I need a recomendation for tires.... I have a '00 Kawa Prarie 300 4x4.... What tires should I get... I want some pretty decent mud tires, but I ride on the road a little bit.... I also need to know what tires size I should go with? I'd like to go as big as I can, but I want to still have enough power in the mud to clean them... Thanks everyone, any info will be appreciated...

 

PrarieTy-
I'm sorry I can't tell you how big of tires you can go on your 300-I don't know what comes stock on there, or how much clearance you have. My guess is that you could safely/easily go one size bigger for sure, maybe two, depending on clearance. Since you ride on roads too, I don't think you should go with a "pure" mud tire, like the Outlaw or Vamps. Instead, the Titan 589 M/T would be a great choice to look at-their 25" size won a couple mud tire shootouts, and was compared to larger 27" sizes. They ride pretty decent for an aggressive tire, but not quite as smooth as my 'Claws. If you were running a 27" tire, I would highly recommend the Bi/Tri Claw combination, like I have on my 'Cat-these are an AWESOME tire-do everything, and do it well. They handle mud better than the 589, and ride a hair smoother even, but down to a 25" size, they are a lot different than the 27" magnums. I can't comment on the smaller 25" performance, and from what I've heard, it isn't as good as the bigger brothers. You might also consider the MudRunner from Goodyear-they are supposed to be pretty decent in the mud and ride fairly well on hardpack at the same time. The third choice would be the Mud Bugs, from Maxxis. Again, similar to the 589 and Mud Runner.

Basically, any of these three tires will be a good choice for doing fairly well in the mud, giving you an awesome traction gain over your stock tires, and ride fairly well on hardpack. Depending on the size you want to go, they should all be pretty good choices. One thing to remember-most tire manufacturers DO NOT produce a "true to heigth" tire. Meaning, a 25" rated tire does not measure a true 25" tall at recommended psi. They can be as much as a full inch off. So, with that in mind, you may be able to run two sizes bigger than normal just fine, as if you run a 24" tire stock, you might be able to run a 26" rated heigth tire, in that it will actually only measure around 25 1/4"-25 1/2" actual heigth at recommended psi. That is the other bonus to the Bi/Tri Claws-they are actually taller than claimed heigth-my 27" 'Claws actually measure around 27 1/4" at recommended psi.

The other thing I would recommend when you do purchase new tires, go slightly wider in the rear, and narrower up front. I wouldn't go any wider than 10" wide up front-if your machine comes stock with 8" wide, stick with that, or 9" at the most. Some tires will have a 10" minimum and those would be fine, but do not go any wider than that up front. Steering will be lighter with a narrower more aggressive tire, and easier to handle than a wider tire up front. A wider tread pattern in the rear gives more traction though, so go as wide as possible back there.

Go to www.highlifter.com to look at various tire setups, or try rockymountainatv.com, and treadpot.com as well. All have good tire selections, and should all carry the three choices mentioned above. I have ordered from Highlifter before, and had excellent customer service. The guys there really know their stuff-they love their job and you can tell by talking to them on the phone. Service was great. Never dealt with the other two, so I don't know about them.

Anyway, Best of Luck, and hope that helps,

Mike

 

Mike

I am considering Titan 589 MTs for my Sportman. I have had Bearclaws in the past but I am wanting something diferent. The 589 sounds like an excellent all around tire similar to the ride of a Bearclaw but a little bit more aggreessive tread pattern. They won a shootout for being the best mud tire while keeping good ride quality. What other specifics can you give on the 589?

Sand, rock ect?


I am looking at keeping the 25" stock size.

 

Weedy-
Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I didn't see your post till just a minute ago. You are right, the 589's won a mud tire shootout-(actually a couple of them I think), and were claimed at "surprising the test riders", in that they rode like a 27" tire. If you click on the link below, and click on "ride with GrizRick", you'll see a lot of really rocky terrain, and very dry powder dust. Rick has 27" 589s on his Griz and is very happy with them. We rode a good number of miles in those couple days, over mostly rock and that loose dry powder dust stuff. I'd say he did equally as well as the 'Claws did on my 'Cat-neither of us had an advantage over the other in terms of tires-we both went the same places, and with about the same amount of ease, or struggle in some cases that the other did. He would lead, or I would lead, it didn't matter, they did great everywhere. I've ridden them on a couple other machines, and I think my 'Claws ride just a tad bit smoother in the 27" size, and in the mud, they seem to handle it a little easier, but again, they are more of a mud tire anyway, so that should be the case. I really don't think you'll find a better all around go anywhere, do anything tire than the 589 in the 25" size. I forget how many miles he has on them-I think around 600 or so???, and they still look great.

Anyway, I'm not sure what kind of specifics you were looking for-does that help? If there's something I forgot, let me know and I'll comment however I can-if I can. I can't say anything about sand because I just don't ride in any sand-there isn't any where I ride so I don't know how any tire would do in it.

Hope that helps, and Best of Luck,

Mike