Curious about the wear of 26" mudlites. I currently run 25" mudbugs and am going to be looking for tires soon. I've heard about mudlites wearing quicky. True??? It's a toss up between 589's, mudbugs and mudlites. I mainly do alot of mountain trail riding with a little, (20%) mud, and alot of off camber stuff. thanks, dg

 

I currently have the 26 inch MudLites but have not put enough miles on them to give you the wear issue. Have you looked at the Kenda Bear Claws, I ran those on my King Quad for 900 miles I beleive it was and it was in primarly river beds and mountains and lots of mud, worked excellent in the rocky outcroppings, the tire has some give to it to grip the rocks and yet hard enough to dig in for traction and rode smooth on the hard pack trails. I would of got them on my new quad but they were not availble and my choice was between the 589 and MudLite and I had used a Kodiak during hunting season with the 589's and felt they were to hard for the trails I take and did not get traction going over logs without the aid of studs, they would peel the bark off and start to spin where the Mudlites I saw would give alittle and grab better without aids so I chose them, they are also lighter then the 589's by what the dealer said of 8 pounds each and when I addded the ITP C series rim it is supposedly around 12 pounds total each lighter. I never weighed it but I can see where alunimum is lighter then the steel stock wheels and with what is saved it offset the install of the winch, at least in total weight as the extra weight is now on the front. I would highly recomend the Bear Claws and if you have not you should check them out. This is my opinon and I know somebody will say the 589's are better.AlaskaBoy.

 

Alaskaboy, It seems you and i ride on alot of the same types of terrain, which do you like better the bearclaws you had or your mud lites. I cant seem to make up my mind. And send some of that warm weather up here, it only got to 10 here yesterday.

 

If I could of got the Bear Claws in the deal I would of course gone with what I know. That was not the case so I chose MudLites over the 589"s as I was able to ride a Kodiak with the 589's during this last moose season and thought the tire was lacking for a all around tire, it was to hard and with out studs it would spin on logs rather getting any bite and of course the the side lugs grab to much going down dry rutted trails and tended to rip the front wheels and the handle bars around. As for the MudLites I was able to get out before it snowed and they performed just like the Bear Claws except you will find that the Mud's tend to throw rocks, big ones and that will tick off your fellow riders, especially the ones who are right behind you when you hit the gas. I took them thru the bogs that are in my area and over the rocks and of course the trails thru the woods to see how they did going over the logs that fall across the trail and found them to be a all around tire the functions well.
I can not send any warm weather up your way as I want the delegation to stay in the PFD conference and figure out something, if it is warmer they might want to venture out. I am coming up your way in Sept to take out my wifes cousins moose and caribou hunting, there dad has not been into hunting lately and I said I would take them out and show them some of my tricks and it gives my wife a chance to see her aunt and uncle while I am hunting. I hunt by Eureka and have got a moose out of there every year for the last 12 years and I figure I could show the kids how. They went up towards Circle last year but did not get anything and they want to go back again, do you know this area?
I beleive you can not go wrong with either tire, it would boil down to what can be had at a cheaper price. I got the Bears down in Texas while I was on vaction and they were less then 200 for all four, thats over 300 hundred cheaper then Suzuki wanted to charge me for them.AlaskaBoy.

 

No, I havent hunted around eureka, but was thinking of hunting near manley this year, I havent thought about eureka, but I may head that way too, because of work i will have to break hunting season into two trips, so i may go down to that area. Whats the restrictions in that area, I get kinda worried about some of the areas so i try to stay in an any bull GMU. as far as the tires go I think the mud lites are cheaper but am gonna call around to some of the places out of town and maybe wasilla to see what kind of deals i can get.

 

It gets tuffer every year on restrictions. It is currently spike/fork or 50 inch or 4 browtines. The last year I have seen so many 3 browers and they are all in the 40 to 45 inch range. I look for the spike/forks it is easier to tell on them then the 50 plus ones. I did get one two years ago that had 3 but he was 57 inches and he looked it, no time guessing on that one. I like the any bull areas to, once in awhile I head down to Dillingham to hunt with my brother-n-law. I am lucky that my wife does not have a problem with me hunting as long as I bring home a moose to fill the freezer. I have the whole season off this year, my vacation starts on August 31 and I do not have to be back to work till the 23 of sept. Of course i have to take her and the kids to Fairbanks for 4 days or so but then I get to hunt up there. I am bringing my bow this time, last year I was up there at the tale end of the season and I went out with one of her cousins to check on the house they were building and there was a midsize bull standing a hundred feet from the house. I was not asking about if you had hunted around Eureka but rather Circle. I would not recomend Eureka as it is getting so crowded and people are everywhere. The trail head I use had a trooper directing traffic 2 years ago as there was no parking spots to be found and traffic was backed up both ways with hunters trying to get in there. I had to leave my trailer because it got blocked in and there was just enough room to pull down thru the vehicles and campers with my truck. That year it was estimated that there was 200 people in a valley that was 20 miles long. Not a good ratio.
I have seen great pricing from Nebraska Tire but I am afraid to see what the shipping will cost. There is a place in Wasilla that a guy I know from Costco was talking about and he said they had good prices, when I see him this week as he shops my store everynight before he heads back to the valley and ask him for the name.AlaskaBoy.

 

I havent personally hunted circle but do know people that go that way. I am thinking of going up behind ft knox this year, i hear its pretty good out there, its actually on the old fairbanks to circle trail. good to know that eureka is busy, i wont waste my time going down there, i figured too many from anchorage and the valley head that way. I will keep in touch, and maybe let you know if i see any in the borough you can bow hunt for, i need to get my cert, i just need to practice with my bow a little first, i havent picked it up in awhile.

 

Alaskaboy, when you tried out the 589's were they 26 inch? I was wondering because the 26 inch come with a extented tread depth and I was wondering if that would have mad a difference going over logs and things like that? just a thought! I wanted to go with the mudlights but they came to wide in the front and kept rubbing pretty bad on my winch so I went with the narrower 589's. One of the complaints I have with the 589's is the fact that they ride like crap! I had to adjust my shocks to the lightest setting to get a ride at all out of them and only 2 PSI. As far as traction I love em!

 

No they were the 27's. I thought they were to hard, no give to the tread. Yes they do ride ruff, but they were designed for deep mud and they do good in the catergory. They look good on the quad but looks don't do it for me, I need a tire that will do good in all catergories rather then just one.AlaskaBoy.

 

I run gators. They wear like iron and ride good on hard pack. They work great in the mud too. I have 1800 miles on the ones i have now and they show hardly any signs of wear. of course i'm 49 and don't spend a lot of time trying to make them spin all the time either. I say what you wear out you need to replace-that cost money.Check them out.