I own a 2004 Kawasaki Praire 360 4X4 with stock 25" Dunlops. What I was thinking was moving up to 27" ITP C series aluminum wheels... Love they way they look, so those are a definite. Now what to put on them....
Thats another question. Assuming I do, the conditions I ride on are rocky trails through the upstate New York. Not much mud, but streams, rocky, primative trails on our property. Lots of climbing. I initially thought of ATRs, but my dealer in PA. cautioned against it. He recommended Mud Lites. Firstly would you guys stay with the 25", which I'm okay with doing or go with the increased clearance of 27"? Dealer said I'd lose power by going a bit bigger, but realistically, would it be that noticable? And would the ATRs handle rougher trails? I like the idea of having more rubber contact, but reading about the Mud Lites, they seem to be perfect for those conditions. Anyone have any experience with those?


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Oh come on... Someone say something! I'm leaning towards 25" Mudlites on the C Series wheels. Whatcha think?

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I have 25" mudlites on C series rims. I love the way they look and the rims hold up very well under extreme rock climbing conditions. I chose 25" so as not to lose power/acceleration as compared to larger diameter wheels. I love my tires on trails and in the occasional mud puddle (they self clean very well), but I'm not sure I would recommend 25" mudlites for rockclimbing. The rubber on these tires seems to wear/get tore up quickly on pavement and on rock climbing. Also, my tires spin way too much in deep/loose sand. If you intend to do lots of rock climbing and not much mudding, there may be better choices for you. I will say that my next tire will either be 26" mudlites (these should last longer b/c the lugs on 26 - 28" mudlites are very tall compared to the lugs on 25" mudlites) OR some other trail tire like 25" bearclaws.

Good luck to you and happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

MIKEYBOYESQ... is correct on the Mudlites... the compound is softer, & the lugs ( to reduce the weight, are skelletonized ) they won't wear very long in the rocks... if that is the main type of riding your'e doing, the new radials would be an excellent choice... the new Maxis Big Horns should prove to be a good rock tire, because of the radial design, & the solid lug blocks... the lugs on the sides will help protect the sidewalls as well... the new Carslyle radial Badlands looks like a good tire as well as perhaps the new radial Outlaw... once they finish getting the bugs out of the Laws ...

with the 360, for climbing etc... I'd stick with the 25" tires...WAM

 

I put 26" mud lites on my 360p & didn't notice any loss of power . love the way they handle hills & mud . I ride mostly trails & mud flats .

 

26" mudlites weight the same as the stock dunflops. I do alot
of rock crawling with my bike and i have 28" mudlites and there
seems to be no sign of where yet and i've put 750 mi on them
so far. Hope this helps just my 2 cents

 

Thanks guys for the responses. And yes they do help! What do you think of the ATRs?

 

Anyone have ATRs on their 360?????

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2004 Kawasaki Praire 360 4X4, Aztec Red
25" ITP Holeshot ATRs on ITP C Series Aluminum wheels
Warn 2500ci winch

 

I use a set of ATR's often on my ( bigger brother ) Prairie... as long as you aren't doing alot of muddy riding, you won't be disapointed with the ATR's...

 

I would recommend either Bighorns or ATR's. Both will give a supirior ride and last longer than any size mudlite. I'm still not convinced that Mudlites are good tires. The first batch released had a very bad reputation for air leaks and FAST tread wear. The newer batches are getting much better reviews but first impressions are hard to overcome. the only real strong point i see for mudlites is price. a set of 25's can be had off of ebay for just over 200 shipped.

My first choice would be radial bighorns. they seem to be tougher than the atr's.