I'd like to give my 07 Rancher 420 2WD a wider stance. My son rolled it on an off camber slow turn. He stayed clear and the quad is fine - not even a scratch really.

I want to widen the footprint a little. Stock rear rims limit inexpensive options.

Can I do something with just rear tires, or rear tires and front stock tires with spacers, or any other ideas?

I have the stock rims off my 08 BF 750...bolt pattern the same, not sure of offset. Could I use them and add wider rear tires?

Ground clearance on the Rancher is not anything to crow about but the quad is light enough to get through a lot of stuff. I'd thought about getting some MSTs for the rear and leave front stock since the narrow stock tires turn well.

 

As you noted the Rancher is pretty low to the ground. It seems to have a low center of gravity that makes it as stable, or more so than other 4x4's.

I would think you should be able to come up with wheels with the offset to do what you want, or there are wheel spacers out there that would do what you want to do.

Anyway, glad to hear your son was OK. If he isn't an experienced rider and hasn't taken the ATV safety foundation course, it might be worth doing.

 

stock tires arnt that great.......you can keep the stock front rims because there 12"

get some 25-8-12 kenda executioners for the front

and 25-10-12s on itp delta steels wheels for the back

 

If you don't want to shell put the $$$ for rims and tires, you could do wheel spacers. There are lots of options out there, from 1" bolts on up....

In the summer I prefer the stock tires, but in the snow I run ITP Holesot ATR's on ITP rims with a bigger offset, and end up something like 4" wider than stock. That is nice, but trouble is you can pick up bump steer and other undesireable traits when you widen a machine!

 

Browsing at spacers, it looks like they run about $100 a pair, so in my mind it might be worth it to spend a little more and upgrade the tires and wheels.

Of course, going taller tire wise would defeat part of your intent of increased stability... some good all purpose radials might work well on a Rancher.

 

Now that I think about it, your title "top heavy" is really lame! With the current trend being toward huge 600-900 pound machines with tall mushy long travel IRS suspensions, of all the utes out there, the Rancher is probably the least "top heavy" of them all! I ride with guys who have these big bore monsters, and they have a close call every ride!

My Holeshot ATR's give me about 1.5" of extra ground clearance, but they make me at least 4" wider, so there is a tradeoff going on there in terms of stability....I am making it wider but also a little higher. And like I said, I pick up some bump steer, so I don't like them for ultra technical riding.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, when I posted about the Rancher having a low center of gravity, and being as stable, or more stable, than most 4x4's....

I would imagine your holeshots are likely a little heavier, and probably flex less than the factory rubber, which I would presume would help maintain stability even though they are taller...

I'd bet some 25" Bighorns would work well on a rancher, as a tire that produces good traction in most trail situations but especially in rocks and dry llose stuff, rides and handles well, and from what I've been told wear very well.

 

I have 25 inch Big Horns on my 07 Rancher 2x4....and the difference in stability is night and day. The quad sits a little higher, a little wider, and the stability feels closer to a car than a quad. When you go into a turn at speed, there is no more roll under with the tires. When I had the stock tires on, it would feel like the bike was diving when cornering....not any more.

 

it all depends on the terain your riding in as to what tires are best.......the holeshots are junk in a rock garden stocks have to much flex.

go to your local shop and see what others are using in your area.