This past weekend, several of us got to ride in some pretty extreme conditions with four different mud tires and we had a lot of people asking us to post our results so here they are. The test isn't scientific because we had two '00 Big Bear 400's (one with 27" Mud Bugs, one with 26" Outlaws), one Foreman 400 (with Vampires 25" (?)), one FourTrax 300 (with SuperSwamper TSLs (sizes?)) and one Rubicon (with 28" Outlaws)--all 4X4s with different size tires but it sure was fun. The results--there's really not a butt-hairs difference in any of these tread patterns. All bikes performed well in the mud. The Rubicon had an edge because it's a 500 with 28" tires, but the other bikes pretty much went everywhere the Rubicon did. In our case, rider experience was much more of a factor than the tread design with us less experienced riders requiring to wench a little more often than the more experienced riders. My advice is to select whichever of these tires you like and spend more time making sure your brakes work and your airbox is plugged (sorry, couldn't resist the inside joke).

CrashGordon

 

Crash, you said, "with us less experienced riders requiring to wench a little more often than the more experienced riders."

Usually, the more experienced riders "wench" more often (or so they say)!

Hey, couldn't resist. TxDoc2 wasn't by any chance in your party, no?

Tree Farmer

 

I like to use my winch several times per ride....to just make sure it is in top working order! I can winch with the best of 'em. Practice, practice, practice. If you see me winching, I am most likely not really stuck. I am just winching. Like whittling.
So experience matters a great deal? Hear that Cobb! That is why Poopsie married you. At your age, that explains why you can take the big 500SP up and down thow 88 degree slopes like a mountain goat--experience. No PJ spillage. And you kept telling me it was all bike. What is your saying? "old age and deception always win out over youth and stupidity". Is that close?

 

I was also a party to our unofficial mud shootout. I agree with Crash. Rarely did we get to a hole where one machine could go but others couldn't. Like Crash said, it was based a lot on rider experience. For anyone that hasn't seen them in action, the new Outlaws and MudBugs definitely are in the elite category of mudtires. We had two sets for the tests; 26" on a new Big Bear and 28"s on a Rubicon and they were absolute beasts. There was a lot of curiosity surrounding the MudBugs and they definitely delivered. Of course the Vamps and Outlaws did great as expected. I know it's not the controversial decision everyone wanted, but I agree with CrashGordon, go with what you like the most out of the top notch mud tires and learn to ride your machine. Any thoughts JFord or Green Machine??? Kyle Logan

 

Another point that should be mentioned is that on our ride, the first person to go through the muck often faired better than the guys at the end who were stuck with rutted out soup. In our case, the most experienced rider was also familiar with the area and riding the Rubicon and he was riding in front. Therefore, he didn't have to wench nearly as often. When the stuff really hit the fan, the wenches were all getting hot.

Crash