i got a 2001 ds 650 and need some new rims and tires (4-ply front,6ply rear)

the riding- soft trails,compact earth,mud,rarley on rocks or snow

i was going towards the HD but kept on reading reviews that they wear out quick
plus the back digs in so much that it wants to high side you and i like to throw the back around so then the reviews say that XC wear out good and they don't dig in as much

what are the main differences between these and which ones will last

XCR,XC,XCT,HD

also what size would you recomend,also i'm prepered to mix fronts to rears

thanks matt

 

another thing did anyone try going 21 front and 21 or 22 rear, i know on street bikes if you have the back higher it takes turns quicker up to a point

 

Smaller front tires will indeed make a quad turn quicker, but not for he same reason as a bike. With the bike, you are decreasing the effective head angle when you go bigger in back, so that is the reason there.

I ride desert and mountain woods trails. I have found the XC and XCT's to be good in a variety of conditions, but we don't get a lot of mud around here so I can't comment on that. I tried the early H-D, but found it to have a stiff sidewall which made the quad squirm under heavy acceleration. The dealer told me that the H-D has been redesigned twice since then (????).

I find that the XC and XCT's wear very well, and my buddies who are running H-D's have no complaints.

The ITP web site says the XCR is: "Lower in profile, narrower and lighter than our XC/XCT models". Now, lighter is always good, but personally I like wider tires (more cornering stability) and I don't want to give up any ground clearance.

If you ride a lot of mud, what about the MudLite SP???

 

i don't ride alot mud, only in the spring and fall when the ground is soft and muddy from the rain and snow melting the whole summer is pretty much compact and dry unless it rains


the XCR come in Front: 21x7-10, 22x7-10 (6-ply); Rear: 20x11-8, 20x11-9, 20x11-10 (6-ply).

the XC come in Front: 22x7-10 (4-ply); Rear: 20x11-9 (6-ply).

the XCT come in Front: 23x7-10 (4-ply); Rear: 22x11-8, 22x11-9, 22x11-10 (6-ply)

the HD come in Front: 22x7-10, 23x7-10; Rear: 20x11-9, 20x11-10 (6-ply).

you can get them all in the same width 11"

 

what do you think about doing this

front XCR 22x7-10 (6-ply)

rear XCT 22x11-9 (6-ply)

and since i'm getting new rims couse mine are bent i'll keep the bent rear ones and get some mudders for it later for those muddy days

 

The size numbers on a tire, often don't mean much! Even tires with the same numbers from the same manufacturer, can vary quite a bit in height and width!!! And, the rims you put them on will also affect the profile of the tire, so keep that all in mind as well.

I have tried a lot of different tires over the years, but have always gone back to the XC's (I gave a set of i-Razrs away once, they were that bad!). I have run the XCT's occasionally when I feel like I need more ground clearance, but I also lower my gearing a little to account for the effective gearing changes caused by the taller rear tires.

 

so what would you recomend

 

What size does the DS come with stock???

 

mine has front 21-7-10 rear 20-11-9

 

The DS has lots of low and mid power, so it will pull anything. I would probably try the H-D's in your conditions.