I have been going through a lot of mud an water, and would like to put some larger tires on my 500 sportsman. Can I put 26" or 27" tires on a stock 500 with out a lift kit, and not have problems due to larger tire size? I was thinking about titan 589's for a good, deep mud, tire. Will I be happy with this tire. I would like to do this only once, so your proffesional experiance would be a big help, and maybe even save me some money in the long run. Thanks fellow mudders. WiMrgasser

 

26 will fit. A lot of guys have the Mudrunners on theirs in that size. 27" I don't know. Atv Connection said that 27" Claws rubbed fenders a bit in their article and they added the lift to the front. I saw a 2000 with 27" Blackwaters on it at the dealer with no lift. They looked like they had plenty of clearance. Keep in mind that the Blackwaters are smaller in diameter than the Claws in reality. The measured size can be found in the Dirtwheels mud tire showcase thing a couple months ago. I'm keeping my Claws when I sell my AC, and I hope I don't have to add a lift to the Sportsman when I get it.

 

I ride with on SP500 and one Xplorer running 28" tires. The SP500 has Outlaws and the Xplorer has Vamps. I could only find one person on the forum who is running 28" tires.
I have a set of Vamps, Outlaws, and Titan 589s. The 589s are the best all-around tire. Very good on hardpack and don't clog up with mud. They came in very close to the Vamps (the winner) of last year's Dirt Wheels tire shootout. The Outlaws are the newest and do ride pretty rough at slow speeds. I would recommmend them if you are unloading off the trailer and directly into the mud. They are light, though.