what it is titled... stiffen the frame
However, I am thinking of getting a 1/2" full skid plate (maybe kombustion that wraps up the side) and am wondering if I need the frame stiffener if I get the full frame skid plate. Any thoughts? Suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!
The frame stiffener that SATV sells isn't really a "Frame Stiffener" as much as it is an A-Arm mounting point reinforcement. It only mounts to the very front of the frame between the A-Arms and bolsters up the (known) weak A-Arm mounting points.
It does nothing to address the front upper frame weakness that the Talon has but it isn't as much of a concern as the A-Arm mounts. The upper front frame takes a pretty bad hit to bend, they A-Arm mounts fold pretty easy. For $160, I think it is a decent item. I have seen one installed and it provides some needed support to those A-Arm mounts.
That said, I have been running 30" fairly heavy tires and I don't baby my machine one it. No bent frame parts for me so far in 4000 miles and that includes some pretty hard hits that I thought for sure would bend something but never have.
Behind the front clip, the Talon frame seems pretty stout and I have not seen one bent from driving or a front end collision (yet). I saw postings of a bent frame but that machine was wrecked BAD and nothing would have stopped the damage.
I flipped my machine 1.5 times bounced on the front, top, rear and all the way around again and landed on the roof and did not bent the frame at all except for the very rear bent down about 1/4 inch where the roll cage mounts (it is only 1" tubing there) and it bent back easily and a new cage mounted right up. Other than the A-Arm mounts, the Talon is one tough machine in my opinion.
