Honda Talon Forum banner

What to love or hate about the 2019+ Honda Talon?

22K views 30 replies 25 participants last post by  Roy H 
#1 ·
If you can share a few things about your ownership of the Honda Talon 1000, what would it be? The most liked or hated, share them with every one I am sure you won't be the only one.
 
#6 ·
Generally speaking I am enjoying the ride and performance of my 1000X; however, during break-in service (230 miles) had to replace the air filter which looked like it had been used much longer? I fear they may be a design flaw that does not help to minimize the amount of dust that is being drawn into the air filter?
 
#7 ·
Had this machine for 1 hr and took a left hand turn in a wet flat hay field the ass end slid out a little on me and both passenger side tires popped off the rim and flipped me over crushing my roll cage n bent one of my rear swing arms luckily my daughter wasnt hurt to bad. Very disappointed Be careful everyone this is a definite safety issue ive road dirt bikes n off road vehicles since i was 6 yrs old and im 53 now and only once when i slammed into a big log have i ever had a tire pop the bead on me. This machine had to pop off at the same time. Unreal
 
#10 ·
Now that we have some time and miles on our Talon 1000R, I can say the RZR seat back was more comfortable but the Talon's seat are made for 4-point harnesses so I am happy with the firmer seat back. Otherwise, the Talon wins on every other point all the way down to the gas cap. Yes, seriously, even the gas cap is superior.

I shopped at a dealer that carries Polaris and Honda. I wasn't even considering a Talon when I went shopping. After walking between the Talon 1000X and the RZR 1000 units a few times, I had the dealer put them next to each other. The differences were immediately very obvious and there was no question, keeping in mind the Talon 1000R is even more impressive.
 
#31 ·
Understand. I mounted a bilge blower in front of the tunnel. Got a 4" blower which you can feel blowing all the way back on the engine. Also installed a ceiling fan before a Arizona trip. Both seem to help alot. The ceiling fan really has been used with heat, keeping dust out in the desert and fog from building with the side curtains up. Put a negative resistor to control the speed of the fan. Both were not a high cost item combining a switch, relay and some wiring.
 
#14 ·
Over all great machine! I started out in sxs with a polaris 900 trail. Wasnt fast enough. Went to the 2018 xp turbo. Was a piece off sh**. After long deliberation, I pulled the trigger on the Talon X. There is no looking back. The REAL transmission is the best thing about it. No belts to blow apart or slip. And the power is there instantly as you nail it coming out of a corner. Its not as fast as the xp turbo, but I will take the known dependability and longevity of the Honda and sacrifice the small amount of speed and power.
The negatives...
#1
Ride quality sucked! My back didnt get along with the rough bumps and moguls...but that was easily remedied by changing the rear tender springs(and only the rear,as they were sitting compressed simply from the machines own wieght). Some companies or people will tell you to change out all 4. Not nessecary

Negative #2
The i4wd is a design flaw that eats brake pads, as it automatically puts brake force to which ever front wheel is spinning, and that is dumb. If your in mud, you want to be able to let the rpms and speed have at it! Thats how mud tires work and clean out. I replaced front brake pads at 240 k's because most of my riding is in mud and this thing was simply fighting itself everytime a wheel would spin.
I have since pulled the fuse for the i4wd and love the way it goes thru mud. I will purchase a proper locker front diff when they become available. And no, I dont drive 2 footed. The system simply puts too much load on the engine.
Thats my opinion...over all great machine. Now debating either a turbo or simply go with a tuner and open up the exhaust and remap it for better shift times and more fuel. When I wiegh out the cost, the turbo likely wont happen till they get realistic about the price.
5k American turns onto a lot Canadian for me and Im having a hard time justifying that amount to gain 60 horsepower. With a proper tuner, intake plate and pipe and opened up exhaust I can gain almost 20, which equates to about 12 or 13 at the wheels for a fraction of the cost.
My thoughts.
 
#15 ·
Over all great machine! I started out in sxs with a polaris 900 trail. Wasnt fast enough. Went to the 2018 xp turbo. Was a piece off sh**. After long deliberation, I pulled the trigger on the Talon X. There is no looking back. The REAL transmission is the best thing about it. No belts to blow apart or slip. And the power is there instantly as you nail it coming out of a corner. Its not as fast as the xp turbo, but I will take the known dependability and longevity of the Honda and sacrifice the small amount of speed and power.
The negatives...
#1
Ride quality sucked! My back didnt get along with the rough bumps and moguls...but that was easily remedied by changing the rear tender springs(and only the rear,as they were sitting compressed simply from the machines own wieght). Some companies or people will tell you to change out all 4. Not nessecary

Negative #2
The i4wd is a design flaw that eats brake pads, as it automatically puts brake force to which ever front wheel is spinning, and that is dumb. If your in mud, you want to be able to let the rpms and speed have at it! Thats how mud tires work and clean out. I replaced front brake pads at 240 k's because most of my riding is in mud and this thing was simply fighting itself everytime a wheel would spin.
I have since pulled the fuse for the i4wd and love the way it goes thru mud. I will purchase a proper locker front diff when they become available. And no, I dont drive 2 footed. The system simply puts too much load on the engine.
Thats my opinion...over all great machine. Now debating either a turbo or simply go with a tuner and open up the exhaust and remap it for better shift times and more fuel. When I wiegh out the cost, the turbo likely wont happen till they get realistic about the price.
5k American turns onto a lot Canadian for me and Im having a hard time justifying that amount to gain 60 horsepower. With a proper tuner, intake plate and pipe and opened up exhaust I can gain almost 20, which equates to about 12 or 13 at the wheels for a fraction of the cost.
My thoughts.
I'm looking into adding a switch and running a wire off the ABS/I4WD circuit to allow for turning it on/off from the dash when necessary. If it'll save on spitting brakes like a Polaris I'm all about it. Honda dang near nailed most every aspect on this one in my book... brake pads won't exactly drain the bank, still adds to down time though.
 
#17 ·
Things I like:
Honda Fit and finish.
Responsive throttle.
Looks.
Perceived Honda reliability.
Ability to shift manually.
Seats with harness cutouts.
i4wheel drive as good as anything out there.

Things I dislike:
Stupid stiff suspension (1000X).
Overly sensitive throttle for slow technical riding.
Poorly designed engine air intake location causing very short air filter life:
Howling transmission noise.
Up and down shifts can get fatiguing on tight trails.
Center mounted small hard to read instrument cluster.
 
#20 ·
These are a few items - and yes I know - no one forced me to purchase a talon - so......toeach their own is alls I'm say n - :)

What I like -
Looks -
Accessories - some of which should have come standard - IMO
Motor and power - hopefully realiablity - time will tell
Power steering - although thats common on most these days.

Dislikes-
Suspension - the shock springs suck - they are way to stiff! what were they thinking???
So.......now if you want to correct the harsh ride you have to spend big $$$$ on the fix - ugh!
Short life and expensive air filter - "But" for a mere $449.00 plus a optional wiring harness($55.00) you can buy the particle seperator to extend your air filters life - Thanks Honda
Shifting - great that there is no belt to fool with.........but wow it's noisy.......and I dislike it down shifting for me when slowing down and coming to every stop - very annoying.
Getting soaked when going thru a small puddle - there are holes everywhere - lol o_O
No way to lock it up - anyone could pull up take it outta park and tow it home.,,,,,Really??
MPG - Not as great as I'd hoped - would of been better to have a larger fuel tank....say 10 gallons!
No charging USB port - anywhere - I know there is a 12V socket but I think with todays electronics a couple of USB charge ports would of been nice - no?
With all that room under the front hood there should have been a storage compartment - and yes - I know there is an aftermarket one - (for a mere $139.00 dollars - ah yes - all the $$ on extra accessories) but thats one thing that should of came standard - yes.....really!
Rear shear brackets - again this should have been standard - and again.......yes really!
 
#21 · (Edited)
I'm happy with my 2019 1000R, I'm an old guy but still like riding hard and fast. The groups I ride with are mostly younger and always in hurry and 99% turbo RZR'S or Can Am's. The Talon is usually right with the pack and everyone is impressed, not sure if they're impressed with the Honda or that the old guy can keep up....Now for the likes and dislikes...
Likes:
Transmission, I like having the choice auto or manual
Engine, power is good, like I said I can usually keep up, more power would be nice though.
Suspension, little bit stiff, but for stock adequate. I've added 32" tires with 5-2 offset wheels
So I'm now 72" wide, very stable .
Fit and finish good, I like the way after a super hard dusty, muddy or Sandy drive, you can clean it up and the plastic will shine like new.....except for those permanent battle scars that won't rub out...
Price, a Polaris or Can Am would have been thousands more, at least where I was shopping.
Dislikes:
Air filter, as others have said, HONDA really failed on locating the air intake for providing clean air to
the engine. An air filter caked with dust after only a couple hundred miles of driving is ridiculous, especially at $40+ a pop.
Transmission, I know, I said I liked it. I just don't like the noise. The thing screams at certain rpm's.
I've ended a days riding with my ear ringing from listening to the screaming transmission. The Talon may be quiet at slow speed but when you've got your foot in it you need ear plugs....
Electrical, it would have been nice if Honda would have provided a prewired terminal. The winch prewired was great but I've added a lot of lighting, light bar, Chase light, rock lights, horn and turn signal kit. Having to create my own wiring board was a hassle. Everybody adds accessories, a little help would be nice.

Enough of my pet peeves, I do enjoy driving my Talon
 
#27 ·
Coming from a RZR 1K XP:

-The DCT + engine in the Talon is simply amazing compared to the rzr, it's not even a comparison.
-The suspension in the talon is like a mule cart compared to the trophy truck rzr though. <--- This is a big frustration of mine, I have bandit tenders and it didn't really help.
-Fit and finish of the Talon is vastly superior, as is build qualiy, however I have an annoying rattle at idle I think is the doors or seatbelt. Very annoying

-Reliability. And this is the shocker for me, part of the reason I bought the Talon was the Honda name, yet;
Owned the rzr for 3 years, never did anything to it other than fluid changes, and a fuel pump.
Talon in the first month of ownership; one of the already garbage shocks failed and leaked all the nitrogen out, sub transmission was low from factory which was remedied after one ride, and now 3 months later I think low range is gone. Probably needs a new sub trans.

-The rzr has much more room than the talon, which is quite cramped for the riders.
-Lack of a front locker, the i4wd is phenomenal at high speed cornering, but lacks a bit in the mud.
-Love the way it handles, it feels like a sport bike compared to a pickup truck.

Would I buy it again? No, and that is because of the reliability issues i've had, and how bad the suspension is.
 
#30 ·
On Sunday the 4th it was too hot to ride, so I decided to do some service on our '21 X-4. I wish I could have words with the person who designed the snap clips on the air filter housing top, it is almost impossible to get your fingers in a position to pull the snaps closed on some of the snaps. Someone could have done a lot better job of designing the whole air box set up. I installed a Uni-filter as a 'pre' filter in the air box under the stock air filter to see if that makes the stock filter last more then 150 miles at $47 each! (currently I have about 270 miles on the machine) Then I changed the sub-trans oil. Not too bad to drain but a little harder to add the fresh oil into the dip stick hole. I had already changed the engine oil and filters at 150 miles and 11 hours. Now all I have to do is change the diffs and I will be caught up on the suggested or required services.
 
Top