03 Bayou 250 - want info, need advice - Have mods & BLING
Apr 9, 2011 | 08:06 AM
#33
Thread Starter
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Trailblazer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
I mentioned this in the other post.
The tires were very soft in the front and I had a tie rod problem that I mistakenly attributed to bad shocks as the bike was squatting in the front.
Once the tie rods were adjusted properly they stopped wearing so quickly, but yes, I do do some pavement riding.
Atv's are the preferred method of inter-subdivision transportation.
The tires in the latest pics are the stockers from 2003 so you can expect those to be worn a bit, I have those mounted until the Dirt Devils arrive. The photos of the front tires with the black rims were the soft tires.
They were a Kendra Klaw knock off, they were 98% identical to the Kendras but with a different name stamped on them. I found them on Craig's list and it was dirt cheap for all four.
they got me around a bit, but with them being a soft compound and then add the tie rod issue, they worn out in what seemed to be a matter of days.
I just ordered 23x8x10 and 23x10x10 Dirt Devil's
They should be here within a week.
I wanted the SuperLights because of weight but everyone is out of stock for the size I need.
The tires were very soft in the front and I had a tie rod problem that I mistakenly attributed to bad shocks as the bike was squatting in the front.
Once the tie rods were adjusted properly they stopped wearing so quickly, but yes, I do do some pavement riding.
Atv's are the preferred method of inter-subdivision transportation.
The tires in the latest pics are the stockers from 2003 so you can expect those to be worn a bit, I have those mounted until the Dirt Devils arrive. The photos of the front tires with the black rims were the soft tires.
They were a Kendra Klaw knock off, they were 98% identical to the Kendras but with a different name stamped on them. I found them on Craig's list and it was dirt cheap for all four.
they got me around a bit, but with them being a soft compound and then add the tie rod issue, they worn out in what seemed to be a matter of days.
I just ordered 23x8x10 and 23x10x10 Dirt Devil's
They should be here within a week.
I wanted the SuperLights because of weight but everyone is out of stock for the size I need.
Apr 9, 2011 | 08:13 AM
#34
Thread Starter
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Trailblazer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
I already have a 130 jet and high flow air filter.
I might add some cobra exhaust one day but I think removing the exhaust core would do the same thing.
Its hard to squeeze any power out of this little bike.
even with more power the gearing is all wrong.
the air filter and jet kit do add a bit of power that you can feel, but 1st gear winds out so fast.
I have a whole box of jets for this thing, I might drop down to a 125 which is a bit larger than the stock 115.
130 is the largest that will let it run decent. But I feel that it is always running rich no matter how it is adjusted.
but it does run solid and strong, doesnt backfire through the carb anymore and starts up rather easily.
Bayous seem to have a terrible time staying in tune.
Nov 12, 2011 | 08:22 PM
#37
Thread Starter
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Trailblazer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
new tires on the Bayou
I havent worked on the bayou in a while, been busy with work and other stuff, but I did finally get around to installing some new tires. Decided to skip the Dirt Devils due to a 15% price increase from the place I was buying from. So I ended upwith the Mud Gears instead
bought them here
Nebraska Tire - Quality discount tires and wheels for you!
Innova Mud Gear
(made by the Achieva tire company)
Rear:
23x10x10
Front:
23x8x10
Tire cost:
front $56
rear $59
total cost with shipping: $279
shipping from Nebraska to North Georgia took 4 days
These are not using the stock rims, although I could have reused the rear stock rim, I had bought some tires a while back that had 10" rims that fit the Bayou bolt patterns...I am pretty sure a Bayou 300 uses a stock 10" wheel up front, so you could buy a couple of those off ebay.
They are a little heavy but they ride good on the trails and dont seem to weigh the bike down too much, I can still get the front tires of the ground hitting second gear.
bought them here
Nebraska Tire - Quality discount tires and wheels for you!
Innova Mud Gear
(made by the Achieva tire company)
Rear:
23x10x10
Front:
23x8x10
Tire cost:
front $56
rear $59
total cost with shipping: $279
shipping from Nebraska to North Georgia took 4 days
These are not using the stock rims, although I could have reused the rear stock rim, I had bought some tires a while back that had 10" rims that fit the Bayou bolt patterns...I am pretty sure a Bayou 300 uses a stock 10" wheel up front, so you could buy a couple of those off ebay.
They are a little heavy but they ride good on the trails and dont seem to weigh the bike down too much, I can still get the front tires of the ground hitting second gear.
Nov 14, 2011 | 12:55 PM
#39
Thread Starter
|
Trailblazer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
(sorry, pics were way too big before,the ipad dint resize them as expected.)
I haven't worked on the Bayou in a while, been busy with work and other stuff, but I did finally get around to installing some new tires. Decided to skip the Dirt Devils due to a 15% price increase from the place I was buying from. So I ended up with the Mud Gears instead
I bought them here:
Nebraska Tire - Quality discount tires and wheels for you!
The name of the tire is:
Mud Gear
Manufactured by Innova tires.
Innova Tires
Distributed by Achieva tire.
Achieva Rubber Corporation
Rear:
23x10x10
(actual size is about 23.5 T and the width is true)
Front:
23x8x10
(actual size is about 23.75 T and the width is true)
Tread depth:
25/32 or .78 inches
(slightly larger than 3/4 of an inch)
Which on paper doesnt seem like much but in person the tread is really deep.
Weight:
I did not weigh these out of the box but one of the websites has them listed as.
Front (23x8x10) - 19 each
Rear (23x10x10) - 22 each
The boxes were weighed by Fedex as, 40lbs for the front pair & 50lbs for the rear pair.
Tire cost:
front - $56
rear - $59
Total cost with shipping: $279
(shipping from Nebraska to North Georgia took 4 days via Fedex)
These are not using the stock rims, although I could have reused the rear stock rim, I had bought some Kendra Klaw tires a while back that came with 10" rims that fit the Bayou bolt patterns...I am pretty sure a Bayou 300 uses a stock 10" wheel up front, so you could buy a couple of those off ebay.
They are a little heavy but they ride good on the trails and dont seem to weigh the bike down too much, I can still get the front tires of the ground hitting second gear.
UPDATE...
After riding these all weekend I am satisfied, however I did notice a few things.
The way the tires were packed into the boxes severely squished them down and made it extremely hard for the tire installer to re-shape and mount them on the rims..it took 2 hours of fighting the tires to get the beads to seat. (an aggressive assault of pry bars, tire stretchers, ratchet straps and fire was used.)
I kept them aired up at around 20lbs (max 36 psi to seat beads) for a full day and let sit in the sun to get the bends out of the rubber.
I have them running at 12lbs all around and they are a little .."wobbly" at high speeds. I have heard about the Mud Gears not being the best high speed tire, but I am only at 30mph and experiencing these wobbles or hops...I am hoping that this is related to the way they were packed and will eventually smooth out. I dont feel it on the trails only on pavement. I may take them in and have them balanced after they are broken in to see if this smoothes them out even more...but who knows maybe I have a bent rim or axel as well...idk yet.
I will lower the psi to the recommended 7-10 lbs this week and ride again.
I will have to recalibrate the speedometer to compensate for the larger tires.
Other notes & fun facts:
We have many ATV's in this subdivision and everyone has commented on the Mud Gears and how awesome they look on the Bayou. Most everyone here has ITP MudLights
There are no clearance issues at all, the front clear with about 1.5 -2 inches inside the fender when cornering, the rears have about the same.
These tires GRAB! there is a hill I usually climb and the old tires would slip a little when climbing slowly...the Mud Gears climb right up slow and steady. I have not run them in deep mud yet just muddy banks of the creek and they grab well.
This particular size of Mud Gear (23x8x10 & 23x10x10) have a different sidewall tread design than the other sizes..these two sizes are the only sizes that have this design as they are stock equipment on some other ATV or UTV.
Larger or smaller sizes wont have this design and have a smoother sidewall. The Innova site lists these as IA-8004B. I think this gives the tire a more chunky aggressive look.
These tires lifted the bike up at least 2.5 to 3 inches all around
The electric ATV - "Bad Boy Buggy" Comes stock with MudGears.
Bone Collector Limited Edition XTO - Bad Boy Buggies
You can kinda see how close the beads are close together when the tires are strapped down in the box...once unstrapped the tires did not "spring" back into their original shape, they held that shape very tightly.
I hope this helps somebody out who is looking for bigger tires for the Kawasaki Bayou 250 or somebody who needs info on the Mud Gear tires.
I haven't worked on the Bayou in a while, been busy with work and other stuff, but I did finally get around to installing some new tires. Decided to skip the Dirt Devils due to a 15% price increase from the place I was buying from. So I ended up with the Mud Gears instead
I bought them here:
Nebraska Tire - Quality discount tires and wheels for you!
The name of the tire is:
Mud Gear
Manufactured by Innova tires.
Innova Tires
Distributed by Achieva tire.
Achieva Rubber Corporation
Rear:
23x10x10
(actual size is about 23.5 T and the width is true)
Front:
23x8x10
(actual size is about 23.75 T and the width is true)
Tread depth:
25/32 or .78 inches
(slightly larger than 3/4 of an inch)
Which on paper doesnt seem like much but in person the tread is really deep.
Weight:
I did not weigh these out of the box but one of the websites has them listed as.
Front (23x8x10) - 19 each
Rear (23x10x10) - 22 each
The boxes were weighed by Fedex as, 40lbs for the front pair & 50lbs for the rear pair.
Tire cost:
front - $56
rear - $59
Total cost with shipping: $279
(shipping from Nebraska to North Georgia took 4 days via Fedex)
These are not using the stock rims, although I could have reused the rear stock rim, I had bought some Kendra Klaw tires a while back that came with 10" rims that fit the Bayou bolt patterns...I am pretty sure a Bayou 300 uses a stock 10" wheel up front, so you could buy a couple of those off ebay.
They are a little heavy but they ride good on the trails and dont seem to weigh the bike down too much, I can still get the front tires of the ground hitting second gear.
UPDATE...
After riding these all weekend I am satisfied, however I did notice a few things.
The way the tires were packed into the boxes severely squished them down and made it extremely hard for the tire installer to re-shape and mount them on the rims..it took 2 hours of fighting the tires to get the beads to seat. (an aggressive assault of pry bars, tire stretchers, ratchet straps and fire was used.)
I kept them aired up at around 20lbs (max 36 psi to seat beads) for a full day and let sit in the sun to get the bends out of the rubber.
I have them running at 12lbs all around and they are a little .."wobbly" at high speeds. I have heard about the Mud Gears not being the best high speed tire, but I am only at 30mph and experiencing these wobbles or hops...I am hoping that this is related to the way they were packed and will eventually smooth out. I dont feel it on the trails only on pavement. I may take them in and have them balanced after they are broken in to see if this smoothes them out even more...but who knows maybe I have a bent rim or axel as well...idk yet.
I will lower the psi to the recommended 7-10 lbs this week and ride again.
I will have to recalibrate the speedometer to compensate for the larger tires.
Other notes & fun facts:
We have many ATV's in this subdivision and everyone has commented on the Mud Gears and how awesome they look on the Bayou. Most everyone here has ITP MudLights
There are no clearance issues at all, the front clear with about 1.5 -2 inches inside the fender when cornering, the rears have about the same.
These tires GRAB! there is a hill I usually climb and the old tires would slip a little when climbing slowly...the Mud Gears climb right up slow and steady. I have not run them in deep mud yet just muddy banks of the creek and they grab well.
This particular size of Mud Gear (23x8x10 & 23x10x10) have a different sidewall tread design than the other sizes..these two sizes are the only sizes that have this design as they are stock equipment on some other ATV or UTV.
Larger or smaller sizes wont have this design and have a smoother sidewall. The Innova site lists these as IA-8004B. I think this gives the tire a more chunky aggressive look.
These tires lifted the bike up at least 2.5 to 3 inches all around
The electric ATV - "Bad Boy Buggy" Comes stock with MudGears.
Bone Collector Limited Edition XTO - Bad Boy Buggies
You can kinda see how close the beads are close together when the tires are strapped down in the box...once unstrapped the tires did not "spring" back into their original shape, they held that shape very tightly.
I hope this helps somebody out who is looking for bigger tires for the Kawasaki Bayou 250 or somebody who needs info on the Mud Gear tires.