Well Mr. UPS finally got the tires here at 4:30 and I called all over town to get them mounted and the fastest that they could get them done was 9:00 in the morning, Oh well I will just have to wait.
At first appearance the tires look MOTHERLY !@#%$'n MEAN, they are very agressive and very light for a 27". Just sitting them beside the 25" 489's on the 'Cat the 27" are the same size with no air so they should add amost 2-3" overall ground clearance to the quad I will know tomm. morn
Just my luck central Alabama was hit by monsterous storms from Saturtday till last night so my mud holes were filled with about 2' of water, and thats too high for my blood. So I am planing another Fossil excersion this Saturday so I will give them a good test then.
I will post the before and after mesurments about lunch time tomm.
Also I have also been talking to a welder friend of mine that is going to make me a Diamond Plate skidplate and if I can get the pattern for the boot guards done he will make then at the same time.
I will have Pics posted when I get back home Sunday

chuck
[green]2000 ArcticCat 500 4x4, Warn A2500, Roller Fairlead, AND WILL BE BUGGED SOON!!! and then covered in mud.[/green]

 

Hey BigCatDriver:
Glad to hear you finally got your bugs! Too bad nobody could get them mounted for you today though, oh well sometimes for the good things, you just have to wait. Hey, do you happen to know what they actually weigh? How about the stock 489's? I thought the 489's were around 27 lbs. a piece, but I could be way off on that one. Just curious to know how much heavier the bugs are. Also, who did you buy them through, and who is the actual manufacturer of the bugs? Sorry to ask such dumb questions, but my mind has gone blank.

Good luck tomorrow, hope they work out great on your fossil run!

Mike

Oh yeah, that diamond plate skid plate should look pretty sweet! Do you think though, that it may effect being able to "slide" over things, making it a little more difficult with the ridges, rather than smooth? Don't know, just a thought. 'Course with the 27" Bugs, the ground clearance gain would make up for it! Hope it works out, let me know what you think.

 

Mike,
I got them through Highlifter, They were a little more expensive but they took over an hour to help me deside bewteen, the Vampires, TSL/ATV, BlackWaters, Bi/Tri Claws and the Goodyear MudRunners. every where I called just quoted me prices and said that they were good but did not tell me why, So I did not mind paying the extra.
They are made by Maxxis www.maxxis.com The company makes tires for ATV's and Cycles.
The diamondplate will not be easier to slide but it will be much stronger and look great. and you are right with the ground clearance I will just be able to ride over the objects that I used to skid on. Dan said that they recomend running 8-10 Psi in them which will make them slightly taller than a stock 28",,,but i'm wondering if they will scrub the fenders at that pressure.
I will compare the weight on the two tomm at the shop.

Oh yea in a drunken ride Sat night I got the quad to go over a 2' diameter fallen Ceder tree... it had no problems as long as I could keep one tire on the ground.

chuck
[green]2000 ArcticCat 500 4x4, Warn A2500, Roller Fairlead, AND WILL BE BUGGED SOON!!! and then covered in mud. [/green]

 

How are they supposed to do for trail riding, and plowing your own trails? How about tire life, tread wear? I wonder why they suggest going with 8-10 psi. Is that what the tires are recommended at? The stock Titans only want 5 psi. Maybe I should increase that up a bit, see what happens. Sorry to keep "bugging" you about your new bugs, but they sound like they might be perfect for what I want to do. Anxious to hear about your first ride on them.

Mike

 

no problem, i'm glad to help Mike.
For trail riding they will do great depending on the conditions, snow, mud ect they will be awsome, hardpack they will preform good there too due to every other lug crosses the center line of the tire giving it a good ride at or above 8mph(thats what Maxxis says). on rocks not real sure,,,dont have many around here
Highlifter says that they wear slow due to the space age tire compound.
The tires recommend 5 psi but Dan(at Highlifter) said that the lower the pressure the more of the tire contacts the ground hince greater power needed to turn them over and more wear do to friction, at the higher pressure you will only have the true tire on the ground with less friction, If the mud gets deep the rest of the tire will dig.
Puncture resistance, they are six ply it seems it would take a very very sharp object to puncture them, and them the slime will take over.

 

While it would be great to have increased ground clearance, the 6 ply rating on the bugs is reason enough to buy a set. I'm really pretty leary of the 2 ply rating on the Titan's. Much of my property has fallen timber, branches, sticks, rocks, etc. as well as the standard thorn bushes and other "trouble makers" for tires. I'm going to head down to the Blue Mountains this weekend (south eastern Washington) to see what it's like down there. I've deer hunted it for several years now, but never had a quad before, so it should be a lot of fun. I'll try airing up the tires a bit, see what kind of a ride it gives.

Was up at the Rimrock area last weekend (central/eastern Washington) and encountered quite a bit of snow. The 'Cat's did great. Actually, I was really impressed with what they could do. There was nothing that could stop us, with the exception of a few steep ravines that were sheer rock cliffs. Other than that, they went every where we wanted to go, and a few places we didn't! I'm anxious to hit a the other mountain range this coming weekend, as the terrain is much different.

By the way, would have liked to have seen you guys crossing the 2' fallen cedar tree, bet that was something! I haven't found anything larger than maybe a foot and a half at the most as of yet.

Happy trails!

Mike

 

BigCatDriver,

Why did Highlifter recommend the Mud Bugs over the Goodyear Mudrunners? I know both are real good all-around tires that perform great in the mud. But other than the weight difference, why go with the Bugs? I have been leaning toward the Mud Bugs for my next set of tires; however, everyone I've know who has the Mudrunners love them.

 

First of all the MudBugs are 6ply and the mudRunners are only 4, The rubber compound is better in the bugs and their design will make hardpack travel easier because every other lug passes the center line. and the weight, My 500 can turn any tire i wanted but the lighter tires will not put that great deal of strain on the quad.
If I spent all of my time in the mud i would have gotten Vampires or Mudrunners but my days are about 50/50 bewteen mud and highway.

chuck

 

Ok the first trip with the Bugg's was made, the are awsome. I crawled through anything that I could find that was not under water. they also Cleanout well when they are spinning over 3mph. As for power loss I really cant tell it lost that much, I'm am still able to get them tunring by starting off in 4th Gear (its nice to have a manual) , but it does take a little while longer, in first through 3 there semes to be no power loss what-so-ever. However the top speed lost 5 mph it went fromo almost 60 to about 55-56, but oh well If I needed speed i would not have gotten a Cat
Oh yea the best part the 27-10X12 (ft) and 27-12x12(r) raised the overall ground clearance from the floorboards from almost 9" to and easy foot,,,At 5psi.... if I air up it will gain and inch to that, but i will have to check the contact to be sure it is safe.

I will have pics posted sunday

chuck

[green] 2000 ArcticCat 500 4x4 ,Warn A2500, fully protected by 12" of ground clearance, and 27" BUGGS...."Follow me and get the hell out of my way"[/green]

Up next a highlifter liftkit "I want two more inches, a diamondplate skidplate", Rino-coated racks, and a HL HorsepowerKit....

 

BigCatDriver:
Thanks! Anxious to see the pics. So, have you bottomed out, or rubbed the fenders at all? They sound like the ticket to me. One more thing-you think my Auto would handle them OK? (I guess I should just call High Lifter eh?!) Course in Lo range, they shouldn't be a problem at all.

Have a good one, (maybe a cold one too).

Mike