I ride desert, which can destroy an OEM tire in one ride. But, I do like the "sporty" feel of OEM radials, so I am looking for a tire that fills both requirements. For years I have been running ITP Holeshot XC's. These are absolutely indestructible, and I don't think I have ever had a reliability issue of any kind with these, and we're talking thousands of miles on a dozen different quads. But, they are stiff and don't have the "sporty" feel of a radial. So, I decided to give the iRazr radials a try.

So far, I am very impressed with the handling! But, only time will tell about reliability, and I will keep you posted on that issue in the future..........

The tires are mounted on ITP Baja rims. The rims have a greater offset than stock, and the rear tires are wider, so the quad ends up +3" in back and +2" in front, A nice little increase in stability for the open desert, yet not so wide that the quad can't be ridden on a narrow trail.

The front tires stay absolutely planted. They go exactly where you point them, and do not slide AT ALL. I love this! The backs are well planted too, but can be broken free with a blip of the throtle and some body english. I prefer to set up in a corner by sticking the front line, then sliding the rear around, only using the handlebars for fine adjustments here and there.

On steep, rutted, nasty, hardpacked hillclimbs (something we have lots of here in Riche Canyon), traction is excellent, and there is little if any tendency for the back end to squirm. (I find that tires with very stiff sidewalls like ITP HD's, squirm the back end terribly on these hillclimbs.) The rears are considerably heavier than the XC's that I have been running, but I can live with that.

Handling on pavement is a dream (I have to do a " stealthy" three block pavenent ride to get to the hills from my house)! They don't make a lot of noise, and don't do anything funny. All in all, I am very pleased! I will keep you updated as I ride a greater variety of terrain.

Also, I am looking forward to trying out the new ITP Trac Star radials. They should be lighter than the iRazrs, and are 6-ply so they should hold up well. Plus, they come in 23" front and 22" rear (iRazrs don't), which should be the hot setup for desert racing! Thing is, the pictures of them seem to show a kind of rounded, balooney profile in the rear, which concerns me a bit. I like the SQUARE profile of the Razrs, with a set of large, solid blocks on the outer edges.

 

Thank you very much for the review RR, I've been looking for input on these tires from someone who knows their stuff.

Please keep us posted on the durability over time and let us know about these ITP radials if you see or try any. I havent heard of them yet but I'll go look them up. I could use the 23/22 setup for clearance and since the iR isnt availible in anything but 20" rear I've been deterred a bit.

 

I called around today, and nobody has the ITP 23/22's in yet. Rocky Mountain said middle of next month.

 

One thing, the front tires are TALL and NARROW. From pictures of the ITP Trac Stars, they look tall and narrow as well. I am thinking that they make them this way because being radials, the sidewall is flexable and more subject to a rim pinch (????). This means that I am unfortunately loosing a little of the extra width I got with the ITP rims and Holeshot tires. I measured it carefully, and I was more than +3" in front with the Holeshots, and now something like +2" with the Razrs.

 

Reconranger, the Trac Stars are also not as wide as most Holeshot/Razr tires. They are designed to be an OEM replacement, not an all out race tire. I am sure they will be durable though. I am intrerested in how they will compare to your new Irazrs too. Btw, which quad are you running the new tires on?

 

The Razrs are on the R and the Z. The 400EX still has Holeshots on it, as they still have a lot of tread left to go before they will need to be replaced.

I ordered a set of Trac Stars last night. 22/7R-10 front and 20/10R-9 rear, for the 250EX. The little EX has tight suspension, so it needs a tire with lots of cush. Plus, it isn't exactly a powerhouse, so a light tire/wheel combination is a big asset. I'm going to put them on ITP T-9 rims (NOT the stock rims), so I hope I won't lose any width over the Holeshots that are on there now.

My thoughts are that I probably won't want to run the Trac Stars on the bigger quads. They don't have a lot in the way of blocks out on the edge, and that concerns me. Still, they should be just fine for the kids quads. I'll do a review of these, maybe next week.