Talon intake pre-filter kit

[highpocket74]

Sharing a couple cool intake tube cad views.

I had the tube and the plate drawn but never assembled into a single model. So I took some 3d scans of an assembled tube and used those to accurately align the parts. It's possible to measure the alignment but would take a lot of measuring to reference points to do this manually.

For those out there who think this is an easy build, I sent this model to a professional fab shop to hopefully have these completely fabricated for me to free up my time. They made 3 failed attempts to reproduce this design then finally tapped out. Looks like I'll continue welding each assembly for now.

The 2024 Talons have no intake changes so I'm already stocking up on parts for the Spring-Summer rush like last year.

 

[Admin]

 

[Tramguage1]

Sharing a couple cool intake tube cad views.

I had the tube and the plate drawn but never assembled into a single model. So I took some 3d scans of an assembled tube and used those to accurately align the parts. It's possible to measure the alignment but would take a lot of measuring to reference points to do this manually.

For those out there who think this is an easy build, I sent this model to a professional fab shop to hopefully have these completely fabricated for me to free up my time. They made 3 failed attempts to reproduce this design then finally tapped out. Looks like I'll continue welding each assembly for now.

The 2024 Talons have no intake changes so I'm already stocking up on parts for the Spring-Summer rush like last year.

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Have you contacted @Neohio ?

 

[Neohio]

Have you contacted @Neohio ?

He and I have talked about it. My vp of sales and quality manager stated the volume is too low. Which really irritates me. I think this and the tree kicker would be fun.

 

[highpocket74]

Have you contacted @Neohio ?

Neohio was super helpful but like he said upper management said no. But hey, I have a great local shop that makes no volume limits on parts for me. I’ll just have to keep welding for now. My fixture still works great!

 

[highpocket74]

Finally had a few moments to attach the Desertcraft filter model to the intake tube model for a nice looking assembly.

 

[highpocket74]

Got a few things in the works for the intake kits.

1. This week PPEI is dyno testing a new filter that Desertcraft made at my request that will provide better filtering. However if the dyno proves the filter is restricting my Talon, then this may not fly. They are also testing the ever popular UNI foam filter for reference.

2. We have a working prototype of an intake tube without a cover plate. In fact, it's on my Talon at the dyno. I stay behind on inventory due to welding the cover plates onto the tubes then send to paint. The concept now is to eliminate the aluminum plate and color matching by designing a grommet to dress the fender hole. With this system, you will not see any of the tube above the fender so all tubes will be painted black as a protective coating. As you all know, a grommet sounds simple but for this application and location it is NOT! We still have a few changes to make to the grommet but it looks good and grips the tube very well. If all this works out as we think, then we will eliminate the cover plate part and welding but add a grommet and a securing hose clamp under the fender. I know people like the colors but the good thing is this new system will cover very minimal of the OEM fender. I'll post a pic soon. Then I'll need to find a company that can mold these grommets for me because I am NOT wanting to 3d print hundreds of these out of flexible TPU filament.

Every week I make tubes then sell out. It's been like that for 2 years now and it's very tiring. My main goal is getting these out there for the poeple who need them.

3. Inventory costs are getting to high with items that do not sell as well as others. I'll have to begin cutting products that don't sell well to focus on those that do and right now those best sellers are intake kits and seat risers.

I absolutely love creating new things for the Talon but right now I've got to focus my efforts on the big sellers to keep this micro business moving forward.

Love you guys! You make me work harder to create great products!

 

[highpocket74]

Making the impossible, possible!
Thanks to my coworker, 3d printing partner, riding buddy Randy for his assistance in turning my sketch idea into a real part. It is a total blast to design new parts. It's even more fun being adaptable and getting products to market quickly.

This is the future for my Talon intake kit. This flexible urethane 3d printed grommet will replace my aluminum cover plate that requires welding to the intake tube. The grommet is designed to fit the tube tightly for support. The hose clamp will be under the fender and is security. We have one more round of dimensional checks early this week then it will be off to the races again! The current plan is to dedicate 1 printer to these parts only. If that falls behind demand we will add a second printer as required. I figure if I am going to spend $5000 on mold costs, why not buy the equipment to do this ourselves and keep the money. This TPU print material is TOUGH! I've got wheel center caps on my Talon made of this that have been rolling for 2 years!

We are pushing HARD to get as many of these as possible ready for the expo. The whole process has gone much quicker than we thought possible. Thankful for good help from people that are inspired to create new things like myself.

 

[Fatsquatch]

Making the impossible, possible!
Thanks to my coworker, 3d printing partner, riding buddy Randy for his assistance in turning my sketch idea into a real part. It is a total blast to design new parts. It's even more fun being adaptable and getting products to market quickly.

This is the future for my Talon intake kit. This flexible urethane 3d printed grommet will replace my aluminum cover plate that requires welding to the intake tube. The grommet is designed to fit the tube tightly for support. The hose clamp will be under the fender and is security. We have one more round of dimensional checks early this week then it will be off to the races again! The current plan is to dedicate 1 printer to these parts only. If that falls behind demand we will add a second printer as required. I figure if I am going to spend $5000 on mold costs, why not buy the equipment to do this ourselves and keep the money. This TPU print material is TOUGH! I've got wheel center caps on my Talon made of this that have been rolling for 2 years!

We are pushing HARD to get as many of these as possible ready for the expo. The whole process has gone much quicker than we thought possible. Thankful for good help from people that are inspired to create new things like myself.

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I’d recommend keeping your plate version available for special order even if you price it to make it worth your while so to say. I think you would still sell some because they’re quite awesome looking. It’s certainly what I would be looking for.

 

[highpocket74]

I will be able to do special orders. I'll only have 200 plates waiting! They do still look awesome.
Having 8 colors now has been a bit of a pain to keep up with too.

This new style should be fine. The grommet is the minimum size we need to dress the hole and grip the tube. So the footprint will be small on the factory plastic.

Welding has been eating up all of my weekends for 2 years! I have other products to further develop but the welding has consumed all my spare time.

 

[highpocket74]

Test fit #2 of the grommet with a securing clamp under the fender. The tube or grommet has to be wet for easier installation it fits so tight! But that's what I want.

This is what will be going to the expo, on a cleaned up Talon! Red for the show and go! The peak of red above the fender is merely for the expo, but it does look nice. Hard to make myself spend $20 for 3/4" of visible paint! Normally the filter will set on the grommet.

 

[highpocket74]

My talon will be on the dyno this afternoon. They will be running the original desertcraft filter currently used, a new desertcraft filter that I worked with them on to get a little better filtering, and the old UNI for comparison. I want to see how they all perform compared to each other. The new filter may not be a go if the tuner says it makes too much restriction. I'll definitely find out though. Convenient having a dyno facility 30 mins from home.

 

[BobFarrell]

Very Cool Project!!!! Very interested to learn the result with the 2 different filters. Would also like to know the results from "stock" design too.....

 

[highpocket74]

I added this listing to the website since I get SO MANY back in stock requests. It will give people a preview of what's coming.

Talon Desercraft Pre-filter Kit R2 | 10-80 Dirt Sports

Preview of what's coming the week of April 22, 2024Viewable in person at the Power Sports Expo 2024, Springfield, MOResigned Talon intake tube for quicker, simpler production to meet demand.Same clean look. Minimalist, flexible TPU grommet contoured to the fender replaces the cover plate and...

www.10-80dirtsports.com

 

[highpocket74]

Dyno runs did not get accomplished last week due to several factors including bad storms knocking out power and internet for 2 days. This will have to wait until after the Power Sports Expo this week.

 

[highpocket74]

Cool graphics you guys might like. The cover plate 3d model was used to represent the fender plastic showing how the contoured fender grommet fits.

The fender grommet closeup shows the groove we designed to sandwich the fender plastic on top and bottom for a very secure fit. A new hose clamp will be provided for clamping to the tube under the fender. This is mostly a piece-of-mind thing because this grommet grips VERY well without the hose clamp.

The top lip is designed for minimal coverage of the OEM plastic. The top edge is also leveled off so that the filter can be set down directly on top of the grommet. You don't have to but this can be done. I prefer a little bit of tube showing.

We will be 3d printing these as long as we can using TPU (urethane) 95A material. This material is amazingly tough and flexible considering it's 3d printed.

Assembled view with the Desertcraft filter installed.

 

[Coeus]

I'd be interested in this for the '24 R4... since the red "old" one isn't available yet

 

[highpocket74]

I'd be interested in this for the '24 R4... since the red "old" one isn't available yet

I only have a few of complete kits at the moment and all of them are going with me to the Power Sports Expo this week. But mid week of 4-22-24 we will be stocked up to start shipping kits again. While I'm at the expo grommets will continue being made and tubes getting painted. I apologize for the inconvenience but making a product switch on the fly is very tough to pull off!

You guys will like the new kits. I'm very happy with the way they turned out and I was the most hesitant person to change anything about the design. They sold well and everyone liked them, but the demand was outpacing our production capabilities. Welding was the bottleneck and maintaining inventory of 8 colors had definitely become a challenge.

 

[Coeus]

I only have a few of complete kits at the moment and all of them are going with me to the Power Sports Expo this week. But mid week of 4-22-24 we will be stocked up to start shipping kits again. While I'm at the expo grommets will continue being made and tubes getting painted. I apologize for the inconvenience but making a product switch on the fly is very tough to pull off!

You guys will like the new kits. I'm very happy with the way they turned out and I was the most hesitant person to change anything about the design. They sold well and everyone liked them, but the demand was outpacing our production capabilities. Welding was the bottleneck and maintaining inventory of 8 colors had definitely become a challenge.

No worries... just hoping to get on a list for either... so hopefully can be installed by TO.... Good luck at the expo!

 

[Coeus]

I only have a few of complete kits at the moment and all of them are going with me to the Power Sports Expo this week. But mid week of 4-22-24 we will be stocked up to start shipping kits again. While I'm at the expo grommets will continue being made and tubes getting painted. I apologize for the inconvenience but making a product switch on the fly is very tough to pull off!

You guys will like the new kits. I'm very happy with the way they turned out and I was the most hesitant person to change anything about the design. They sold well and everyone liked them, but the demand was outpacing our production capabilities. Welding was the bottleneck and maintaining inventory of 8 colors had definitely become a challenge.

Got the new version ordered now. Thanks

 

[highpocket74]

With the design change I was expecting to get some flack from customers but thankfully I have not. The new R2 version is still selling well. Thank you guys!

I really did not want to spend another HOT summer welding the tubes! That was miserable!