Just curious to see what paddles you run, straight or V, doesn't matter what brand.
Also, here's a stupid question. When your paddles are mounted, does it make a difference if the paddles on each tire are lined up with eachother?

 

I run Duneslider Vs on my 400ex. I really like them. Shorter paddle has less drag. Had good luck with the stock radials, but now I can really climb dunes without a running start. The straights I have ridden tend to push the bike hard in a straight line. Makes turning tougher. Better for just drag racing. My 2 cents.

 

The tires don't need to be lined up but they do need to have the little yellow circle stamp on the side of the tire lined up with the valve stem. I run Sand Skate II's. They are the best dune tires I have ever ridden with. They last much longer than the vulcanized tires.

 

I've run both styles on my 250R and I prefer the straight paddles for straight line traction. Turning is moderately easier with V paddles, but the straight line traction is less. This makes a huge difference on the big hills and in soft sand. And yes, lining the paddles up between the tires does matter. You'll get a lot of vibration on hardpack surfaces if they aren't lined up.

 

When we went out to Silver Lake last year the guy at the dune shop said to line the paddles up so when one paddle is on the ground (six o'clock) the other side should be on the flat between the paddles so that you always have at least one paddle on the sand.

 

I have Sand Skate 2s (v-shape), Dune Sliders (v-shape), and Skat Trak Haulers (strait). The Haulers seem to hook up the best but are much more difficult to turn with. The Sand Skates aren't that far behind the Haulers when it comes to hooking up, so I think the Sand Skate 2's are the best paddles. They hook up great and make it easy to whip the rear end around. I bought the Dune Sliders because everyone was telling me the shorter hooks provide less drag. I've run them once and didn't like them. They were too balloony and didn't hook up as good as my other sets of paddles.

 

Haulers 9 paddle here and love them. I can turn pretty easy with them but never tried v tires. I hear from alot of guys that swared by the haulers so I got them. Ahhh they said go with the 9 paddles with a med. modded Banshee...

BatMan