hey guys, i am a newbie here so be gentle :-) i have been riding serious offroad for about 5 years now and would consider myself an experienced rider. gotta question about my '99 Kawasaki Prairie 300 2WD. its bone stock right now, except for the Superwinch T1500 i put on the front end last night. i am thinking about putting a K&N Powerkit on it and installing a Supertrapp IDS2 pipe on it, how will this increase my quads performance? anyone done this before? worth the money?

also i am considering putting a set of aggressive mud tires on it, i love the way they look and the better traction they provide. right now my quad has 25" dunlops from the factory...will the 300 engine have enough gump to push the 26" GBC MudSharks on 12" .190 Douglas aluminum rims? would i be better off to stick with a 25" tire on the same rim as above? or should i stick with a steel rim because of the weight of the quad? i am also considering using the new aluminum wheel spacers from HighLifter...anyone tried these? Thanks a bunch.

Chris
'87 Honda CR125R
'88 Suzuki Quadracer
'99 Kawasaki Prairie 300 2WD

 

cdk, my opinion only: the Kawasaki Prairie (including Bayou and Lakota) 300 cc engine is, well, pretty much optimized already for utility ATV application.

Limited valve area limits maximum rpms, no matter WHAT you do. Jet kits (over-rated in my opinion) can enrich the mixture at higher rpms (a larger main jet has the same effect), weighting a different spectrum than the factory chose; a pipe lowers back-pressure from a small (and relatively unrestricted) exhaust valve. Marginal performance improvement (mostly at the high-rpm end) can result from the mods you propose.

Worth it? Depends upon your interest and pocketbook, I guess. Jet and pipe your Prairie, and you'll probably outrun any bone stock Prairie in town, at least on a long straight.

Again, my opinion: Only a dramatic change in displacement (as in, boring and stroking) will compensate for the burden of turning larger, more aggressive tires; even with a stock engine, the advantages of large, aggressive tires may offset their limitations and the occasional need to use low range.

A cam (like the WebCam grind 40a) increases horsepower peak and attainable rpms; this increase doesn't help get big mudding tires off dead center when stopped (paradoxically, LESS power is available at lower rpms from after-market sticks).

Tree Farmer

 

so will putting the 26" tires on aluminum rims make the Prairie unbearably slow? will the weight of the Prairie hurt .190 rims or should i use steel? the stock tires are getting slick, just trying to figure out what i should do. dont want to waste close to $500 on something thats not going to work. i dont really want it to be a speed demon, if i want that i will just hop on my QuadRacer, but i am the type of guy that just cant leave well enough alone and am always striving for something better :-) thanks again.

 

In your place, if I wanted the tires and rims you mention, I'd go for 'em!

Fact of life; larger, more aggressive tires stress the drivetrain more than the stock setup. However, the changes you propose are conservative; I think you'll do just fine.

Tree Farmer