I am trying to decide what paddle tires to get. I am struggling with straight vs. v-paddles.
My Banshee motor is bored 0.020" over (wiseco pro-lites), ported cylinders, FMF Fatty pipes/silencers, YZ clutch springs, and Cool-Head w/ 19cc domes. Perhaps in the 60 hp range (soon to be dyno'd to verify...).

I am wanting a general all purpose sand tire (if such a tire exists...), since I mostly do fast paced trail riding (yeah, Lil' Sahara, OK has "trails" in the dunes), with some drag racing thrown in for good measure.

I tried out a set of Sand Skate II's (before my cylinders were ported), and I am not sure if I liked them. The front end still seemed to push in the corners a bit, particularly if I got on the gas enough to lighten the front while still in the corner. Sliding the rear around with the throttle didn't seem to work to well with the v-shaped paddle.

I am considering getting straight paddles, but I am concerned about turning using stock front tires. I really don't want to spend the money, right now, for front sand tires to help me turn better. Will straight paddles work OK with stock front tires?

It is my understanding that straight paddles will allow you to slide the rear around in corners, and thus assist with steering in this manner. Is this indeed the case?

Lastly, Are there any good straight paddles with a decently tall paddle that are a molded-in paddle?

Sorry for the lengthy post.

Regards,

Rog

 

I think the advantage of straight paddles out weighs the advanteges of angled paddles, but thats my opinion. I have a 300ex with strights and my buddys ride warriors with angles. I can walk all over them in the sand. (sorry guys)

no, you cant turn better with the straights, before I got some fronts I would have a really hard time turning.

if you like a 20" tire the GBC sand devils are a nice tire, and they are avalible for a 10" rim.
cheng shin dune hoppers and kenda dune runners are avalible in 22" 8-10" rim sizes.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am really wanting to get straight paddles, but am concerned about turning without going with front tires also. Don't want to spend the money for both at once.

Regards,

Rog

 

I run the 20" straight blade Sand Devils. They hold up much better then the Haulers and are cheaper. They do push my front end in corners. I'm running stock front tires. I rode a banshee w/ ten paddle and it seem to bog it down and it was modded. Most people here run 8 paddle unless you have a stroker kit in the shee.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

Can anyone tell me how tall the paddle is on the Sand Devil?

Thanks!

Rog

 

I think its 7/8" it might be 3/4"
I know they're pretty tall, got to be close to the hauler, but not as tall as the taller hauler.

 

I had a Banshee for a while. I still take my Brother's with me sometimes as a spare machine. He's married with a kid now so he never rides it. I tried the Kenda Dune Runners on it. They were too tall. They made the gear spacing too big. When it did hit. it spun like mad with the eight short paddles. They are god awful heavy too.

I now have 20" 10 paddle Skat Trak Haulers (straight paddle). I have no problems turning with stock front because I can slide the rear end. I like these on it a lot.

The only things outside of stock on it are air box mods and Pro-Lite pistons. Your machine should be able to turn a 12 paddle, but then you probably could not turn. One of the people I ride with (Silver Lake and Little Sahara) has 12 paddle Haulers on his Banshee and has no problems running fast through the trails. His machine is very extreme though.

Every sand tire with molded in paddles I have seen were very heavy. That weight makes a big difference.

Your best bet if getting rims as well is to get a 20x10x8 or a 21x12x8. The extra side wall height gives you a tire that grows at speed. At low speed the tire is short and wide for good floatation and a great holeshot. At high speed the tire is tall and narrow to give you a little more top end. The 25x12x9 10 paddle Haulers on my one FL350R grow over 2 inches in height at speed.

I am surprised you say that you could not turn with the V paddles. My other FL350R has 22x11x10 8 paddle Edge Haullers. I can do donuts with that machine. I often have to counter steer in turns to keep from flipping. Was the larger part of the V to the outside? I have seen a lot of machine at the dunes with them on the other way. This will make it turn worse than the straight paddles. The idea is during a turn, more weight is on the outside tire. Since the larger part of the V is to the outside, it pulls the tire out.

If you are worried about the paddles on Haulers ripping out in the trails at Little Sahara, no one in the group I rode with out there had problems. You just would not want to get on it in the camp ground.

 

I have been running the 10 paddle Scat trak edges with no problems either in turning, cutting donuts, or reliability. I have ripped the paddles due to the fact that I have had to run over some roots and rocks at times, but had I not done this, they would be holding up fine. WyoRider was running 10 paddle Haulers on his stock Banshee(now pipes) with no problems at 8000+ feet in altitude.

RoostKing...

 

I agree with livewire and roostking.
if you can afford the skat-traks get 'em, they are the best and the lightest. I got a chance to try out some haulers a last year and they were light as a feather. I didn't like 'em though, just because the size. they were 20" I like the 22". I'm sure if I would have tried the 22" they would have been great.
as far as the paddles, if you're worried about them ripping off or something, dont sweat it. probably 80% of the people using paddles are using skat-trak. if they had a history of falling apart they wouldn't be so popular.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I have picked up a set of sand tires, but they weren't the ones I really wanted. They will soon be handed down to my son for his ported Blaster.

The set I went with (they didn't have the ones I really wanted in stock) are the Sand Sharks (20x11-10) on Douglas black label wheels. For the most part, they work fine on my Banshee. I didn't have any problems turning as I did as mentioned in my previous post. With the additional mods to the engine, I had no trouble sliding, or turning. No push in the corners as mentioned previously.

The Sand Sharks even worked fine for drag racing. I even pulled the holeshot on a few machines that were running straight paddles, and they appeared to be more tricked out than mine.

However, I plan on getting the Sand Skate II's for the next set. These have taller paddles (over a 1/4 inch) and get a little better bite, while still allowing great turning ability. A friend let me try his again (same set tried in the first posting), and I liked them a lot better than the Sand Sharks. I may even consider the Skat-Trak Edge, but seriously doubt that I get them. I realize they may be some lighter than molded in paddle tires, but I really would like for my paddles to last as long as possible. If I were building a drag machine, then I would look at things differently.

Regards,

Rog