UTV Guide
Spotter Required
- Aug 18, 2015
- 21
Whenever a new sport UTV hits the market, I always think about the King of the Hammers race. In order to compete at KOH, you need a vehicle that can get through the rough desert fast, but also handle extremely technical rock trails. While not a turbocharged machine, the Talon 1000R can handle the rough desert well and I was super curious as to whether it could rock crawl as well.
There are three key features I look for in a UTV to see if it will be able to handle more extreme rock crawling:
- Front Locker Performance
- Low Range
- Maximum Tire Size
It is very difficult to know how well a vehicle is designed for the rocks from the press materials, and often still difficult to know after a normal media introduction. Vehicles are typically not designed with extreme rock crawling in mind. We are too small of a core buying group to matter much, but at the same time, all the manufacturers of sport UTVs dream of winning King of the Hammers….
I recently had the opportunity to test the all-new Honda Talon 1000X and 1000R in Utah at a media event (see Honda Talon Review for all the details). During our day testing the Talon 1000R at Sand Hollow State Park, I convinced Honda that they should let me try out the 1000R on a rock crawling trail called Double Sammy. I was thrilled when they said yes!
Double Sammy is a super fun trail that is short, but a fairly technical rock crawling trail. While not the most extreme at Sand Hollow, it would give me a better idea about how the Talon 1000R could perform in the rocks.
I was the only vehicle allowed on the trail, and Honda really didn’t want me to scratch or dent the Talon 1000R since they had more waves coming in following our group. So I didn’t have free reign to do anything I wanted. I also had limited time, and would not be able to try anything but stock tires and wheels.
Full details:
Honda Talon 1000R Rock Crawling Review
We've run parts of that trail twice in the past few days!