Tire suggestion

[CrappieAttitude]

I have a 600 grizzly and when I purchased it the previous owner put on huge tires all around. Currently I have ITP Blackwater tires that are 27x12x12. They are a little too wide (especially the fronts) for the majority of riding that I do. I am looking an getting some decent tires and am curious as to what input any of you may have.

My problem is this...not only did the previous owner put on huge tires, he also put on a wheel extension kit that brings the tires outside of the fenders. It looks nice, but the mud just flings over the fenders onto my lap. In the past I have taken off the spacers, only to find that the lug bolts are not threaded all the way to the end. The threads stop where the plastic spacer begins.

This creates a problem when putting my tires on without the spacers, because I run out of threads. Without buying all new bolts, I am forced to use what I already have and am wondering if someone can steer me in the right direction.

I am a father of one with another one on the way, so every financial decision rests on research instead of wants. So this is my first research attempt.

Most of my riding consists of trail riding(with mud)/deer hunting/ice fishing, so I would need some sort of tire that would work in pretty much every condition.

I would be even open to put on a used set if I could locate them anywhere.

Any suggestions?

CA

[SomethingFishy*]

You should be able to buy replacment wheel studs for around $20 to cover trhe whole machine.

I personally just purchased a set of 26" Maxxiss Bighorn's. Everything that I have read is that they are great tires that wear very well. I am not sure how they will perform in mud but did not buy them for that reason. I wanted something to steer me away from the mud as it is the single biggest thing that seems to cause problems for people with there machines.

[Dave]

The bolts on the hubs now probably came with the wheel spacer kit; that's why the threads stop where they do.

You can't run 12" wide tires in the front without the spacer kit unless you buy new wheels with the correct offset.

The Blackwater's are a good all terrain type tire.

I'd suggest buying new lug bolts for the rear; using no spacer kit. And, look for some 8" wide tires for the front. And, again, buying new bolts and using no spcer kit for the front. You'd just be buying new bolts and two new tires instead of four.

[Black_Bay]

I'd guess there would be someone in your neck of the woods with a similar rig that would be willing to trade your wheels and tires for stock ones plus $$.

[Bjjams]

You will love the bighorns. They are one tough tire. I went with the 25" because I didn't need the extra gc and the sizes seem to run big. I think my 25's measured closer to 25.5". They are not as bad as people say in the mud, you just have to spin the tires a little faster to get them to clean out as well as the mudlites or outlaws. They are one of the best all terrain tires out there plus since they are non-directional tread you can rotate them.

[Northwoodsdon]

I'll second the BigHorns unless your in the deep

mud 90% of the time,I also found them to go thru

the snow pretty good !

My 1st set of 'HORNS' had 5284 miles on them and I could

have got about another 500 or 800 on the fronts,except

when I come back home most of my miles are hard packed

desert and mountains along with dried up riverbed & washes

[CrappieAttitude]

Aren't those Bighorns radials? How do they price out compared to the Mud Lites?

Should I be looking at radials? Are they worth the extra money?

[SomethingFishy*]

Quote:

---

Aren't those Bighorns radials? How do they price out compared to the Mud Lites?

Should I be looking at radials? Are they worth the extra money?

---

Yes to all the above. Radials are great.

[Roofer]

The downfalls to radials is they are heavy, cost more, and are mainly just for trail riding. I feel if you do more than 50% trail riding, almost no mud and have the power for them, then the radials will be OK.

I was thinking of getting a set of Bighorns myself for the dry summertime.

[Kodiak]

One thing to take note, the bighorns run nearly an inch larger than advertised so in example the 25 are almost 26.

i have had two sets of bighorns and i will always run these tires until they dont make them anymore or they update them. I have put a hole in one doing some rock crawling in the black hills but the plug has been in for 6 months and it is fine. I have been through a swamp cattail bog in sd (private) land in some nasty stuff and i thought i would get stuck but i had no problem at all getting around in mud with them i was very supprised. they really shine on the trails and rocks, they grip great when climbing! The only downfall to the horns is do NOT ever take them river or creek riding when there is a sand bottom you will dig to china.

GET THE HORNS!!!

[SomethingFishy*]

I bought the 26"ers as I was looking at 27's with every other company.

[Dave]

Riding in snow and ice with radials versus non radial, I'd pick radial. I experiencd a greater amount of traction with radials.

[PERCHJR]

Just got a set of these babies, they are 27"'s but they do make them in 25's and 26's!!! I got them at Nebraska tire, they are the MUDGEAR's!!! They seem to be an awesome tire so far, I used them a couple times in the fresh mud and thank god I had them on instead of my factory tires because I still would be in the mud!!! They look awesome and perform great, as far as on the road use they don't seem to howl and wander not a bad tire give them a thought!!! Prices are $320 for a set of 4 27"'s not bad in my book.

Perchjr

[CrappieAttitude]

Thanks so far for the reccomendations.

Another question for you all...

I would like to obviously have smaller width tires in the front, but am unsure of what size.

For normal riding conditions, what would be the ideal tire combination 9" fronts and 10" rears, 10" fronts and 12" rears? Or any other combination.

For steering purposes, how much of a difference would I see with 10" tires on the front compared to my 12's.

CA

[Bjjams]

Getting a smaller width tire will make a huge difference in handling and steering. By "normal riding" conditions I assume you mean trail riding, I would go with a 8 or 9 in the front and a 10 or 11 in the rear. Now if you plan on playing in the mud then you might want to go with 10's in the front.

Just remember when purchasing a tire you get what you pay for. After riding on radials I don't think I could go back to bias ply.

[Roofer]

Yep, go 8,9, or 10 on the front and 10,11, or 12 on the rear depending on which tire you choose.

For what it's worth.....I had 26x12's all around on one machine and it steered very easy, but it was a pain getting through some tight areas.

I have since had 27x10's and 27x9's on the front and 27x12's on the rear. There is ALOT to choose from and it's hard to decide.

Main factors are....price, and the way you want to use them.

A radial tire is great for trail riding, but I wouldn't use them for anything else. Same with an all out mud tire. they are for mud only.

To be honest the best "all-around" tire would be Outlaw MST's, Swamplites, or Mudbugs. Any of these will be good on the trail and in the mud and snow. For sand it's a different story. Most machines aren't even driven fast enough to have a radial trail tire, even though they are best for higher speed riding. I have had my MST's up around 70 on gravel and rack deep in the swamp. They were sure-footed either way.

[jltimm]

Kenda Bearclaws would also be a great all around tire IMO.

[Kodiak]

I have 28" mst and the 25" bighorns for my outlander 800, i have all the power in the world so the power loss is not an issue, I consider myself high mileage rider and i spend more time with the horns on than the Mst's. I took the 28" msts up to redtop last year and never will put them on for trail riding ever again just because of the size of them, but if you had smaller msts it might not be a problem. Get the horns, i ride mountains, mud, pasture land, woods, fields, water, hills, rocks....the horns never fail. If you are going to icefish with them i think the msts would definatly do better in snow due to having both sets. I have tried many of tires and spend tons of $$$ doing so. Alot of my friends are partial to the mudlites but i dont care for them, they wear too fast. I have a freind that has the dirt devils and he cursed them the whole trip in sept...if you can't afford the bighorns give the gbc replicas a look. dirt tamers?? i think is the name of them.

on the size get the 25x8x12 front's and 25x10x12's for the rear...no need for a 12" rear or 10" front

[Roofer]

I have a set of 26" Bighorns for my brute750 on the way. I plan to use them for the dry season. With the reviews, I am curious to see how they work out compared to my 27" MST's.

I know they would have been nice in Duluth with all the rocks.