Talon Talon thoughts from previous sport owners

[CumminsPusher]

Just wondering thoughts from guys that have the Talon and either have or have had another brand sport. What are your thoughts, comparisons, likes and dislikes?
On honest comparison.

 

[Admin]

 

[DRKnight]

Well CumminsPusher, My observation so far with only 350 miles.

My last SXS was a Polaris 800S, So not exactly a true fare comparison. ( 17,000 miles )
Mods to the Polaris, Heavy duty clutch, same size tires all four corners 27 X 9 R12 , 2" lift,
Shock Therapy re valved Fox shocks with dual rate springs. Lots of accessories.

So far for my Talon X, 30 X 10 R15 tires on STI HD4 rims w/ 5X2 offset.
That required 1 1/2" spacers in the rear to square up the width now at 67"
I had the tires replaced at the dealer before I picked up the Talon.
So far no other mods, but lots of accessories being added.

Ground clearance, PoPo 11 1/2", Talon 13", I like that and the Talon has the power to pull the taller ties.
Ride comfort and control. PoPo, more plush and a lot smoother.
Talon, rougher at slow speeds, but tracks and handles much better at higher speeds. In fact I am very impressed with the tracking and handling.
But the touchy throttle was a real sore spot with me on anything but pavement or well groomed roads.
I was able to remedy that by adding a heel support similar to that of the PoPo, and that toke care of that issue.
I am waiting for Shock Therapy to come up with a fix for the shocks or better dual rate springs to get the ride quality back at slower speeds.
I think that can be done with the adjustable 3 Way Fox shocks and not give up any bottoming out issues ect. at high speeds.

Most of my rides are in Arizona and it is very dusty, lets make that extremely dusty...
I have never seen a UTV with as many open areas to let the dust in as the Talon has, It is going to take a lot of ingenuity to plug them up.
The PoPo had it's share also but no where as bad. I have been working on that issue...
There is also a lot of heat coming through the fire wall and up through the shift lever area. This can be addressed on the fire wall, but the shift area is going to be a little challenging.
It was a lot more easier to fix on the PoPo.

The drink holders are in a very poor location on the Talon, to far back to reach easy and you will be hitting your elbow on most tumblers ect. put in them.
I am adding a drink holder mounted off the side of the O-s*** bar and adding a arm rest in place of the current drink holders.

DCT vs Belt, I replaced four belts in 17,000 miles and one clutch at around 10K miles, but never lost a belt.
The PoPo stock clutch was noisy. The after market heavy duty clutch was quiet. and there was very little noise from the drive train.
Now for the Talon, The DCT is very noisy with a loud metal clanking when shifting, but very quick and positive.
The more I use it and learn how to get the most out of it ( shifing ) I really like it.
But he drive train in the Talon is extremly noisy, must be square cut gears and not bevel or something, but very annoying.
I do wear head phone most of the time for commuications on the VHF, so it canceals some of it out.

Visibility out the front not bad, but not as good as the PoPo for off road rough up and down terrain.

Top end and power of course the Talon wins hands down over the 800S PoPo with a 12 mph top end difference and twice the HP.
I like that for running ong the highway at 55 - 60 mph, as we can are street legal here and the Talon dosen't have to work as hard.

Fuel millage PoPo avg. 22 mpg. Talon 17 mpg so far average. I did get 20 mpg one time on a shorter run.

That's my take so far. I did miss my PoPo at first, but I am getting to like the Talon more every day and think in the long run I will be happier with it...DRK

Forgot to mention, Build Quality far superior on the Honda...

 

[CumminsPusher]

Well CumminsPusher, My observation so far with only 350 miles.

My last SXS was a Polaris 800S, So not exactly a true fare comparison. ( 17,000 miles )
Mods to the Polaris, Heavy duty clutch, same size tires all four corners 27 X 9 R12 , 2" lift,
Shock Therapy re valved Fox shocks with dual rate springs. Lots of accessories.

So far for my Talon X, 30 X 10 R15 tires on STI HD4 rims w/ 5X2 offset.
That required 1 1/2" spacers in the rear to square up the width now at 67"
I had the tires replaced at the dealer before I picked up the Talon.
So far no other mods, but lots of accessories being added.

Ground clearance, PoPo 11 1/2", Talon 13", I like that and the Talon has the power to pull the taller ties.
Ride comfort and control. PoPo, more plush and a lot smoother.
Talon, rougher at slow speeds, but tracks and handles much better at higher speeds. In fact I am very impressed with the tracking and handling.
But the touchy throttle was a real sore spot with me on anything but pavement or well groomed roads.
I was able to remedy that by adding a heel support similar to that of the PoPo, and that toke care of that issue.
I am waiting for Shock Therapy to come up with a fix for the shocks or better dual rate springs to get the ride quality back at slower speeds.
I think that can be done with the adjustable 3 Way Fox shocks and not give up any bottoming out issues ect. at high speeds.

Most of my rides are in Arizona and it is very dusty, lets make that extremely dusty...
I have never seen a UTV with as many open areas to let the dust in as the Talon has, It is going to take a lot of ingenuity to plug them up.
The PoPo had it's share also but no where as bad. I have been working on that issue...
There is also a lot of heat coming through the fire wall and up through the shift lever area. This can be addressed on the fire wall, but the shift area is going to be a little challenging.
It was a lot more easier to fix on the PoPo.

The drink holders are in a very poor location on the Talon, to far back to reach easy and you will be hitting your elbow on most tumblers ect. put in them.
I am adding a drink holder mounted off the side of the O-s*** bar and adding a arm rest in place of the current drink holders.

DCT vs Belt, I replaced four belts in 17,000 miles and one clutch at around 10K miles, but never lost a belt.
The PoPo stock clutch was noisy. The after market heavy duty clutch was quiet. and there was very little noise from the drive train.
Now for the Talon, The DCT is very noisy with a loud metal clanking when shifting, but very quick and positive.
The more I use it and learn how to get the most out of it ( shifing ) I really like it.
But he drive train in the Talon is extremly noisy, must be square cut gears and not bevel or something, but very annoying.
I do wear head phone most of the time for commuications on the VHF, so it canceals some of it out.

Visibility out the front not bad, but not as good as the PoPo for off road rough up and down terrain.

Top end and power of course the Talon wins hands down over the 800S PoPo with a 12 mph top end difference and twice the HP.
I like that for running ong the highway at 55 - 60 mph, as we can are street legal here and the Talon dosen't have to work as hard.

Fuel millage PoPo avg. 22 mpg. Talon 17 mpg so far average. I did get 20 mpg one time on a shorter run.

That's my take so far. I did miss my PoPo at first, but I am getting to like the Talon more every day and think in the long run I will be happier with it...DRK

Forgot to mention, Build Quality far superior on the Honda...

That’s a very unbiased write up. Awesome thank you. Disappointed to hear what you thought of the noise difference. I thought somewhere I did see that Talon wasn’t running straight cut gears but might’ve been hearsay. Curious to see what people come up with on the low speed suspension setup but great to hear high speed takes things

 

[jasond]

I'm in a Talon R now and coming from a 2017 RZR XP1K. I put 1500 miles on the RZR (90% were trail miles) and I'm only at 100 miles so far in the Talon and this weekend will be my first real outing with it at Brimstone for 3 days/nights of riding. So take my initial Talon remarks with a grain of salt until I can get more seat time.

Power/Transmission

RZR: Plenty of power on tap for my riding style. You can flick the rear end around in fast corners if you want to and power out into straights. Very quick off the line and pulls hard up to 40 or so mph before leveling off until 70 where it'd creep up to top out around 75-76. Definitely a Polaris CVT that has the harsh engagement due to not being a centrifugal clutch. I replaced the stock clutch setup with a Duraclutch and it was hands-down the best upgrade I did to that machine.

Talon: Again, seems to have plenty of power readily available. TORQUE TORQUE TORQUE. Quick off the line and in watching drag races against RZRs it's right there with them, but it doesn't feel like it's as fast off the line if that makes sense. Transmission is buttery smooth - especially when taking off at a crawl - but you definitely hear it when shifting. The smooth takeoffs is such a welcome change to not have the clunking and clacking of a stock Polaris CVT.

Handling

RZR: Polaris got the handling right. There's no debate on this from me. Turning radius is great for a 64" machine and it's predictable. You point it and it goes there. The power steering assist level is just right as well.

Talon: One of the first things I noticed about it is that the turning radius is substantially larger than my RZR. Will it be a dealbreaker? Probably not, but it's very obvious from the get-go. It has more assist from the power steering unit, but personally I still like it. Some may say it's got too much assist. One characteristic I was really impressed with is the minimal amount of body roll and how flat it corners. It stays planted really well.

Suspension

RZR: Very plush, very comfortable ride. Geometry is great and there are a ton of clicker adjustments on the Walker Evans shocks. The stock springs are average at best when comparing to aftermarket options, but they get the job done for most Average Joes. The most significant suspension complaint I have is that they make the a-arms and radius rods out of tubing that's basically exhaust tubing. Stronger high-clearance upgrades are a must so you don't ruin a weekend trip.

Talon: Definitely a firmer ride with the factory clicker settings. I like the QS3's and their simplicity. For shock-tuning junkies; you'll probably want more adjustability, but I think these are targeted toward the average guy who wants a quick and easy adjustment and that's exactly what you get with soft/medium/firm. I set the rear shocks to 1 (softest) and will try the fronts at 2 (medium). It's setup for fast riding and should really handle large G-outs well for West Coast guys. Us East-Coasters may find it a bit stiff, but it's definitely not as stiff as stock 2016 Yamaha YXZ shocks (way too firm if you've ever experienced them).

Build Quality

RZR: They put them together and sell a lot of these machines. They're not over-engineered by any stretch of the imagination. Aesthetically, they look the best in my opinion and they're a blast to ride. However, once you break it in and get past that 500 mile mark and you'll discover that these machines are not designed with durability in mind. They eat wheel bearings (and subsequently brake pads when the rotors have deflection from worn wheel bearings), u-joints, driveshaft carrier bearings, bushings, and skimp by with driveline parts from the factory.

I understand that some people abuse machines more than others do and they all require maintenance. These are simply sub-par when it comes to the quality of the build from the factory and there's a reason so many aftermarket companies have an upgrade for just about everything you can think of. A prime example is that in 1500 miles I was on my third set of wheel bearings (including the originals), third set of brake pads, second carrier bearing, second set of driveshaft u-joints, upgraded lower a-arm/radius rod bushings, and second set of sway bar bushings. My uncle has a 2016 Yamaha YXZ with just shy of 3,000 miles and he's never changed wheel bearings or brake pads.

My biggest overall complaint about my RZR is that I'd wrench for 4 hours and ride for 2 hours.

Talon: There's no conversation here. No comparison. No debate. The Honda is built substantially better. Time will tell on longevity and durability, but it's a Honda and I expect Honda reliability.

I'm upgrading to high-clearance suspension components because I know my riding terrain and don't want to risk bending arms, but for being stock parts they're pretty nice.

Where Polaris uses a self-tapping screw....Honda uses a bolt, nylock nut, washer, and rubber isolating washer.

Creature Comforts

RZR: I like the floorboard drain plugs, seating positioning is excellent, and accessories are aplenty. It's an easy-to-operate machine and also pretty easy to work on (even if you have to do it a lot). The factory busbar under the hood is awesome for adding electrical accessories and makes things easy. It's definitely designed with aftermarket accessories in mind.

Talon: I think I'm going to miss having the large floorboard drains, but the factory drains on the Talon aren't bad for washing. The seats aren't quite as comfortable as RZR seats, but again aren't bad by any means. My passenger isn't nearly as comfortable in the Talon as she was in the RZR. She claims it's not made well for short people (she's 5'1"). On the contrary, it's really comfortable for tall people (I'm 6'2"). Adding electrical accessories takes quite a bit more work to get a nice "infrastructure" in place that's expandable (see my wiring video for how I addressed this).

Once the aftermarket has had time to catch up I'm sure there'll be some really nice accessories available, but it's still too new and selection is limited right now.


Overall, I think I'm going to be very happy with the Talon and my decision to jump ship. There will be some trade-offs, but I think the positives will more than outweigh the drawbacks from having switched platforms.

 

[stellarpod]

Build Quality

RZR: They put them together and sell a lot of these machines. They're not over-engineered by any stretch of the imagination. Aesthetically, they look the best in my opinion and they're a blast to ride. However, once you break it in and get past that 500 mile mark and you'll discover that these machines are not designed with durability in mind. They eat wheel bearings (and subsequently brake pads when the rotors have deflection from worn wheel bearings), u-joints, driveshaft carrier bearings, bushings, and skimp by with driveline parts from the factory.

I understand that some people abuse machines more than others do and they all require maintenance. These are simply sub-par when it comes to the quality of the build from the factory and there's a reason so many aftermarket companies have an upgrade for just about everything you can think of. A prime example is that in 1500 miles I was on my third set of wheel bearings (including the originals), third set of brake pads, second carrier bearing, second set of driveshaft u-joints, upgraded lower a-arm/radius rod bushings, and second set of sway bar bushings. My uncle has a 2016 Yamaha YXZ with just shy of 3,000 miles and he's never changed wheel bearings or brake pads.

My biggest overall complaint about my RZR is that I'd wrench for 4 hours and ride for 2 hours.

Talon: There's no conversation here. No comparison. No debate. The Honda is built substantially better. Time will tell on longevity and durability, but it's a Honda and I expect Honda reliability.

I'm upgrading to high-clearance suspension components because I know my riding terrain and don't want to risk bending arms, but for being stock parts they're pretty nice.

Where Polaris uses a self-tapping screw....Honda uses a bolt, nylock nut, washer, and rubber isolating washer.

Nice, concise, objective review, Jason. Thanks. (BTW - I found your YouTube video channel before I found you here)

Interesting observations re: build quality. Your verdict seems to be the same as most people's, that the Honda is far better built. I have no experience with Polaris UTV/ATV's, but I've owned a Polaris Indian (2015 Vintage). Although the bike was beautiful and garnered more compliments than any bike I've ever owned, build-wise it was not even in the same galaxy as my 2014 Harley Ultra Limited. The Harley chrome, paint, fit & finish just blew the Indian away - not even close. Seems like Polaris has a different set of manufacturing priorities than do the other manufacturers.

Thanks again for your review.

Steve

 

[jasond]

Nice, concise, objective review, Jason. Thanks. (BTW - I found your YouTube video channel before I found you here)

Interesting observations re: build quality. Your verdict seems to be the same as most people's, that the Honda is far better built. I have no experience with Polaris UTV/ATV's, but I've owned a Polaris Indian (2015 Vintage). Although the bike was beautiful and garnered more compliments than any bike I've ever owned, build-wise it was not even in the same galaxy as my 2014 Harley Ultra Limited. The Harley chrome, paint, fit & finish just blew the Indian away - not even close. Seems like Polaris has a different set of manufacturing priorities than do the other manufacturers.

Thanks again for your review.

Steve

I can't speak to any of Polaris' products other than RZRs. However, they definitely own the majority of the market share and people continue to buy their products so I'm sure they'll keep the current business model since it's clearly working.

It's a shame they don't design and build their machines on par with the Hondas and Yamahas of the world. They'd be more expensive, but would be untouchable in terms of continuing to lead the industry. I think the Talon is the first sport SxS that will really garner some attention from Polaris and potentially cause them to respond to retain customers. Initially, I thought the YXZ would be the one to do it, but it was targeted to narrowly at sand dune and ultra-fast riding styles so they missed the target.

 

[JimmyTalon]

I had a Yamaha yxz1000 for a year and a half. Actually the talon R and yxz have a lot of similarities. They are both a bit too long for effective weight transfer to rear wheels for traction. The Yamaha was slightly worse due to weight distribution. Both have geared transmissions, with the yammy operated by paddle shifter only. The talon computer shifted trans is working incredibly well, so that's a clear win. The yammy had more power , but made it's best torque between 7000 and 10k rpm. Not the greatest powerband for off road use! The Honda has great useable torque from 3000 to red line 8500, wider range, at lower rpm than Yamaha , so a clear improvement. If we were comparing street bikes, the vote would be opposite. Suspension, stock vs stock, Honda is more plush at low speed and still works better at high speed. My yammy had eibach dual rate spring systems added, so ultimately was better yet in all conditions. These tweaks will come for the Honda eventually. Seating and interior was similar between machines.
I've also owned, or still own, Polaris General Deluxe 1000, Polaris rzr rs1 1000, John Deere gator 825i. Of all machines I've owned, the rs1 shines in power to weight , suspension effectiveness , weight transfer and traction, above all others. The stock seat sucked and was replaced with a prp gt. It's very loud so I'm going to start wearing ear plugs under my helmet. Even at 64 inches width, It's more maneuverable in the woods than anything else I've had. Of course it's a one seater, so that has obvious limitations (no whining passenger). The General is super handy and about the best overall compromise between utility and sport , if you can give up ultimate sport capability. Great plush ride, super maneuverable, good power, moderate sized dump cargo box, great seats, nice interior, well thought out machine. The only downside to the General is the belt drive. It's as good as any belt drive.
The talon R is honing my driving skills in woods trails, because it steers less sharp, is wider and longer than any other utv I've driven. It's an inch or two clearance to trees in many places on my trails. So I've got to slow down to keep from smashing it. The rs1 would spank the talon badly because of the maneuverability differences. Of course I should have bought the X instead of the R, for trails use. But I have the rs1 for that, and we spend a fair amount of time on local gravel roads going places, so the Honda shines there. Either machine (rs1 or Talon) will do all tasks well, but each has its superior talents. I'm still searching for that one perfect unit that can excell at all tasks.

 

[DRKnight]

On the the RZR forums there was people that complained a lot about lack of mileage on their brake pads as JASON did in his review and some also about wheel bearing issues.
I had to replace one rear wheel bearing on my RZR at around 10,000 plus miles. That's when I learned about the wheel bearing greasers
and started greasing my wheel bearing once a year after that.
I have not looked into what wheel bearing are used on the Talon yet, but hoping I can use the greasing tool on it.
I think a lot depends on what day of the week a vehicle was made might have it's effect on how well they hold up over the long run.
And also those that spend a lot of time in mud and water, see a lot more problems with brake wear and wheel bearings.

My RZR had 17,000 plus miles on it when I sold it and still had the original brake shoes and only lost the one rear wheel bearing.
There are three others in our riding group with 10 to 15,000 plus miles and have not yet had to replace the brakes or wheel bearings.
So I don't think it was a normal problem.

Let's keep our finger crossed that the Talon will do better... Based on what I see of the build quality I see so far, I think it should...DRK

 

[Jamie-in-WV]

Only have a few rides on the Talon R but in comparison to my Arctic cat sport I wish the Talon seats would quick remove for cleaning, not just the bottom cushion, the cat had seats that a quick pull on the release and both cushions and seat frame came out. But the Talon is easier to clean, don't seem to be as many small tight areas for mud to hide as the Arctic cat has.

 

[HUCK]

I have a Pioneer a RZR and 1200 miles on my Talon .
Absolutely nothing I miss about the first two . I still have them but not sure why .
The Talon is better in every way EXCEPT low speed rock crawling , the RZR is smoother suspension wise .
My worst mileage has been 19 mpg and it seems the last four fill ups were 20+ mpg .
My Talon is quieter then either of the other two . I hear it shift but try to up shift a RZR to drop rpm and let the engine ease along , not gonna happen .