This is for a quad I do not yet have. Actually I haven't even decided on a brand but I'm leaning towards a 400 ex. I'm trying to convert to quads from dirt bikes, so that leaves a whole new ball game for me to learn.
For a sport type quad on hard packed dirt an the occassioonal chert road ( quarter sized limestone rocks and loose red dirt) what would be the best tire?
My utility quad is for the mud. I found for the South East and our mud interco vampires will out proform any factory tires.
So I was wondering if there was some sort of a tire for what I described above on a slightly modified machine?
I also learned that a thick walled 4 ply makes every pebble you run over seem like a boulder. So is a 2 ply desired for a sport quad? Anything else you think may fit here will be greatly appretiated.
Thanks.

 

ghost,
like you, I converted to quads ten years ago when a couple of major get offs & the resultant hospital time threatened my job.
If you decide to get a 400ex, the thick sidewalls won't be a problem as they come with Ohtsu tires;very good traction but fairly weak sidewalls making them excellent for mx rather than trail or cc. Unfortunately
tires, like other alterations, are a trade off. To get the carving capability in aggressive cornering plus the ability to reduce roll- over, not to mention puncture resistance from rocks, roots, etc., it requires a stiff sidewall.
On my Warrior I run Pure Sports BanditXC's all around here in Az for that reason among others.The Bandit comes in a 4 ply AT as well as the XC, which has a Kevlar band running rim to rim,making it very stiff and nearly impervious to roll-over in turns. They hook up like you were jerked with a chain & the fronts go where you point them with no wash out. I'm on my 2nd set so I guess you could say that I like 'em .
As to to the shock of hitting those little rocks (or big ones out here),a good steering damper will alleviate much of that while reducing arm pump and general fatigue.
I think you'd be happy with the 400ex: it cameo out shortly after I got my Warrior or I probably would have gone that route also.
Now with what I have in the Warrior, I'm just hanging on for the Husaberg Enforcer 501 or 601.


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THE AZ HARD PACKER, calmiller@kachina.net

save the public land FOR you, not FROM you..join the Blue Ribbon Coalition online @ www.sharetrails.org

 

Thanks hot_shoe_cv. My utility quad isn't really that bad, just a little exaduration. Stock it felt smoother than most through the rough. Now it rides like a stock honda 300. It's a kawa prarie. I've also got the tires aired up wich doesn't help, but that's better than getting hung on submerged stumps due to lowwer ground clearance. Thing is I need a new quad because the handling on this beast around curves is terrible. I got it up to 21 hp rather easilly (2wd 300). However that's 600 pounds of raging furry with 12" of ground clearance. Not exactly the best setup for hard turns.
Yip I never had a bad crash in MX, just seems everyone else did,,,,,, into me. Nothing like a 350lb bike with a 150 lb rider hitting you at 75 mph, after a few times the bills add up. Not to mention the insurance companies hike up your policy.
Most of the tracks here are the old style TT with 2 ft jumps. I'm hoping to get a setup and enough riding time in before the season starts to begin on these then possibly move up to MX as my skill level progresses. I used to have a 250 r so maybe it will come back shortly.
I picked up 3 sponsors and learned that mods on local tracks have no limits. Now if I can just learn about these @#$% things maybe I can get into it.
Thanks for the help.