I am considering a set of 26" Bighorn tires that fit 14" wheel and would like to know if this would be a good combination for a Sportsman 500. Is there an advantage to going with the larger wheel size? Would there be any noticeable decrease in performance from the larger tires as compared to the stock 25"? I ride mostly trails with very little mud. Is anyone running the 14" tires on their machine?

 

With 26" you will get about 1/2" more clearance. That is about it. You may be able to get 1 or 2 mph top speed but you will loose the lower end to some degree. You end up being geared taller.

 

Other than the bling factor I think 14's will make for a slightly rougher ride, but with better lateral response cause of the shorter sidewll on the tire. No personal experience but I base it on road cars and wheels.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Tbizz

Other than the bling factor I think 14's will make for a slightly rougher ride, but with better lateral response cause of the shorter sidewll on the tire. No personal experience but I base it on road cars and wheels.</end quote></div>

True lower profile tires handle better but may be give a little stiffer ride. They handle better than a taller profile because there is less 'roll-under' while turning. Sometimes you can compensate for the 'roll-under' by making your sidewalls stiffer with addition of more air or adding tubes plus more air, or you can get a tire with more ply's (6ply for example). More air still will be condusive to a stiffer ride.

 

I'm running 14" and just love them. They do look cool but are awesome on the trails. Just wish they didnt cost so much. For ITP 27" XTR and type 7 wheels I paid alm,ost $900 and that was a deal. They sure make the quad though.

 

I would definately like to try a set of radial tires. If the improvement in ride is as good as when going to radials on cars back when, then i'm convinced.

Went riding on Black Mountain trail today which had 50" max width. When they said 50" they meant it. If my front tires made it though, I scraped a lot of stumps with the rears and just barely missed the trees without messing up plastics. This was one tight trail. How I did not scrape a tree, lucky. Tight, twisty, and the trails where just barely 50" wide.

I begain to re-evaluate my choice in tire size. Still want to check out radials. Bighorn tires sure seem to have a excellent following and they have tread pattern that fits my riding conditions. I do not want to go to tires that have a wider stance. With new 14" wheels, the stance will be wider by a inch or two. The Sportsman is handicaped on these trails because of its size. But these trails were fun, till it got harry. Am thinking 25s. With the stock front wheels, and the correct offset rear 7x12 wheel with 10 wides, they may not be any wider. But that still may mean I can't run these trails, but if they track truer in sand and stuff on rest of trail... and the 6 ply will help if I decide to get narrow again.

 

I'm not a big fan of overly wide tires on ATV's, the machines just don't have the weight. It is like putting 24 inch wide tires on a 1/2 ton pickup (useless to say the least). They look brutal but brutal looking doesn't always get the job done. I went 1.5 inches narrower on the rear. Glad I did too, as I am now 50" wide on both front and rear, via 1" spacers.

 

buckaroo,

26s not for GC, thought wider front tires would fit wheels better. 8" fronts are narrow, no curveature to sidewall, and 11 wide rears matched OEM. Need bottom end, thought lose with 26s would be minimal, but depends on clutch springs, weights, which may be ok or possibly tweaked. The stock 489s have not been bad tires, 500 miles and flashing is still on some lugs. Maybe OT or "good trade" and I ride radial.

know what you mean. Had 12x33s on '75 chevy 4bye. went to narrow, kicked more butt, better ride -- got through mud, winter slop better. If 10 wide rears are working for GNCC racers..

 

I have seen many 27x12x12 on all fours stuck tigher than a wild cats butt. Although big fat tires on an ATV does look brutal. But most times their bark is bigger than their bite.

Bigger tires hold more air by volume.... Mud is made from water and dirt... fat tires float... hmmm, maybe I am not a dummy after all - lol...

Seen a machine swept downstream before that had big fat tires. Seen big fat tires just sit there and spin on pine-needles, leaves and other turf because they could not dig in or hook up.

There are two ways to get through mud - one is to have a very light machine and very large fat tires with 3" mud lugs and basically float and paddle across. The second way is to have good ground clearance and a heavy machine with narrow heavy tires and heavy steel rims to push the tire down through the mud and grab more solid footing.

Same principle as to why they fill tractor tires with liquid. Heck a lot of ATV tires are as wide as tractor tires without having nearly the weight.

For me it is heavy machine, heavy steel rims and heavy narrow tires. My machine may not look brutal as some with big tires and might even look a little on the whimpy side, but it does go and it is not all show. Geez, I should be a poet, that sounded pretty good - lol....

While some are sitting there looking brutal and spinning their wheels others are driving off over the horizon... Which one are you going to be?