I am considering the possibility of purchasing an old 1986 TRX 350. The bike is in fair shape, and I have known the bike and last owner for about 4 years. Only problem is a cracked right crank case which has been sealed up using some kind on goo! I have priced out a replacement crankcase half, and also am considering getting it welded...we have a good aluminum welder locally.

My question is, what are the original tire sizes on this machine. The tires aren't bad, but I am considering replacing them with more aggressive tires such as Titan 589's or Kenda bearclaws. I am sure this machine has enough grunt to turn them in mud, if I can hold on to the old lumberwagon!

 

I have the '87 TRX 350. It is identical to the one you are considering. My comments:

1 - drop dead reliable
2 - tough as nails
3 - crappy brakes
4 - lumberwagon describes the ride perfectly
5 - cranks and starts at -35, no problem
6 - Kenda Bear Claws - no problem.

I have the Bear Claws on the old beast. They are really great. Surprisingly the steering effort is much, much improved with the Bear Claws (not what I expected).

The tire size escapes me. I simply looked up the machine in the deale's size chart and went for the recommeded size.

Good luck with the cracked case.

DJ

 

I replaced my tires with buckshot mudders. I replaced them with one size larger. But I can not tell you the size because my machine is in the shop right now. My steering was not affected at all it still rides and steers and climbs like a pack mule.

 

I have the 87 and just put 25-10-11's Blackwaters
on it. It had 24-9-11's( I think that was stock)
The 25-10-11's are a bit wide but going out through some swampy woods it never even slowed down. Just crawled over everything we pointed it at. My son has a Yamaha Wolverine 4X, it's piped,
jetted and has a big wheel kit w/ 1" lift. He likes the old Honda better.
With the torque of the 350, I bet you could go 26"
that would give you about 11 inches of ground clearance. ( if the tire is avail. for the 11" rim) I went with the wider tires hoping to protect the rim better as we ride in some nasty stuff. Keep in mind that if you go with bigger tires and or rims you may decrease your turning radius because of the left side clearance.
Hope this helps

 

24x9x11 H-Trak A/T 503 Ohtsu was the stock tire on this unit, the tread is very much like the Max-Trak tire. This old timer should have enough grunt to turn the bigger tires, however the steering may suffer some. I bought a basket case 87 for parts for my 87 it had Strykers all the way around, made it really tough to turn in the sand, hard surface wasn't to bad.
Les
Northern Nevada

 

i have 26x9.5x11 TSL's on my ole tired beast its a awesome bike once you get kinda used to the ride i need to get my engine rebuilt and bored out some tho cuz its getin tired bogs some in first but over awesome bike ! get it ! has more power than the rancher i garunte it .