I have a 1997 trailboss 250 2x4. Its become hard to find wheels/tires that for 10" wheels. Could I buy a set of sportsman rear hubs that have the 4/156 bolt pattern so I could get some 12's for the back of craigslist? So many sportsman and RZR takeoffs....

 

Spline size difference on the straight axle versus the drive shaft splines along with the the hub boss differences on each machine. See if any of this helps.ATV Accessories - STI ATV Wheel Adapters
ATV Tire and Wheel Application Chart : ATV Tires Free Shipping : ATV Wheels : Mud-Throwers.com

 

I had found a post somewhere that said 2003 preadator hubs will fit my 97 trail boss. Any truth to that?

 

Possible it will work, but wasn't in the habit of changing hubs around at the shop.Same as most shops. We just installed the hubs called for.

 

I understand, its definately not the most logical option.

Here is the post I read:

changing rear hubs - Polaris ATV Forum

Someone in that thread said he was able to change most hubs/axles around with other polaris straight axle bikes.

 

hw1353 - i changed the hubs on my 00 magnum 500 to the 03 predator hubs for the same reason . the predator hubs have the same diameter and spline count as the originals . the only drawback i've found is that the predator hubs are a little longer than stock and the castle nuts won't screw down far enough to get the cotter pin through the hole in the axle . i think i'm going to find someone with a lathe to counterbore them before the inevitable disaster strikes .

 

I've searched for days now, and haven't been able to find any hubs that will work without some sort of issue or problem. Either sellers are asking double what they are worth, or the spline count is off, or like you said, the castle nut will not tighten all the way down.

I found these on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390550190172?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
cheapest and possibly easiest fix for my issue. I want to run 25's on the back, i have pull offs from a ranger that have 80-90% tread. Fronts bolted right up, but the bike looks funny with 25s front(black wheel) and 22's (white wheel) on the back.

 

thanks for the info and the link hw1353 . i don't know what your situation is with your machine but you might want to check your backspacing needs before you order rims . i found that my straight axle machine requires a different backspacing than a machine with irs . there are several solutions to this problem we have but they all seem to have a downside . i guess if it was easy then everybody would be doin' it !!!

 

What backspacing am I looking for?

EDIT:

I found a itp steel wheel replacement item number from:

http://www.mud-throwers.com/atv_wheel_chart

The number pulls up:

http://www.4wheelparts.com/ATV-Wheel...t_pn=ITP18R440

The itp replacement backspacing is 3+5. Could I run wheels with same bolt pattern and size but backspacing is 2+5?

2x these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ITP-Delta-Steel-Wheel-2-5-Offset-4-4-Black-12x7-D12R540-/390717727540?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5af8976334&vxp=mtr

 

hw1353 - it appears that those wheels you found should solve your problem . i have no idea why the engineers at polaris thought it would be a good idea to sell machines with different bolt sizes , backspacing and rim diameters . definitely not the way i would do things . i am not familiar with the 97 trail boss but you might want to measure the 10'' rims you have now to make sure the new 12'' rims will not hit the brake caliper on the inside and that the outside of the rim will stick out far enough to be even with or protrude slightly more than the front tires . i've seen machines where the front track was noticeably wider [by several inches] than the rear track . this probably makes the handling terrible but it also looks like a dog scooting its butt on the carpet . other than that , i think you have solved your problem . let me know how this works out so that if i get tired of running my rims backwards i can get me a set of shiny new black ones like you . capt bart