"Honda reliability, I guess."

[DG Rider]

If you all really think that just because it’s a Honda it won’t leave your ass stranded... LMAO!! They all fail.. false security and over confidence will get you in trouble. I’m all for having a machine for the job. But you’re nuts are lose if you think just because we have Honda's we’re somehow immune to the SHTF! Being prepared and having the right mindset to “fix” a situation is your best option. Riding with a buddy is a smart move. But if you’re prepared for a worst case scenario and you ride with some sense... I like what you’re doing!

I think we are all aware of that.
But...what brand do YOU think fails the least?

 

[TripleB]

If I die in the backcountry, due to exposure/rolling off a cliff/whatever, it is what it is. I'll be very prepared with GPS messengers, survival gear etc, but I would so much rather that than having a cager plow into me riding a motorbike, or wither away to nothing in a nursing home. I'd much rather 50 amazing years than 50 boring years + 30 s***ty years.

X2

 

[TripleB]

I think we are all aware of that.
But...what brand do YOU think fails the least?

Honda all the way.

 

[bigshoe]

Credit where credit is do the teryx is a pretty tough sxs i do alot of side work out of my garage there rarely in my garage for anything major. if kawi would get control of the noise in the cab they would be even better.

 

[bigshoe]

But nothing compares to honda I will fight that to bitter end

 

[JTW]

I think we are all aware of that.
But...what brand do YOU think fails the least?

Polaris by far!!

 

[JTW]

I thought KRX stands for Karen’s Ride X- stay privileged Karen! 😂

That reminds me... I need to speak to a manager!!

 

[IDIOT]

I got my Talon shortly after moving to Utah after I learned they could be licensed and driven on the street pretty much anywhere I wanted to go, and the offroad sticker was usually enough in most rural areas such as mine. With literally hundreds of miles of trails just in my county alone, I knew I would be able to enjoy my pricey new toy often, instead of going through the hassle of trailering it to some random spot just for a weekend ride, then storing it for months until the next chance to camp and ride came along. Besides the trails through national forest and BLM land, the hops to the grocery store or post office make the Talon useful as well as ornamental.

Fast forward to this past 4th of July weekend, I had a nice ride planned out exploring the geology of the Markagunt plateau and the various stream tributaries eroding away from Cedar Breaks that eventually join the Virgin River and continue to carve out Zion Canyon. Either that or just a good excuse to blast along some new trails around southern Utah. Near sunset, I deviated from my planned route to dash up to the top of 11k+ft Brian Head peak in order to catch the full moon rising along with a colorful sunset enhanced by CA wildfire smoke. While up there, I bumped into some weekend tourists riding SxSs together. They were a couple in a non-memorable belt driven unit, and a solo guy in a new Yamaha YXZ. I was mildly interested in the YXZ since it was the only other option with an actual transmission when I was shopping. We chatted a bit, they asked for some local advice on trails to explore, and I mentioned I was about 90 miles into a 120ish mile trip. This revelation totally flabbergasted them; the concept of a SxS riding solo that far with no support team or chase vehicle on standby was apparently entirely foreign to their belt driven life. That part of our conversation ended with the YXZ dude saying :”Honda reliability, I guess.”

Rides like the one above are common for me. A couple times a week I’ll hop in my Talon and go explore. Short trips are 50ish miles long, longer ones extend to 120-130 miles, and lately these are usually at night since it’s cooler at 10k feet than at home. My main limit on trip length is how long do I want my dogs left home alone. That Honda reliability quote popped back into my head the other evening when I was out in the middle of the Escalante Desert, after dark, and roughly 30 miles from the nearest known outpost of civilization. The GPS said I was on a trail, but the only signs I had to follow were wild horse hoof prints and piles of horse crap. Actual tire tracks were rare as I slalomed between the juniper and pinyon trees in a pitch black no-name canyon. I made my way out of the canyon and eventually found signs of man again, unfortunately those signs were where all the local pig farms were tucked safely away from towns and people. Since I was now on a network of graded gravel roads, I was able to leave the swine stench behind with a quickness and dive back onto the desert trails that led home.

So, I have to wonder, am I nuts to depend on “Honda reliability?” I know that riding alone has increased risks, I’ve taken steps to mitigate those risks by carrying gas, water, recovery equipment, two independent GPS systems, and a first aid kit. Since I am often well beyond cell tower range, I am working towards adding HAM radio and learning how to use that, too. I ride (usually) established trails, but I do hustle along, averaging about 25 - 30 MPH for many trips. I don’t often need 4WD or low gear, instead, throttle and momentum get me through most trail challenges I come across.

On a side note, I’ve not needed the gas yet. My farthest run to date is 136 miles, with 6.0 gallons added for ~22.5MPG. Those are the raw, uncorrected for 30” tires figures. In theory I went about 7% farther on the larger tires, which bumps the MPG to about 25. (In reality, the 7% theory seems closer to 3% at the sidewall squish zone.)

At almost 60 years of age I do the same type of riding you are doing but i always thought it was normal, so either we are both crazy or it is more common than we think. I have a friend (tedbell52) that i ride with alot but not so much in the summer as he is not too big on riding in the heat. We both came from YXZ's but prefer the Honda.

 

[Fyathyrio]

My "is it crazy?" question was more rhetorical than serious, Ima gonna ride my Talon out into the boonies for as long as I can. I learned from my Jeep trail days that group rides beyond about 6 or so vehicles tend to suck, and with the higher speeds I travel in the Honda, I expect that number to be halved, so I'm not looking for a big club experience.

I'm not a millennial, so I don't feel the need to text every time I take a dump or pick my nose, so the SPOT type locator thingies don't interest me. That and the whole no rescue if no pay BS business model. But, with multiple satellite constellations, stronger transmitters, and more direct communications to rescuers, I do like the PLBs. I didn't realize they had gotten so small & portable, and for only $300ish, they're cheap insurance. Thanks for the pointer, one is on the way!

 

[DG Rider]

My "is it crazy?" question was more rhetorical than serious, Ima gonna ride my Talon out into the boonies for as long as I can. I learned from my Jeep trail days that group rides beyond about 6 or so vehicles tend to suck, and with the higher speeds I travel in the Honda, I expect that number to be halved, so I'm not looking for a big club experience.

I'm not a millennial, so I don't feel the need to text every time I take a dump or pick my nose, so the SPOT type locator thingies don't interest me. That and the whole no rescue if no pay BS business model. But, with multiple satellite constellations, stronger transmitters, and more direct communications to rescuers, I do like the PLBs. I didn't realize they had gotten so small & portable, and for only $300ish, they're cheap insurance. Thanks for the pointer, one is on the way!

Don't they all require a subscription?

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

I had absolutely zero interest in owning a SxS before Honda introduced the Talon. I knew several people with Can-Ams and Polaris junk that had nothing but bad experiences and thought, why would I willingly subject myself to that kind of punishment, and pay to do so? Seems dumb. 🤣

As soon as I found out Honda was going to make the Talon and that it wasn't belt drive I was in like Flynn.. I'm so confident in the machine I bought that I decided to turn it into a dedicated race car. In about a month, when racing starts back up I'll know if I made the correct choice.

 

[CID]

Don't they all require a subscription?

Yes, they do. I travel between Denver and Phoenix to visit my sister. I'm not a talk on the phone kinda guy and, being single for so long, I HATE 'checking in', it's just not my style. The SPOT sends out waypoints at 10 minute intervals, she can follow me the whole way, I don't have to check in, she knows where and when I stop for the night and meets me in the driveway with a beer when I pull in. I also have a few friends and neighbors that enjoy watching my travels.

When I'm in the backcountry, she can figure out where I'm camping and as long as the SPOT shows movement, she knows I'm not broken down. Wimminz worry, this brings her a level of comfort, worth it to me.

 

[IDIOT]

I hate to be that guy but what is a SPOT and a PLB?

 

[CID]

I hate to be that guy but what is a SPOT and a PLB?

The SPOT is a satellite tracking device. If your GPS has a track log, it does the same thing but with 10 minute pings instead of 82 feet (my GPS). PLB = personal locator beacon, I 'think' you hit the button, it sends out a distress signal and the Marines show up in 10 minits. 🤔

 

[CID]

I hate to be that guy but what is a SPOT and a PLB?

Here's a full size SPOT screen shot of my riding area showing the day loop covered. A GPS track log is much more accurate but irrelevant for road travel or backcountry rescue. Each pin location also sends the GPS coordinates.

 

[DG Rider]

Yes, they do. I travel between Denver and Phoenix to visit my sister. I'm not a talk on the phone kinda guy and, being single for so long, I HATE 'checking in', it's just not my style. The SPOT sends out waypoints at 10 minute intervals, she can follow me the whole way, I don't have to check in, she knows where and when I stop for the night and meets me in the driveway with a beer when I pull in. I also have a few friends and neighbors that enjoy watching my travels.

When I'm in the backcountry, she can figure out where I'm camping and as long as the SPOT shows movement, she knows I'm not broken down. Wimminz worry, this brings her a level of comfort, worth it to me.

That's what I thought and where I was going. @elkaholic has the SPOT X on sale for $100 less.

And I'm not a millennial either @Fyathyrio, but i still appreciate the ability to send messages to the wife or vice versa. Or SAR.
And if you're looking at these as texting like a phone, that's not what they do. It can take several minutes for someone to receive the message (at least with the spot), so it's not really anything where you'd feel the temptation to text back and forth.

 

[hondabob]

25 years of retirement riding now. 7 Honda Quads and 9 Honda side by sides with well over 100,000 miles in the last 25 years and not one break down. 3 Kawasaki's with one broken belt, 3 Polaris with many break downs, 7 Yamaha's with a few break downs. I do a lot of big remote rides on Hondas but I know where my cell phone works and I carry a ham radio. I take my little Suzuki on all the big remote solo rides and I have a larger safety margin.

 

[1HasBeen]

SAR knows they can find you at Subway, Bob

 

[McCarthy]

The SPOT functions are useless to me, with the exception of the whole if I can't cobble something together to ride the machine back, or I crash and the machine is undriveable/i'm badly injured, I can click the little emergency button and there's a good chance SAR comes and gets me. I'm usually 100 miles from a town or city, so walking back isn't an option.

 

[IDIOT]

The SPOT is a satellite tracking device. If your GPS has a track log, it does the same thing but with 10 minute pings instead of 82 feet (my GPS). PLB = personal locator beacon, I 'think' you hit the button, it sends out a distress signal and the Marines show up in 10 minits. 🤔

OR the Paratroopers show up in 1