I’ve always loved Honda as a brand. I recently had a rzr xp 1000 non turbo. It had a bunch of aftermarkets on it including a clutch kit. I want to plow my driveway this winter and felt that the rzr probably wasn’t best suited for it. I listed it for sale and sold it. Now I’m trying to figure out what’s next. I was considering a general but love my sport side by sides. The talon intrigued me because it’s not a cvt with a belt (which concerned me with plowing and slippage), so I don’t have to worry about that with the talon. I’ve seen people plow with them on YouTube. I live in “upstate” NY so we don’t get a ton of snow like the farther north states but we get enough depending on the year. What do you guys think? There’s a used 1000r locally for $18,000. 1000 miles, looks very clean and cared for.
First off, $18,000 for an R with only 1000 miles is a good price (at least around the West it is)!
I professionally plowed snow for many years with multiple vehicles. There is a right type of vehicle for each type job. We used single cab/short bed units for residential and small jobs and crew cab/long bed for larger parking lots, malls, etc.
Fast forward 25 years and I no longer plow snow but I built a plow unit out of a Yamaha Rhino. That machine has a super tight turning radius and plowed small residential driveways and sidewalks like nothing else around. I sold it and will not even try to plow my residential driveway with my R. I use my lawn tractor now and it actually works pretty good.
The Talon will hold up just fine but be warned the R has a horrible turning radius and will suck at plowing tight areas and the X isn't much better. If you are occasionally plowing a long driveway then you should be OK. If your driveway is a small residential or you are doing multiple jobs, you may want to consider something else.
In other words, if you are buying a SxS for mainly play and will occasionally plow a long driveway, the Talon would suffice. If you are buying the SxS to mainly plowing snow and other utility uses and will occasionally go riding, then the Talon is not a good choice. Even split use between the 2 makes that Talon a poor choice.
