i'm wondering what are the benefits to a radial tire? And if bias tires do somethings better then radials?

 

Radial tires tend to roll more, and have a quieter, smoother ride.

Bias are less likley to get punctured, and are generally stronger

 

The difference is night and day. Radials ride sooooooo much better!

The radial tire is laid out so the sidewall gives a little in turns, and that keeps the tread flat and on the ground, where in a bias ply the tread leans over and partially comes off the ground, and you lose traction.

Trouble has been, that until fairly recently all the radials were the cheapie 2-ply ones that come on stock machines. But, now there are a number of very, very tough 6-ply radials that can match any bias ply out there for rugedness.

On my sport quads, I run ITP TracStar radials on my 250's, and have some on order for the 400 and 450R. On the ute, I run ITP Holeshot ATR radials.

Radial tires are one of the best mods you can make on any machine!!!!

 

I will be replacing tires on 700 Griz this winter and this subject is coming up at the right time. Problem is that I do not want to sacrifice any durability/puncture resistance by selecting a radial and I do not want to sacrifice any comfort if I select a bias belted. The radials I see as options for my riding (90% dry dirt, rock, gravel; and 10% shallow mud, shallow water, light snow) are the ITP Terracross R/T, the ITP Holeshot ATR, the Maxxis Big Horn, and the Kenda Bounty Hunter. All are 6 ply rated radials and claim to be very tough. I will keep stock 25 inch size because I am very happy with stock ground clearance plus I don't want to loose any of the Griz snap or reliability when turning big/heavy tires. I am leaning toward the Big Horn due to all the great reports but am still open to the Terracross and Bounty Hunter. The Holeshot ATR seems a little too race specific for me. I doubt if any of these four would be much of a mistake.

 

Radials are indeed much better (as reconranger said) in so many ways....

Traction is one thing, but also the spacing of the lugs can be greater because of the strength of the belts.

And one thing that people don't mention often is the stability of radials up front.... bump steer is seriously reduced with radials mapping the way up front. Bias ply tend to skip and hop at higher speeds, whereas radials keep the rubber to the ground where it should be......

Just like with cars the radial will kill off the bias ply tire soon enough....

BTW for a sport machine the IRazr radials are very well received. Pretty much everyone I know who is running them absolutely loves them.

 

I have the ATR's on my Rancher, and they are great tires for the mixed bag of riding (including snow) that one gets here in Calif.........nothing I would ever call "race specific", but they sure improve the ride. I ride these tires on rock strewn mining roads all the time, and they are virtually indestrictible! They should match your Griz handling perfectly.....

The Terracross is the same casing as the ATR, but with a different tread pattern. Haven't tried them yet however.

 

i have had bighorns in 25" and 27" and won't buy anything else anytime soon. love 'em.

monty

 

Another radial 25 inch all terrain option is the Carlisle Badlands XTR. These come as original stock tires on some Arctic Cats. These could be the lightest 25 inch radial at only 14.7/19.7 lb front/rear. One negative I see however is the front is only 4 ply rated while rear is 6 ply rated. All others are 6 ply rated.
Here is weight info I have so far;
Carlisle Badlands XTR 14.7/19.7 lbs.
Maxxis Big Horn 21.4/27.1 lbs.
ITP Terracross 20.1/22.1 lbs.
ITP Holeshot ATR 18.0/21.0 lbs.
Kenda K587 Bounty Hunter 18.0/22.0 lbs.
So is Big Horn rear heavy enough to have much effect on acceleration? Would Badlands 4 ply front have significant reliability issues? Would less unsprung weight of Badlands front equate to much better suspension compliance? Probably no, no, and no.

 

the only question i can add anything to is the Bighorn one. when i put the 25s on, i couldn't tell any difference in power at all. with the 27s, it feels the same (power wise) but is not as fast when i run with guys that i could barley beat before, now i loose. but for practical use, my 650i has a power surplus, so turning the bigger tires is not a problem.

a heavy tire is not all bad. the hardcore jeep rock crawlers sometimes put lead shot in each tire to "keep 'em planted", and heavy tires lower the center of gravity of the machine. high speed handling does go down with bigger tires, tho...

but with the 25" Bighorns, you will probably only notice improved handling, and no power loss. there may be a little power loss, but i doubt you'll notice it.

monty

 

Now that is one that I had not thought about but true for equal height tires. I just wish I could try them all. I suspect that durability and traction for your particular riding conditions are only characteristics most riders would ever notice anyway on an open classer.