POWERSPORTS: 2021 HONDA TALON 1000X
Excellent Choice Story and photos by Stephen Elmer, additional photos courtesy of Honda
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he Honda Talon still feels unique in the sport side-by-side segment, thanks to one single piece of equipment: a dualclutch transmission. For 2021, the Talon has added some new graphics while keeping the basic recipe the same, and that’s not a bad thing. Canadians going Talon shopping have fewer choices than those south of the border, as we are denied the wider, desert-focused Talon 1000R model and the four-seater, leaving us with the model we tested, the two-seat 1000X. The X comes in at 64inches wide and puts a focus on sharp handling on tight trails, something that Canada is certainly full of. Length measures in at 123.9-inches (3,147mm), overall height is 75.3-inches, and the Talon weighs in at 1,497 pounds. Power comes from a 999cc parallel twin-cylinder engine putting out just over 100 horsepower, sent through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Unlike both Polaris and Can-Am, Honda isn’t chasing after insane horsepower numbers, instead offering plenty to have fun with without feeling scary like the Can-Am and Polaris turbocharged models sometime can. And unlike every other model in the segment, which all use CVTs (Yamaha YXZ excluded), the Talon uses a dual-clutch transmission to quickly fire off shifts and power off the line. Accel34 OFF-ROAD Plus MAGAZINE OCT/NOV 2020
eration is immediate and shift points are well timed for getting up to speed quickly, helped further by a selectable Sport mode. At low speeds, it is fair to say that the Talon can be jerky and hard to keep smooth compared to a belt-driven transmission, but the tradeoff compared to a CVT is the immediacy of the power and the satisfaction of being able to shift your own gears using the paddles behind the wheel. The Talon even has a manual mode if you want to do all your own shifting without the Talon’s ECU doing any thinking for you. And it is a clever system, as the Talon will constantly monitor throttle position, rpm and brake input to decide how to shift, going more aggressive If you decide to drive it hard. The four-wheel drive setup on the Talon also thinks for itself thanks to i4WD, employing a locking differential in the rear and front, with the front end locking up quickly when slip is detected. Climbing over our big rock pile proved that the Talon
