I'm looking for some info. on tires for my 2000 Kawasaki Lakota 300. I have a IDS2/k&n/jet kit installed. I am considering Sur-Tracks, Bandits, or another good tire for the conditions I ride in. I ride dunes, hard pack trails, loose terrain, snow, and some good mud along with an occasional splash in faily deep water (1' to 1 1/2'). I am also looking at possibly putting Maxxis Pro's on the front in conjunction with the above mentioned tires. I am looking for good handling, tire wear, ride, and traction for the terrain I tend to encounter. Desent ride is pretty important to me along with pretty good mud/snow traction. I figure if there is good mud/snow traction, sand traction will also be there!? I have only ran the stock tires so I am very uninformed on which tire is best for a variety of terrains. I do know however the stock tires arn't the best. If anyone knows of other tires/combo that would fill the bill I would be glad to hear of them. Also, the stock tires are 22" front and rear. I really don't want to go any larger but maybe a little smaller. Any and all comments/recommendations will be highly appreciated.

 

I dont know about the sur-tracks but the bandits will just dig right in in sand and probably snow as well. They arent a very good sand tire from what I hear, however probably the best mud tire for a sport tire. They are good tires, hard to get flats and have awesome traction, but tend to dig a little much for sand I would think.

 

I've had both the 22x10x10 Bandits and the 22x11x10 Sur Traks on my Blaster. I'd choose the Bandits every time. I ride in basicly the same conditions you do.

The Bandit's are excellent on hardpack, the traction is much better. The Sur-Traks try to slide more than the Bandits. The Bandits are OK in the sand, the Sur Traks tend to dig holes more often, unless you turn them around backwards. In the mud both tires are pretty good, neither ever clogged up. I've never had the Bandit's in the snow, but the Sur-Traks are pathetic. The only think they would do is spin. Even with only 3-4" you couldn't get going over about 30mph. Both tires wear pretty well, but the Bandit's wear much better. I ran the Sur-Traks for 1980 miles, and by that time they were definately worn out. I've got 1800 miles on the Bandit's and they are probably 2/3 worn out. I'll get at least 2500 miles out of them.

As you can see, I'm definatley partial to the Bandits. I think they'd work pretty well for you. I've you've only had stock tires, you will be very impressed.

 

I have Sur traks on my 300ex and I love them. They are very puncture resitant and after 10mos they are just starting to wear. Since ive had them the only time i had to be towed was when my motor blew up. my friend has a lakota and also has sur traks on it and he loves them too. they work great in the snow for me any how

 

I put Woolly Boogers on my Recon. They made a huge difference in traction in all conditions. They have a flat profile so you get a lot more of the tread on the ground with the added benefit of being more stable on off cambers. They seemed to be slightly shorter than my stock tire though they were the same size designation. They wore well and were great in mud. BK

 

We have both. First off the bandit is a cross between a regular sport tire, like holeshots, & a mud tire. The bandits have deep lugs. The bandits are a little taller than advertised.

The sur traks are a great tire on my wifes Recon. This past labor day, she was able to go places on her quad that she couldn't before with the stock tires on them. The sur traks appear to be a little shorter than the 22" that is advertised, I think they 21 3/4".

On a sport bike to get good traction for trail & mud go with the bandits. For a utility the sur traks are great.

We also have a lakota in our club that has the sur traks tire on it. He goes pretty much every where we with his 2wd & we are riding 4wd.