Talon 38 review

[herndonp]

Well I said I would do a review on the Talon 38 once I got some miles on it ( 1100 miles ). I changed my ripsaw out to the Talon 38 and added external drivers (Kimpex from barn of parts). I did not stud this track to allow a little more slide in the corners and that worked out great. She handles a lot better now, but some of that I believe is attributed to the whole (Hygear revalves on all shocks, Moutaintech 43 +2 A-arms, curve skis, etc. and a lot of trial and error with adjustments) The track has performed great in all conditions hard pack,soft,deep. You definitely need ice scratches down when on the hard stuff. You also need to remember that you are not studded. I have got stuck a couple of times on small ice patches usually at the gas station!! Going down hill again watch yourself and slow down due to no studs ( start sliding sideways to much speed and braking ). Other than that I love this track it was everything I hoped it would be. Will I stud it? I don't think so I have learned to be careful when I need to and I really like the handling the way it is now. I also like not worrying about a stud going thru my heat exchanger as I ride mostly by myself and remotely alot. Hope this helps others.

Pete

 

[Dr. FeeLGooD]

Looks like that is a 1.5" lug. Is that the measurement including the track or what protrudes from the track? I plan on ordering the 45 which is 1.77" so am curious. Someone told me the measurement likely includes the thickness of the track, which I feel would be a misrepresentation. Thanks.

 

[herndonp]

No it is a 1 1/2" or 38 mm lug.

Pete

 

[Frozenstiff]

I have a Talon 38, 129 x 15 x 2.86 pitch, on my 2013 turbo cat.
After less than 500 trail miles, the track is junk, and of course, because it is studded, no warranty. I had a bad feeling while installing the studs that this track was junk, and it is. While drilling the holes for the studs, some holes were hard to drill, like drilling into hardwood, which is normal, and others felt like you were drilling into rotten wood.
Many broken cords, and tons of track stretch. Actually I am at the limit of adjustment, that is how bad this track stretched. There is a reason they are a few bucks cheaper, but, in my opinion, definitely not worth the cost, which was 800 CDN dollars, all in, for the one I bought. My buddy blew the exact same track off of his doo. 2 major failures out of 2 sleds with the same track, in the same riding group, in my eyes, is not acceptable. Based on my experience, and what I seen first hand with the other sled in our group that blew the same track off of the sled, and the lack of any customer support because the track was studded, would make me very leary about trying another one of these Talon tracks.

 

[herndonp]

Mine is not studded. Over 1500 miles haven't had any stretch. Ride it everywhere including dirt roads getting from one trail to another. Not sure why yours failed.

Pete

 

[Frozenstiff]

Me and one of my riding buddies both had the Talon 38 track, and had early failures. We were both studded.
As I mentioned, when I was studding mine I could tell that the quality was not consistent thru-out the whole track.
When cutting holes with a brand new hole cutter, some areas were nice and solid, while other areas felt punky, like drilling into rotten wood. A small sample size, but when 2 out of 2 of the same Talon tracks fail in the same riding group, not a good quality indicator for me. For any math wizards, what are the odds of something like that happening ? In the future, for an extra few bucks, I will stick with Camso tracks. My buddy switched to Camso as well. It,s not fun riding a sled when you realize when a track blows, you have zero brakes. Hopefully, when it blows, you are on a wide open lake which allows you to coast to a safe stop.

 

[herndonp]

So they won't warranty because of studs. Otherwise it's a 3 year warranty in which you would have been covered. That sucks I guess I have been lucky and I beat the crap out of it!

 

[Frozenstiff]

I would guess, like all other track suppliers, that it is pro rated, which kinda means, by the time you need warranty, 90% of it will have expired. Very dangerous to run a sled around this area without studs. I,ve never had this same problem with any other brand of track, and being 68 years old, and sledding for a long, long time, I,ve been thru way to many track changes. LOL

 

[herndonp]

I hear yah.

 

[jimbur]

Over 1500 mi and it's a love affair with my talon 45 151in track. I have no stretch so far and would anticipate very little at this point. No studs though..

 

[nickleuci]

Me and one of my riding buddies both had the Talon 38 track, and had early failures. We were both studded.
As I mentioned, when I was studding mine I could tell that the quality was not consistent thru-out the whole track.
When cutting holes with a brand new hole cutter, some areas were nice and solid, while other areas felt punky, like drilling into rotten wood. A small sample size, but when 2 out of 2 of the same Talon tracks fail in the same riding group, not a good quality indicator for me. For any math wizards, what are the odds of something like that happening ? In the future, for an extra few bucks, I will stick with Camso tracks. My buddy switched to Camso as well. It,s not fun riding a sled when you realize when a track blows, you have zero brakes. Hopefully, when it blows, you are on a wide open lake which allows you to coast to a safe stop.

I have had the same experience drilling a ripsaw. I believe it is a function of the drillbit temperature that causes it to go through like butter in some spots and hard to drill in others.

How much horsepower does the cat have how many studs were you running what studs and configuration?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Frozenstiff]

Definitely not a function of the hole cutter temperature. What I do is drill one hole at a time, after dipping the cutter in oil.
I then insert the stud, washer and nut, and torque. I have studded many tracks, including one on a new sidewinder this winter.
While drilling that track, I never felt one hole be as soft and punky as I did in the Talon track. My buddy, who got another Talon track after he blew one off of his sled, said the same thing about his, some holes punched thru hard, others were very punky and drilling thru butter with a hot knife.... My track is studded, but that has zero to do with how inconsistent the drilling of the track was. If you are going to be adding studs to a track, the Talon is not one I would waste my time, money and effort putting on any of my sleds ever again. In my opinion, the quality is not consistent in the make-up of the track. The track has stretched so far, that I am out of adjustment, so now it ratchets on the drivers. Between buying the track, buying studs, and having it installed, I spent close to 2K CDN dollars. Definitely something I do not want to repeat for less than 500 miles I have rode my sled this winter.
And of course, the lame excuse is, no warranty, because it was studded. My opinion, it was junk, before I studded it, but really didn,t have much choice. For safety reasons, I,m not riding a 180 HP sled, in our area, without studs. My new track will be a CAMSO.
I just found out last week that a 3rd guy in our riding group felt the same way when he was drilling his track. For you guys that are great in math, what are the odds that 3 sleds equipped with Talon tracks in the same riding group of 6 are faulty, within a one year span ? If that doesn,t convince you, then I never will. Personally, even IF they gave me a free replacement, I would not be putting it on a powerful sled like the Yamaha or Cat turbo sleds.

 

[nickleuci]

Despite the negativity I went with a Talon 38. 10100 miles on my ripsaw and I threw 4 studs and lots of ripped lugs (like on every row) . I am not studduding the Talon. Like Pete I will provide review. Fwiw damage to my ripsaw could be found after about 3-4K miles. Also have an 05 nytro with a cobra 1.375 that has damage at about 2500 miles.

I believe that the amount of off trail, number of studs, pattern, and speed all play a factor. Last few years I have been going to Canada running at 90mph on some trails for 10-30 miles and that speed hurts the track. Plus spinning on stumps, logs, saplings, rocks, off trail. Low snow in NE last few years, lots of miles on thin trails, etc. damage to my ripsaw increased dramatically with these factors.

I will hammer the Talon the same and see how it does. Wanted to go with a backcountry but didn't want to remove protectors, gear and clutch the sled. Through the about the crossover 1.5 too.

Have to sharpen my shovel, looks like march is gonna bring some wicked pissa snow.

Braaaap on bitches.

 

[herndonp]

Over 1200 miles on soft,deep,hardpack, dirt roads, etc all the lugs still there. Just a little scary on ice with no picks, but just have to remember when to slow down. Snow is coming down at a high rate right now in Freedom NH. Riding tomorrow after cleaning up.

Pete

 

[jimbur]

2200 mi on my talon 45 this yr and it is like new so far.