two words HECK NO i had 27's on my 500 2 years ago and that thing lost so much power and sucked the gas down so fast i was constantly fueling up i wouldn't go any bigger then 26's on a 500. now if you want a big cat go with 28's on a 650 there you will have the power and it won't suck nearly as much fuel as the 500 will. don't get me wrong i loved my lil 500 it just wouldn't handle the 27's hey i got my fourwheeler for sale buy that and all you gotta do is drive lol. seriously though with 27's on my 650 i would get in a deep mud hole i would crack it down and i would actually do a wheelie out of the mudhole if it had a solid bottom sometimes i would actually launch it out of the hole and jump it about 5 feet. sometimes i wish i had 28's to cut down the power a lil to give me more control.

 

ive got 27 inch 589's on my 500. ive noticed a small percent of power loss,but i still dont have to down shift into 4th to go up a hill. also in the mud holes ive been stuck but not stuck enough where the tires woulnd turn over,but i have broke 2 axles. when i bought my tires and rims i asked itp how much they wieghed and it was right around 45lbs. it does suck more gas though.

 

I have a 500 TRV 04' I just put 26" Mud Lites and I notice a deference in power and I have a clutch kit plus a Dyno Kit. Granted the 2 seater is heaver but I'm thinking of trading them w/ my firend that have 25" on his 650. I'm waiting for spring to make that desision. Nothing more than 26" or you will regret it. Add a lift kit or springs if you want clearence.

 

hate to tell you this 6040 but if your friend has the stock tires on his 650 they are 26 inch tires.

 

If your going 500 std, I would recommend agressive but light weight 26", no bigger, a lift kit, and a Dynojet kit.

If your going 500 auto, not sure on clutch kit on the AC set up.

If money is not an issue, then I would recommend you seriously look at the 650 V2 or the H1.

Good Luck!

 

Not to start an argument here, but I took my brand new 05' 500 manual out this past weekend with 27" claws, and spanked a 650's butt. In the really thick stuff, his belt was slipping so bad that smoke was coming from his crankcase. And, Yes, I had already gone through this hole, and the motor never bogged down in low gear. The dealer I bought this bike from had told me that the 500's will outperform the 650's in the mud, and then I saw it first hand. I don't know how the 05's are different from the previous years, but the one I just bought is awesome. I can't speak for how much power loss I have with the claws because I put them on as soon as I got the bike home, but as far as I can tell, there's plenty of power for 27's.

 

CatWithClaws - No offence intended on the 500, it's an awesome bike. I owned a 2000 500 std before my 2005 650 V2 and it was extremely good to me. I put alot of big bores to shame, got ride of it after putting 5800 miles on it, but there's no comparison to the 650 V2, 04 or 05.

Sometimes you have to take the driver factor into consideration!

 

I'm not offended. I didn't mean to get into a 500 vs. 650 discussion. The 500 I bought last week is the first Arctic Cat I've ever owned, but my Bro-in-law has an 04' 650 V2 that he's had about 6-8 months. He and I was riding this past weekend, and he had alot more trouble with some of the holes than I did because of his belt slipping. The dealer told me that the 500 would produce about 35 HP, and the 650 is probably somewhere near 50 HP, I would think. There's no question which is the most powerful, but all that power was useless while his belt was slipping. At any rate, I was happy with how the 27" claws performed on my 500. I was in some peanut butter kinda mud, and it still turned them alright in 1st low.

 

i wouldnt get 28's. big power loss from what i hear. just stick with stock size or one size bigger.