Moab October 2020

[PaulF]

Went to Moab for the weekend, it was everything I expected and more. Wasn't going to try anything crazy but we did Moab Rim (more difficult than expected) and "accidently" ended up at the Hell's Gate obstacle. Didn't look too hard so I gave it a try. Sun was in my eyes and the top was a blind exit. A little sloppy but made for a good video.

 

[Admin]

 

[CID]

Nice throttle save, Paul.

More Moab videos/photos plz. 😍

@Lil_Steve Paul's video above.

 

[PaulF]

Nice throttle save, Paul.

More Moab videos/photos plz. 😍

When in doubt, throttle out!!!

I am convinced that the rear geometry that causes the bucking on the Talon helps it recover from situations like this more easily. I found it "propelled" my machine over obstacles with ease. Not an expert by any means but it just felt really good to me. My Talon did things I did not think it could do.

I was so into the crawling that not many pics and vids were taken. I had a dash cam but the footage is rather boring. I will try to extract some good stuff and post.

The scenery there is breathtaking. Pics do it no justice...

 

[ehart814]

Went to Moab for the weekend, it was everything I expected and more. Wasn't going to try anything crazy but we did Moab Rim (more difficult than expected) and "accidently" ended up at the Hell's Gate obstacle. Didn't look too hard so I gave it a try. Sun was in my eyes and the top was a blind exit. A little sloppy but made for a good video.

That is so cool.... I hope I live long enough to make it there.

 

[PaulF]

FYI, don't try this in the morning without experience (like I did), the sun is brutal. This is my view, arrow points to the hole (I could not see) that I fell in that caused the "gasps" in the video. It was a wild ride (about 7.0 on the pucker factor)...

 

[CID]

When in doubt, throttle out!!!

I am convinced that the rear geometry that causes the bucking on the Talon helps it recover from situations like this more easily. I found it "propelled" my machine over obstacles with ease. Not an expert by any means but it just felt really good to me. My Talon did things I did not think it could do.

I was so into the crawling that not many pics and vids were taken. I had a dash cam but the footage is rather boring. I will try to extract some good stuff and post.

The scenery there is breathtaking. Pics do it no justice...

View attachment 229841


View attachment 229842

Did you experience the Talon bog anywhere? I have once, I was stopped, applied gas and it just kinda sat there - it's been said by others that the clutch engages at such a low RPM, that there's no HP there, so it falls flat. When it happened to me, I was sorta lodged between two rocks and didn't want to hammer it, so I just backed out. I was solo, it was late enough and a trail bottleneck, so I didn't want to wedge myself into a position I couldn't get out of.

I'm just wondering if anyone has found a situation that the Talon wouldn't pull itself out of, short of the common 'stuck in the mud' scenario which is where the 'bog' usually shows up. I'm not a mudder but don't want to get myself in a position in the desert that I can't get back through.

My trailer is a 'difficult load' and has to climb the fenders from a dead stop, it handles that ok but it feels right on the edge of bogging.

You other guys, don't be bashful - post 'em up. 👍

Approach is from the left and almost straight up. I couldn't make it tamer because I have to be able to pull up tight to the fenders for tongue
weight.

 

[Hometeam]

When in doubt, throttle out!!!

I am convinced that the rear geometry that causes the bucking on the Talon helps it recover from situations like this more easily. I found it "propelled" my machine over obstacles with ease. Not an expert by any means but it just felt really good to me. My Talon did things I did not think it could do.

I was so into the crawling that not many pics and vids were taken. I had a dash cam but the footage is rather boring. I will try to extract some good stuff and post.

The scenery there is breathtaking. Pics do it no justice...

View attachment 229841


View attachment 229842

Paul, I feel the same way about the suspension geometry on the Talons. Not an expert either but my experience has been the same with climbing!

Great pics and video!! I can't wait to get back to Moab! Me and my boys are planning a trip there next year!

 

[Lil_Steve]

Nice job, it's an intimidating looking trail. Great new avatar too!
First time I rode Moab in a SxS was a couple of years ago in my "new to me" stock Teryx 800. It was lots of fun, and like you, I realized the machine was capable of things I didn't think it could do. I rode most of Hell's Revenge but chickened out at Hell's Gate. The Teryx isn't as wide as the Talon and I just didn't have the guts to do it. I also got to ride Steel Bender and Fin's and Things. I love Moab, I need to go back and give Hell's Gate another try.

Hope you don't mind a bit of a hijack with some pics...

I recently sold my Teryx. It was surprisingly capable but my Talon fits my riding style much better.

Tip Over Challenge. There was broken auto glass in a few places but the Teryx climbed this section with ease.

A "must do" destination if you haven't been there.

Cant' wait to get back out there.

Steel Bender. 18 mile trail that took us a few hours. This was about midway through, the sun was setting and we ran the rest in complete darkness!

 

[PaulF]

Did you experience the Talon bog anywhere? I have once, I was stopped, applied gas and it just kinda sat there - it's been said by others that the clutch engages at such a low RPM, that there's no HP there, so it falls flat. When it happened to me, I was sorta lodged between two rocks and didn't want to hammer it, so I just backed out. I was solo, it was late enough and a trail bottleneck, so I didn't want to wedge myself into a position I couldn't get out of.

I'm just wondering if anyone has found a situation that the Talon wouldn't pull itself out of, short of the common 'stuck in the mud' scenario which is where the 'bog' usually shows up. I'm not a mudder but don't want to get myself in a position in the desert that I can't get back through.

My trailer is a 'difficult load' and has to climb the fenders from a dead stop, it handles that ok but it feels right on the edge of bogging.

You other guys, don't be bashful - post 'em up. 👍

Approach is from the left and almost straight up. I couldn't make it tamer because I have to be able to pull up tight to the fenders for tongue
weight.
View attachment 229860

Happened to me once but soon realized I was in High (duh). Clutch begins to engage at about 1800 RPM but if you don't finesse it enough and know when to give enough (more) gas as it engages (like a manual transmission as you release the clutch pedal), it can bog down and you loose all your torque. Since I learned this and adjusted my throttle application style, I have not had any bog issues (except when I am in High and should be in low).

One Talon 4 seater slid over and got his rear tire wedged between the rock surface below and an overhanging rock directly above and he couldn't move. Took several guys to get him unwedged. Any machine would have got stuck in the same situation, the wheel just couldn't turn.

We went on Moab Rim and there are several straight up ledges and I had absolutely no issues with them. Also had several situations where steps were spaced at my exact wheel base and the front and rear tires were both on straight up stepped ledges and got over them. I had to get on it but I didn't feel there was a lack of power.

You have to remember, although the Talon acts like an automatic, there is no torque converter. It is basically a friction clutch (like any other manual transmission) except a computer controls the clutch engagement (rather than you). If you engage a manual clutch without giving a little gas as you engage, you will bog or stall, the Talon will do a similar thing. It took me quite a while to learn how to control the throttle while climbing ledges.

 

[PaulF]

Nice job, it's an intimidating looking trail. Great new avatar too!
First time I rode Moab in a SxS was a couple of years ago in my "new to me" stock Teryx 800. It was lots of fun, and like you, I realized the machine was capable of things I didn't think it could do. I rode most of Hell's Revenge but chickened out at Hell's Gate. The Teryx isn't as wide as the Talon and I just didn't have the guts to do it. I also got to ride Steel Bender and Fin's and Things. I love Moab, I need to go back and give Hell's Gate another try.

My BIL has balls of steel. He has a 2012 RZR Trail (50" wide) that he takes everywhere and anywhere. He runs 27's with spacers and offsets so he is about 56" wide but still not very wide.

Moab Rim is ranked a 7 but should be an 8 in my opinion. Every trail was packed and we couldn't figure out why MR was empty until we got past the 1st obstacle. Holy crap, the off camber and straight drops were just about all I could handle.

BIL going up Hell's Gate in his little 800 Trail...

 

[Lil_Steve]

The Teryx was my first SxS and I bought it just a few weeks before that trip in 2018. With virtually no experience I was sure I'd be flipping down Hell's Gate if I gave it a try. You guys made it look easy.

 

[PaulF]

The Teryx was my first SxS and I bought it just a few weeks before that trip in 2018. With virtually no experience I was sure I'd be flipping down Hell's Gate if I gave it a try. You guys made it look easy.

BIL made it look easy, I did it the hard way .

Talon is really my first machine. My Rhino before that only lasted a few months before I got the itch for something better.

 

[CID]

My BIL has balls of steel. He has a 2012 RZR Trail (50" wide) that he takes everywhere and anywhere. He runs 27's with spacers and offsets so he is about 56" wide but still not very wide.

Moab Rim is ranked a 7 but should be an 8 in my opinion. Every trail was packed and we couldn't figure out why MR was empty until we got past the 1st obstacle. Holy crap, the off camber and straight drops were just about all I could handle.

BIL going up Hell's Gate in his little 800 Trail...

Tire size? You had no trouble blipping the throttle like might happen with 32"s? 🤔

Sway bar hooked up?

 

[PaulF]

Tire size? You had no trouble blipping the throttle like might happen with 32"s? 🤔

Sway bar hooked up?

• 30" Tusk TerraBite Kevlar. Awesome at rock crawling at 5/6 psi. Throttle seems fine but I only had the 28's on for a short time so nothing to compare it to. Top end really lacks at my altitude. 32's would require some IGR.
• Sway Bar disconnected.
• Shocks worked over by Weller Racing = Awesome!!!

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

When in doubt, throttle out!!!

I am convinced that the rear geometry that causes the bucking on the Talon helps it recover from situations like this more easily. I found it "propelled" my machine over obstacles with ease. Not an expert by any means but it just felt really good to me. My Talon did things I did not think it could do.

You are 100% correct in that assumption. The "lift" helps the rear of the car get up and over obstacles easier and pushes the tires into the ground for better traction.

 

[PaulF]

You are 100% correct in that assumption. The "lift" helps the rear of the car get up and over obstacles easier and pushes the tires into the ground for better traction.

If you watch the video carefully (or frame by frame), you will also notice that when the front comes off the ground and I throttle up the rear suspension unloads/extends and the way the rear geometry is set up it makes the Anti-Squat go over 100% and that immediately causes a "nose dive" effect and forces the front tires back down to the ground. Same thing happens when you go over a whoop and makes the nose dive and the machine buck.

This is a perfect illustration that what is good for rock crawling is not so good for whoops and jumps and vice versa.

Try that in another machine that pulls the nose up while accelerating and you may just flip over because those machines have the opposite effect (which makes them good on the whoops). You cannot have it both ways with the same suspension setup. Starting to think that Honda may have done it that way on purpose to try to make an "all around" machine. Good at everything but not excel at just one thing.

I am considering trying some limit straps in the rear so that the Anti-Squat remains under 100% and see how it handles whoops and jumps. I have moved some weight around so back to the scales I go for more calculations

 

[Ragnar406]

That place is amazing. The traction you get out there on the rock ... can give you false confidence when you get back home lol