I have a new 650 and don't care for my stock tires. I ride in all types of terrain mud,water, snow and hard packed surfaces. What type and brand of tire do you suggest

 

That is hard to say, since many of them are good all around, but they all lean in one direction or two. If you don't wanna read all my writing below, I wonder if ITP 589's are the right tire for you.

The good news is, whatever you get it is a lot better than the stockers.
-One rule of thumb, if you slide and jump and horse around a lot, you ought to stay with lighter weight tires. Weight robs power.
-Another rule of thumb, bigger dia tires for clearance in the mud. The guy in front digs ruts, if you can't clear his ruts, bad news.
-For snow, the wider the better.
-For mud, the wider the better.
-For ease of steering and handling, narrower front tires are better.
-If you put 28" mud tires on, you will destroy other quads with stock tires in the mud, but they will drive circles around you on the dirt.

Bearclaws come to mind, they are better than most on hardpack, and better than all in the snow. They are not as good in mud as many of the more mud oriented tires. Not as light weight as I like in the summer.

Dirtdevils are also a favorite for more hardpack running, not as good in mud as more mud oreiented tires. Not as light weight as I like in the summer.

Mudrunners are lighter weight, a little better in mud than the above two, and ride really soft (I like). Mudrunners are excellent in snow. They handle pretty good. They are not as good on drypack as many tires, but better than many others.

Mudbugs are a good all around tire, but they lean more heavily into the mud useage than the above three. They are are more of a lighter weight tire than a heavy one.

I think the most favorite tire around here is the ITP 589. They seem to be better in mud than the above four tires. They do a little better on hardpack than the mudrunners and mudbugs. They are a bit heavier than mudrunners, don't ride quite as smooth. I think they handle pretty well.

Titan 489s are very light, do well on hardpack and handle well. They are not as mud adept as most of the above tires. They are very widely used as OEM tires. Limited mainly to 25" and smaller. I would pick something else, but it is still a decent tire.

Maxxis Sur traks are an excellent tire. Lightweight, excellent hardpack hookup. Not as good in mud as some of the above. See my sig, I use these on the rear as a summer tire, mudrunners in front, mudzillas on all 4 in the muddy season.

Maxxis All traks are probably the best rire for only hardpack.

Be careful about many 25" tires, because they are much smaller than 25". Many 26" tires are small too. You have plenty of power already, get a 27" ITP or Mud runner.

Tire opinions are like a religion. Every time I give someone tire advice, someone else beats me up about it. I don't care, I learn something from every beating.

 

nyroc thank you for your advice. also did you ever try running out of service railroad tracks from rochester to alexander. several people claim great spring ,fall ride

 

I ride in Bergen, on an abandoned track with a lot of cool forest rides, a couple of big duck ponds and some nasty mud. I wonder if a farmer is trying to make it worse by backing the water up, but all the water is helping the mud. It is a riot. We have to stop west of Byron, due to posted signs.

Scott11102, could you give me more details as to where this ride you mentioned is?

 

Scott, Nyroc has given you excellent choices for tires. I just put some Titan 589s on my 650. They were way cheaper than the ITPs. I ride with quite a few guys who have the 589s and they are VERY impressive. We were out last weekend and I still had my stock tires on. My one buddy has a 450es with 26" 589s on it with an inch of lift. When we got in the snow, I sunk like a rock, but his wider footprint kept him on top of the snow and he went damn near everywhere. Left me behind like I wasn't even there!!!! So yesterday I went to a local tire shop and put on 26"x9x12 on the fronts and 26"x12x12 on the rears. Had no trouble with clearance on the right hand side where the fuel tank is located. Still have about 3/4 inch of clearance between the tire and the fuel tank guard. These tires are REAL heavy. I use to be able to wheelie no problem, but not anymore. Gonna have to mod er up a bit to get back the power I lost. Also, If you are considering the 589s, don't waste your money buying 27" tires as the 26" and the 27" measured out to be the same size. Don't blast me on this one guys cause I know for a fact that these tires are the same as my buddy has 26" 589s on his 450 and his brother has 27" 589s on his Rubi and they measure EXACTLY the same. Good luck with whatever tire you buy as any aftermarket one is better than the stock junk that's on there.

 

Anyone know if Maxxis has plans to produce a 26x9x12 Sur Trak anytime soon? Are they listening?
Are you folks running the 12x12 and the 9x12 on the stock wheels?

 

Yup. Mounted them on the stockers.

 

Wolley, If you ask maxxis about that tire, they will tell you. They reply to their email nicely.

However, the 26x12-12 is only 10 inches wide on my stock rim (I knew this, that is why I wantd it). It is 21 lbs, and is a really, really great tire.

I would suggest picking a nice tire to go with it on the front (I picked the 26" mudrunner, It is about 8" wide 22lbs). Most people don't do combos, but I did and I am incredibly happy with my tire choices. I have light tires that are awesome on hardpack and still do pretty good in the goo. Ride is excellent. Steering is perfect. Also, the rolling distance is right on the money, there is no drag whil in 4x4 (on pavement) and I can hear the 4x4 engage. Awesome tire combo. The mudrunners actually do everything a front tire needs to do on hardpack extremely well. I lke the little teeny bit of ground clearance I got also. This is my summer tire set, so I wanted good hardpack qualities. But since there is mud everywhere in theis state, I wanted something that would take mud too.

 

I have not been around this forum in a while since I am in Columbus, OH for two weeks. But I did call up and order some 27" Gators for my 650. Thanks to all you guys who helped answer my questions over the past few months.

I chose the Gators for their all around capabilities. I will keep you guys posted as to how much I like them when I get them on. Pics will be on the way soon. They were $299 delivered from EastKY.

Daryn