DO 30-INCH TIRES FIT HONDA TALONS?

DO 30-INCH TIRES FIT HONDA TALONS?

Honda’s Talon 1000R, 1000X and Talon four-seaters are great in a lot of ways. No belt, dual-mode automatic-manual transmission and lower sub-transmission are a few of the features we like. A rather compact driver’s compartment is one we do not like, and its tire size is another. Do 30-inch tires fit Honda Talons? We tried them. Here’s what we found out.

Because of the design of the rear-hub assembly on the Talon1000R, 15-inch wheels are the smallest diameter that will fit. We get that, but the 28-ich tire choice we don’t. Sure, a lower ride height makes the car turn better and rail flat turns fast, but they don’t do well in the rough. Whether you are driving over square-edge bumps, roots, rocks or whoops, having a taller tire works better. The taller the tire, the less resistance these obstacles give at slow speed. Plus, the more space between the tread patch and the edge of the wheel there is, the ride gets cushioned more through deflection. Most important, the extra real estate prevents the pinch flats that are way too common with the stock Talon tires.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

We already proved that a 30-inch tire would work on a Talon 1000R during a 1000-mile test in Baja using Sedona’s Mud Rebel and reported on it in the June issue. This month we wanted to see how 30s work on the Talon X model and are using the four-seater. We installed four equal-sized Fuel 30×10-15, 10-ply Gripper R/T tires mounted on 6-inch-wide beautiful beadlock wheels with a 38mm offset. Compared to the stock tire-and-wheel package, these weigh nearly twice as much but will be nearly indestructible.

The Honda uses a 4×136-bolt pattern, the same as Can-Am. Our wheels are 7-inch wide with a 38mm offset. To have your wheels stick out equally front to back on the Honda, deeper offset is needed for the rear tires, or you can get away with a 1–1.5-inch wheel spacer on the back.

HOW DID THEY WORK?

We’ve driven a lot of cars with Fuel Gripper tires installed, and they work great. They have that light truck-tire look, but they aren’t overly aggressive. This fact allows them to roll great on hardpack trails. The tires have a DOT stamp and radial construction, so we didn’t feel any vibration on those short stints on the tarmac. Back in the dirt we liked how the larger tire hugged the ground and rolled over small bumps and rocks effortlessly. Even though there’s a bigger contact patch, it doesn’t feel like the tire moves as much, and it doesn’t wander or float under our four-seat Talon.

When we pushed the combo in the bumps and over ditches, we were happy we didn’t feel any rubbing of the fenders. Off-camber and one corner hits could be tackled aggressively as well. Unless you make a big mistake with the steering wheel turned at full lock, we don’t think these tires will ever rub; they didn’t for us.

The fact that these tires are super-tough 10-ply, they do put a little more strain on any car, but we only felt it on longer roads at high elevation in the Honda. For trail riding and rock crawling, the Honda’s lower gears kept the car going forward at a good clip. Another plus about running a 10-ply tire on a trail car is, you don’t have to worry about bringing a spare. Plus, if you did suffer a flat from a puncture or broken wheel, the stiffer sidewall of this tire will stand up and still drive way better than any flat stock tire. However, we don’t think we will ever get a flat with this combo, and we plan on running the 30-inch-tall tires on our Honda for the rest of the year—and they will make it. See the complete line of Fuel UTV products at http://www.fueloffroad.com/gripper-tires/utv/

See UTV Action’s full test of the Talon 1000X-4 here: https://utvactionmag.com/2020-honda-talon-1000x-4-2/