Talon Talon R 7,000 mile report

H

hondabob

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I expect to get over 10,000 miles without any failures and 20,000 would be great. So far just oil changes and tires. When cold it is difficult to get into low range. A new shift cable didn’t help. My dealer ordered Maxima 0w40 full synethic motorcycle oil to try next. After a 20 minute warm-up it shifts ok.

Honda really did a great job with the Talon. The automatic shift program is very good and I can override it. Moving the tender spring rings up 10 turns in the back and 5 turns up front improve the suspension in the wash board sections and there is more adjustment before the tender springs coil bind.

The air intake location needed improvement so I made an under roof snorkel with a UNI prefilter. It looks like I will have to clean my UNI prefilter before 10,000 miles.

When in low range in a tough technical section its best to be in manual mode so it won’t shift at a bad time. With 30 inch tires the performance is about the same as a RZR 1000. My 2020 Talon R has the stock tires and it is faster then a RZR 1000.

Shift Bang on take off occurs when its not fully into gear. See page 33 in the owners manual. There will be a dash --- instead of a R, H, or L. When its not fully into gear the shift lever will also be preloaded forward in the shift gate. To see the dash on the display with the key on engine not running you can slowly shift from park to reverse. If its not fully into gear the shift lever will be loaded forward in the shift gate and the display will have the dash ---. The sub trans is tough and can take several bangs without damage. It may occur more often when the engine is cold. Taking your foot off the brake helps and if it moves forward or back slightly it helps. When cold I over shift about ¼ inch going into gear. I trimmed the plastic allowing a slight over shift for low range.

My 2016 Pioneer 1000 needed about $40.00 in parts to get it to 19,000 miles and nothing broke until about 10,800 miles. I had to replace a shift cable and an exhaust mounting rubber. At 19,000 I had to replace the rear dif oil seal. While I had it apart I cleaned and greased the wheel bearing carrier pivots. Its probable a good idea to grease them at 20,000 miles and more often for deep water usage. My buddy should get it to 30,000 next year and I will do an update.


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HUCK

HUCK

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Another great write up Bob . Thanks
 
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hondabob

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The 0w40 oil may have helped some but I still find it difficult to get it into low range frequently on a cold start. Taking my foot off the brake helps and if I move it forward a few inches in high it usually will go into low range. When it is fully into gear the shift lever will be in the center of the shift gate and you can wiggle it forward and aft slightly. When shifting forward the shift cable is pulling the sub trans shift lever. When shifting back from Park the cable is pushing the shift lever. If the gear engagement dogs line up the cable may have too much of a rope effect at times to overcome a stiff shift.
 
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HUCK

HUCK

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The 0w40 oil may have helped some but I still find it difficult to get it into low range frequently on a cold start. Taking my foot off the brake helps and if I move it forward a few inches in high it usually will go into low range. When it is fully into gear the shift lever will be in the center of the shift gate and you can wiggle it forward and aft slightly. When shifting forward the shift cable is pulling the sub trans shift lever. When shifting back from Park the cable is pushing the shift lever. If the gear engagement dogs line up the cable may have too much of a rope effect at times to overcome a stiff shift.
Of our 9 Talons in our lil group , your the only one experiencing this and the only one with over 2500 miles . Did this problem always exist ? Did it only start when you adjusted your shift cable ? Did it just come out of no where due to miles /wear ? If we blame it on wear , what is it that wore to cause this ?
 
1

1HasBeen

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Some automotive gearboxes run ATF to reduce sticky/draggy behavior.
 
JACKAL

JACKAL

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The 0w40 oil may have helped some but I still find it difficult to get it into low range frequently on a cold start. Taking my foot off the brake helps and if I move it forward a few inches in high it usually will go into low range. When it is fully into gear the shift lever will be in the center of the shift gate and you can wiggle it forward and aft slightly. When shifting forward the shift cable is pulling the sub trans shift lever. When shifting back from Park the cable is pushing the shift lever. If the gear engagement dogs line up the cable may have too much of a rope effect at times to overcome a stiff shift.

I managed to tweak my sub transmission shifting fork on my 2016 P1K, it acted like you described until machine warmed up. Pretty sure I banged mine too hard in a downhill bind that got me.

Anyway once shifting fork was replaced worked perfectly.

Great information on your ownership experiences. Thanks for sharing.
 
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hondabob

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Huck Not sure but it started a long time ago. I'm going to compare it with my 2020 Talon with about 600 miles. It has occurred on my 2020 talon so I will be driving both. I’m putting on 500 miles a week now. Every time it rains we have to run in about 1,000 miles of sand wash and do some repair work on some of the truck trrail.
 
M

Moto4

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I expect to get over 10,000 miles without any failures and 20,000 would be great. So far just oil changes and tires. When cold it is difficult to get into low range. A new shift cable didn’t help. My dealer ordered Maxima 0w40 full synethic motorcycle oil to try next. After a 20 minute warm-up it shifts ok.

Honda really did a great job with the Talon. The automatic shift program is very good and I can override it. Moving the tender spring rings up 10 turns in the back and 5 turns up front improve the suspension in the wash board sections and there is more adjustment before the tender springs coil bind.

The air intake location needed improvement so I made an under roof snorkel with a UNI prefilter. It looks like I will have to clean my UNI prefilter before 10,000 miles.

When in low range in a tough technical section its best to be in manual mode so it won’t shift at a bad time. With 30 inch tires the performance is about the same as a RZR 1000. My 2020 Talon R has the stock tires and it is faster then a RZR 1000.

Shift Bang on take off occurs when its not fully into gear. See page 33 in the owners manual. There will be a dash --- instead of a R, H, or L. When its not fully into gear the shift lever will also be preloaded forward in the shift gate. To see the dash on the display with the key on engine not running you can slowly shift from park to reverse. If its not fully into gear the shift lever will be loaded forward in the shift gate and the display will have the dash ---. The sub trans is tough and can take several bangs without damage. It may occur more often when the engine is cold. Taking your foot off the brake helps and if it moves forward or back slightly it helps. When cold I over shift about ¼ inch going into gear. I trimmed the plastic allowing a slight over shift for low range.

My 2016 Pioneer 1000 needed about $40.00 in parts to get it to 19,000 miles and nothing broke until about 10,800 miles. I had to replace a shift cable and an exhaust mounting rubber. At 19,000 I had to replace the rear dif oil seal. While I had it apart I cleaned and greased the wheel bearing carrier pivots. Its probable a good idea to grease them at 20,000 miles and more often for deep water usage. My buddy should get it to 30,000 next year and I will do an update.


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Good information. My Talon has had occasional problems going into low right from the beginning. I played with the adjustment some which made some improvement. I like your idea of trimming the shift gate. I'm going to give that a try.
 
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H

hondabob

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Today it wouldn't go into low. It was 45 degrees. I shifted into high and moved it forward about 3 inches then it shifted into low OK. It will always shift great after about 15 minutes of warmup. My dealer has it documented so I will see if it improves in the next few thousand miles. My 2020 Talon will shift into low ok. I checked the shift cable routing and its just like my 2020 talon.
 
HUCK

HUCK

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Today it wouldn't go into low. It was 45 degrees. I shifted into high and moved it forward about 3 inches then it shifted into low OK. It will always shift great after about 15 minutes of warmup. My dealer has it documented so I will see if it improves in the next few thousand miles. My 2020 Talon will shift into low ok. I checked the shift cable routing and its just like my 2020 talon.
Maybe you need a Kawasaki :D
 
H

hondabob

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I really like the Kawasaki but the belt drive is a deal breaker for me. I'd like to rent one for a day and put a couple hundred on one. Belt drive works great and can be ok for someone that only puts on 500 to 1,000 miles a year. The Talon is so good it would be hard to be happy with a belt drive again. My buddy is getting the turbo and that may temp me to get the turbo too.
 
HUCK

HUCK

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I really like the Kawasaki but the belt drive is a deal breaker for me. I'd like to rent one for a day and put a couple hundred on one. Belt drive works great and can be ok for someone that only puts on 500 to 1,000 miles a year. The Talon is so good it would be hard to be happy with a belt drive again. My buddy is getting the turbo and that may temp me to get the turbo too.
Personally , I would buy a Polaris before a Kawasaki . Going om a 50" ride tomorrow , sorry you can't go . I have a neighbor who thinks he wants a Canned Ham Defender . I'm going to sell him on a Pioneer or a Talon .
 
Sheetmetalfab

Sheetmetalfab

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I really like the Kawasaki but the belt drive is a deal breaker for me. I'd like to rent one for a day and put a couple hundred on one. Belt drive works great and can be ok for someone that only puts on 500 to 1,000 miles a year. The Talon is so good it would be hard to be happy with a belt drive again. My buddy is getting the turbo and that may temp me to get the turbo too.

we need a real turbo review.
 
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hondabob

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My Talon shifted great today. Right into low like it does when its fully warmed up after about a 15 minute drive. I'm thinking the 0w40 oil may have fixed it but I will test for another couple of weeks to be sure. My front dif seal just started leaking so I will get it fixed next year. The dif oil level was down about 1\16th of an inch so no problem driving it another thousand miles since it holds 13.4 oz plus I'm in 2WD most of the time.

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H

hondabob

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Looks like the 0w40 Maxima motorcycle fix it or made it way better. It shifts into low ok the last few days. I shift into high then a quick shift into low. Easy to get real Happy. I do expect it can clock so the gear dogs line up making it difficult to shift into low without moving it a couple inches but just had a week of no problem. I'm a bit over 7,500 miles now. My dealer ordered a new dif seal. I will make an appointment and bring it in in the morning and get it back after lunch. I just hate it when a dealer will need a week or two to do an easy fix like a dif seal. We have a good dealer here and most dealers have a storage issue. Its a win win for the dealer too.
 
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