Andy:
Couple questions for you. Either I missed it, or wasn't paying attention, whatever happened. Did you mention how wide you are going to go on the front with the Bi's? Just curious how narrow you want to go. I've still got the stock 489's on my 'Cat, and must say they track pretty well through everything, though you are right, they don't sling the mud out very well. You think the "pushing" or poor tracking effect with the wider 495's you've got is because of the tread design? Also, I'll assume you're going with the 12" wide in the back. If this is the case, HL did say they will fit on the stock rims? I had my first flat tire over the weekend and started pondering a new set myself. Don't want to buy new rims though if I don't have too, money is limited if you know what I mean.

I think I'm kind of in your same boat. If I end up buying tires I'd like to get as much clearance gains as possible, without worrying about fender or winch clearance, and without robbing too much power. For now, I'm stuck with Cabela's Tire X-Tend. Uugh! Wish I had the money for tires and a performance kit, then all would be good! Hey, maybe a full camo kit, lights, rear bumper, ... Yeah, keep dreaming I guess.

Let me know what you think as soon as you get the new Claw's. I'd like to hear how they perform and what you think of them. They sure look tough though!

Mike

 

The 27" Bi-claws are only available in 9.75" which is right about where I want to be. I would imagine that they will steer truer than a wider tire. The 495's pushed like crazy in that mud, though not near as bad on solid ground. They also had 7lbs. of air in them too which is 2 more than I normally run. They steer a lot better like that so I run them higher. That probably helped me in the mud too. My 495's made it through easier than the 489's that BBC's 454 had on. They don't ride or steer anywhere near as good though. The 454 handles much better, like night and day with those tires. The extra pressure and width made the difference, not to mention the paddle shaped lugs. My lugs are pretty worn down too(1180 miles on them, and a lot of pavement on that).

Highlifter said that they would do ok, and I figure they will, its only a half inch difference, and if you space it evenly for each side, its a 1/4 of an inch difference. I see where some folks here have put 27" mud bugs on stock rims with no problems. Now the 454 has 8" stock rims on the rear so if Big Bad Cat wants new tires, no problemo at all. Why they put wider tires on in 99 and smaller rims, I have no idea. Anyway, the tires were ordered this morning and will be here probably friday. I'm wondering if I will mount them myself or just take it somewhere. Its going to be a pain in the *** I know that.

 

Andy:
Yeah, hopefully you'll get the new meats in the next couple days, and have them on for the weekend. Be interested to hear how they do in that mud hole you were talking about. That's good to hear I'll be able to just get new tires, and not have to worry about rims. That would be money better spent elsewhere, like car payment or child support. I've been thinking about painting my rims black here lately. Anybody else done this? Would look like the Kodiak rim/tire setup, only on the 'Cat. I just don't care for that grey color all that well, and with the green and black of the bike, and the camo bag and seat cover, I just think black rims would look better and tougher-any thoughts on this matter?

You are right about the tire thing though. Without the proper tools, installing tires, and removing the old ones can be a real pain in the arss! I can definately think of better things to do than play with a pry bar for several hours out of a day. I think if I were you, I'd see how much the local tire shop would charge to do the work. I'm kind of lucky here, as I've done a lot of business with the Les Schwab tire company. They usually give me pretty good deals and savings on everything I do, and would do the atv tires for next to nothing. In fact, I went in to pay off the suburban tires today, they said next time I get a flat on the 'Cat, just bring them in, they'd fix it for free. Can't beat that!

Better get to bed, have to order some rock in the morning to grade out. Let me know what you think of the Claws when you get them-if you ever get tired of riding! Heh heh heh.

Mike

 

Andy, you better take them to a tire shop to get mounted, It took three people to set the bead on my rear 27-12x12 on the stock rims, the frt went on find but ther rears were a bit ch

 

2 of them came in today. Checked the UPS tracking and the other 2 will probably be here tomorrow. Funny how 2 made it in one day and the others the next. They came one front and one rear. That was funny too. Maybe thats how they are packaged or something, cause they were together in the same plastic thing. I will definitely get them mounted elsewhere. Maybe 5 bucks a tire I would imagine, and that isnt too hard to swing. I will give a first class ride review afterwards. I need to measure clearance and everything else so I can tell all the differences.