Hi all, and please don't laugh at my ride!!
Also, I have searched high and low, and can't find a satisfactory answer, so I'm posting it here.
I have a 2002 Honda 350 (It's called the Rancher in the United States I believe). That thing has never let me down, and even though I'm in the market for a new quad, I'm keeping this thing. But the stock Bridgestone Dirt Hooks are now 14 years old, bald as Kojak, and are starting to crack from dry rot. It's unreal what they've been through for the past 14 years. I ride mostly terribly rocky rough, slow trails, with some mud and bog (winched out 4 times on Saturday and my trail buddy is getting a bit sick of that I think!!). I also spend a fair bit of time on the T'Railway (the old train tracks in Newfoundland). Stock size is 24x8 on the front, and 24x9 on the back. I am thinking of moving up to 25x8 fronts and 25x10 rears. Front rims are 12 inch, and rear rims are 11 inch. I know that my options are severely limited with 11 inch rears, but that's what I'm going with. I have narrowed my options to the following:

Kenda Bearclaw K299 (the originals)
Mudlite AT
Mudbug

I was kind of leaning toward the Mud Lites, but have read that they are susceptible to premature wear. I have also read that ITP has upgraded the rubber compound and that the wear issue has been addressed. True or not????

Also, is there any concern with my 350 having enough power to turn any of these tires? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

GC

 

I own the mudlite at tires and they are really good. I drove around one of those four wheelers and it could have used bigger tires because we weren't towing a big load.

 

You can get the Maxxis Zillas in a 25x11x10 size. Here's a set of 4, 25x8x12 for the fronts and 25x11x10 for the rears for $297 with free shipping from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Maxxis-Zilla-...illa+atv+tires. 68.4 lbs total weight for all 4 tires, that's very light for a set of 4 mud tires. That's only slightly heavier than the stock tires.

 

Very nice, but I'm in Canada. Where things cost way more!!! Locally, the best deal I can find is $485 (Canadian, and including taxes) for a set of Bearclaw (K299).

GC

 

This is from amazon so you should be able to get them for that price, adjusted to Canadian dollars. The free shipping might not apply to Canada though, that would be the only thing. I'm not exacly sure how amazon works in Canada.

 

Quite often Amazon.com will not ship to Canada, especially if the item is available on Amazon.ca. I will look into the Amazon.com tires further. It might be worth it. Thanks for the info!!
GC

 

Works out to $495.55 after conversion and shipping.

GC

 

Wow, that's quite a big difference. I guess you might be better buying locally and avoiding the shipping costs. I honestly have never bought any tires for any vehicle online myself. Tire shops charge a lot more for mounting if you don't buy the tires from them. I have a local atv dealer that keeps quite a few tires in stock if I want to buy tires and has deals close to what you can get online anyway. I'd honestly pay a few extra bucks to buy locally in case I get a bad tire and have to replace it. Shipping it back and waiting and hoping it gets replaced is not as simple as just driving to a shop and dealing with them face to face about a problem.

 

Just an update....I ended up buying the Bearclaw 299's. Total was $450 Canadian and I got them mounted for free by a friend of mine. Thanks for your advice and information.

GC

 

Bearclaws are good tires.