How bad do oversize tires/wheels kill the gear ratio on the 500's. I could do the math, but I'm more interested what you guys think of the functionality. How well do the machines pull with taller tires? How heavy does the steering become? Better off going with a slightly wider, deep lugged tire of the same diameter? Thanks.

 

What type of riding do you do, and what tires are you thinking about?

I have ridden a Sportsman with both 27" Vampires and 27" Blackwaters. I only tried it in low range, but it had NO problems turning these tires in the thick goop. I never tried in high range though, but you shouldn't ride mud in high range anyway.

Check out the ATV Connection's product reviews. They have testes both 26" MudRunners & 27" Blackwater tires on a Polaris 500, see what they have to say.

In my opinion, if you don't mind using low range (which you should with stock tires too), going with larger tires won't hurt the gearing.