The thing I like about the XTR mounted on the 14" rim is how easy they stear for a big tire and wheel kit. The fronts are narrow at 9" and I can really throw the handle bars around easy. We had close to 2 feet of snow in the last week and we went riding saturday. They really cut and threw the snow well and provided traction on the frozen ground. I like that they have a close tread patern in the middle of the tire for trail riding. There isnt an open void between the lugs like a true mud tire. There is always a lug on the ground providing smooth operation and steering, but the openess of the outside of the tire provides bite when the ground underneath is loose, becasue the radial really flexes and shapes around the contours of the trail/obstacle. I wanted a tire for trail riding and mud and I believe (personal openion) that the MudLite XTR provides the best of both worlds. Not the best trail tire, and not the best mud tire, but its great all around. (200 miles so far and the little dimples still havent gotten ripped off)

As far as power loss, I have not noticed anything. I don't know if I can ride a wheelie in Hight range like I could with the stockers, but the 800 sitll gets up and goes. My speedo is only off 2-3 mph by my GPS at 65mph.

 

Hello there....I posted the original question re Mudlite XTR vs Bighorns.......I'm ready to order a set of tires today. I'll probably go with 25" Maxxis Bighorns, they appear to be the ticket for my riding, also abit more affordable.

One more question: When I first started riding with my 26" Mudlite XL's, everybody use to complain I was kicking rocks back at them (deep lugs), i'm assumming with less lug depth the bighorns aren't as likely to kick back rocks as the Mudlite XTR's with deeper lugs...?

 

They will kick just as bad as te XL's. Just tell them to stay back. Anytime I go riding with friends it does not matter what they are riding they always throw rocks. The big horns are a great choice.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the Bighorns or XTR's in snow/ice? I use my 2004 Sportsman 700 year round and we get plenty of snow here. Which of these tires is the better choice for snow?

 

I was about to ask this same question when I came in here so it's nice to see there's already some debate on the subject. My question is a little different from the OPs since these are going to be a secondary set of tires for me on my Wolverine 450. These are mostly going to be for riding with my family when I'm out of town. They all have big bores and at least 25" tires so I had a little trouble riding behind them in some really rutted out trails. So mostly these are going to be for muddy hills and trails where it's rutted out and I need ground clearance. I want something with a fairly stiff sidewall and I seem to like the flat profile of the XTR better. My brother used to run a set of Dick Cepek Spider Tracks on his 250x and I really really liked them but they don't make them anymore...