so does anyone know what the largest size i can fit on a 700 sportsman without doing a lift.... and are lifts really all that bad... i dont do tons and tons of mud mostly trail... but wouldnt mind a little bigger tires... maybe a small like 1-2in lift?

 

I don't do tires or windows and floors for that matter,but plenty of people out there can tell you how large you can go. Problem is that it can be a catch 22. Larger tires and lift kits do look good,but put a strain on the drive shafts and suspension parts.Even the lift kits themselves usually have a warning that suspension and drive components can wear prematurely.We showed this to the customers before we ever put a lift kit on.After a few times many went up to beefier drive shafts such as Gorilla or Rhino. Price you sometimes have to pay to be able to play.

 

Yeah i was thinkin of doing that along with a lift if went there.... i just basically want a tad better clearance but not totally throw my center of gravity off... like i said i mainly run trails so i dunno if itd be worth it or not

 

Can usually go 2" larger than stock tires without lifting. The sachs shocks are a pain because they sag over time but you can buy the upgraded hd springs either from Polaris, SuperATV, or Highlifter which will help but ride will be a bit stiffer. The 2" inch lifts are basically a spacer up front and shock relocation brackets/spacer in back. A lift will add more stress on the drivetrain like OPT said but not much of an issue if most of your riding is trail (and how heavy your thumb is).

 

Thanks for the info! Thumbs fairly heavy lol

 

2" larger is pretty much how much bigger you can go on anything before you have to make mods to the vehicle. The biggest problem with larger tires is extra weight. That puts extra stress on the driveline and eats power. I'd look at some lighter mud tires like the Maxxis Zillas. 27" Zillas weigh about the same or less as some 25" mud tires. Larger tires will affect your gearing a little. You'll lose a little low end power and probably throw your speedo off a bit. The 700 twin has plenty of power to compensate for slightly larger tires so should have no problem there. Its really only noticeable on smaller displacement machines.

 

Two things I can think of. If it is the older Sportsman where the rear rims were 10" diameter you're going to have a hard time finding much to fit them. Second, if you go up a couple inches you will likely be an inch wider on the tire. That extra 1/2" on either side of the tire can cause rubbing on the tie rod ends. Just something to watch out for. When I went larger with the Sportsman X2 I used to have I ended up needing longer wheel studs and spacers to make it work.

 

gotcha! it has 12in rims. but i will keep that in mind thanks. its deffinetly due for tires so i just want to get the ones i want now not wait longer. the maxxis zillas or maxxis big horns are the ones ive been looking at was thinking going 26in

 

I just thought I'd put this out there. If you go from a 25" tire up to a 27" your speed will be 8% higher than what your speedo says. And on a 2" taller tire you gain 1" of ground clearance. There haven't been many times an extra inch of clearance would do me much good but there were a couple.

 

26" and larger on the Zillas get you the larger 1 1/8" lugs. 25" and smaller gets the 7/8" lugs. So at least 26" or bigger makes a difference on the Zillas.