what is needed to put 26 or 27in. tri's on a sportsman 500 with stock rims

 

I would recommend a lift kit for sure on the front. I am going to put tri-claws, 27" on the rear, and 27" bi-claws on the front. Don't want to cause any possible front cv joint damage with them big honkin' tires. I was having 'fender strike' on the front end of my SP 500 with the stock rubber and no lift. I haven't had any strike with stock rubber and the front end lift. Your going to have to be careful with them big tires on the front. Heard many times of guys with 27" tires breaking cv joints while backing up and turning the handlebars full left or right. I am working on a set of steering stoppers to prevent full steering deflection. This should help prevent harsh joint stress in the event of full steering left or right. As I've posted before, might have to make a 3 point turn, but better than causing expensive damage to the cv joint. I paid alot to own the best 4wd utility quad out there, don't want to spend any more if I can avoid it, smartly.

 

I have a 99 5000cc Sportsman with 26 inch Mud runners.Never a hint of the fenders scraping with this size of a tire.It makes me wonder why SWAC has scraping problems with his factory tires?==== BILL

 

Bill, I think its weak front springs, or just softened up springs. They were very easy to compress with ratcheting straps (Thanks Floodrunner) and I am thinking of putting in coil spring spacers if I can find them to fit the smaller diameter atv coil vs. a typical car spring coil. I don't really want to upgrade to heavier springs, meaning spending more money, just stiffen up the stock ones.

 

Hey Bill, how do you like your MudRunners? I have some on order and should get them today. Puttin' em on a '99 SP500 also. EADS

 

You will have to buy new rims for the rear of the machine, because the factory rims are offset the wrong way for wider tires. Wider tires will hit the stabilizer bar on the rear. I tried to put my 27" Tri claws on the rear first, and the tires would not even bolt back on without hitting the bar. The front rims are ok, but I chose to replace all of them with different rims. The new rims make it a lot easier to clean out the inside of the wheels after you get into the mud, and the offset rims in the front helped stop the mud from packing in between the front strut/spring and the tire. I ended up purchasing my Big Wheel kit with tires and wheels for about $500.00
As far as lift kits go, I removed all of mine after ripping out both front cv-joints. I am going to purchase stiffer front springs, and some of the spring spacers sold by Polaris, to help with the front sag.

 

I also have the 26" Mudrunners on a 2000 Sportsman 500. I find the front rubs on moderate to hard bumps. I also find that the left side rubs more often then the right. I REALLY love those tires but, if I had my time back I would have gotten the stock sizes, but wider.

Glenn.

 

I guess if you want to have drive train problems it's a good move to go with the larger 27" or even 28" tires. Anything over the stock tire size of 25" will aggravate rubbing under aggressive riding conditions. Going to 27" rubber increases your clearance by only 1" or less, depending on the actual tire dimensions. The stock spring rubbers do not offer lift at all, but they definitely do change the spring dampening rate considerably and work very well. Using other spring spreaders could damage the coils quickly.

It seems that atver's are now just starting to learn what us 4x4'ers of the 70's learned with trucks, bigger and taller is not better. It creates all sorts of unforseen problems.

It's funny, but no one has addressed the difference in gearing at all. Going to a 27" tire has got to put a strain on the belt, engine, performance, drivetrain, etc. Lots of negatives to get one more inch of clearance. And with such a low powered vehicle as an atv, the performance difference is very noticeable.

 

My 99 500 sp has 26" mudrunners and so does my 99 500 mag very seldom does the mag ever rub the fenders but the sp I added 5 of those washers that the spring sits on for a total of 6 works excelent.Also my front struts were bad causing fender rub you might want to compare with a different maching there was no mods to the mags suspension at all those tires your gonna love hell well worth the money just use low range more often and you should be fine