Honda recently unveiled their two new four-seat side-by-sides, the Talon 1000X-4 and Talon 1000X-4 FOX Live Valve. The launch follows on the release of their two-seat models last year. The introduction of those side-by-sides marked Honda’s entry into the high end sport segment.

Talon 1000X-4

Not surprisingly, the Talon 1000X-4 is similar to the two-seat 1000X. Key features include:

• 999cc four-valve Unicam® parallel-twin engine
• Six-speed dual clutch transmission with full automatic, sport automatic and manual drive modes
• Steering column mounted paddle shifters
• FOX Podium Quick Switch 3 shocks
• 14.6″/15.0″ of front/rear suspension travel
• 4WD traction-aiding technology
• Hill start assist
• Electronic Brakeforce Distribution
• Stadium style rear seating
• Available in Metallic Grey/Pearl Red in Fall 2019

Talon 1000X-4 FOX Live Valve

The Talon 1000X-4 FOX Live Valve is similar to the Talon 1000X-4 but features a different suspension system. The system relies on multiple sensors to make adjustments 16 times per second for an improved ride and handling.

• 999cc four-valve Unicam® parallel-twin engine

• Six-speed dual clutch transmission with full automatic, sport automatic and manual drive modes

• Steering column mounted paddle shifters

• FOX Podium Quick Switch 3 2.5 shocks front and rear

• Multiple sensor based shock adjustment for Normal and Sport drive modes

• 14.6″/15.0″ of front/rear suspension travel

• Electronic Launch Mode

• 4WD traction-aiding technology

• Hill start assist

• Electronic Brakeforce Distribution

• Stadium style rear seating
• Available in  Pearl Red/Metallic Grey or Metallic Grey/Metallic Blue in Fall 2019

Honda has not released an MSRP for either vehicle at the time of this post.

SVR’s Take

The expansion of Honda’s Talon product line is to be expected. They didn’t enter this market segment last year to just sell a couple of models. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the addition of a narrower side-by-side or possibly some special edition models in six months time or certainly by a year from now. In only a few years the segment went from Polaris, Can-Am and Arctic Cat battling for market share to Yamaha and more recently Honda joining the fray. As a result, consumers now have more models and technology innovations from which to choose. In addition, the competition should keep the pricing down and the value proposition high. Marc Cesare, Smallvehicleresource.com