I just bought a new sportsman 700 04.5 and thinking about putting cast ITP type 5 rims and 589m/s tires on it. What is the biggest tire size I can run without rubbing or hitting anything on the bike. I heard 26" was the biggest... Also, has anyone heard anything about the new Polaris exclusive Kenda Bounty Hunter off-road radial tire/cast wheel set. They are suppose to have 14" rims instead of standard 12" will this lift the bike 2" plus the tire tread high?? Thanks for the help

 

If you are in the market for new rims, check out the Vision rims for the Polaris. Big Buck Atv carries them in two different styles, the 160 & 135 series. I went with the visions because of the 8" wheel width in the rear and a better offset in the front to allow wider front tires. 26x9.5 mudlites up front with 26x12.5 in rear. Very little problem with rubbing. As far as the 14" rim, it won't lift the bike any higher, it will just give you a shorter sidewall on whatever tires you use. A 26" tire for a 12" rim or a 14" rim is still going to be 26".

 

Sounds like good advise... For some reson Polaris states higher ground clearance with the 14" rims??
I'm thinking about the ITP type 5 rims with 589 m/s tires..... I'll get 26"" and they should not rub.... What width size front and rear should I buy? Please explane the offset information to me, how dose that work compared to the stock offset...

tks,

 

Also, I got the 04.5' radial tires on the machine, not sure how much i like them yet. Drove 40 miles on trails, log roads, and feilds... They don'y look great but worked fine, I had Goodyear Rawhides on my sportsman 600 03' with crome rims and the worked and looked great!

later

 

The max tire width up front really depends on the offset which is the amount of rim on either side of the mounting face of the hub. For example, the Vision 160's that I have are a 12"x7" rim, meaning it is 12" in diameter and 7" wide. The offset is 4+3 meaning there is 4" outside the mounting face and 3" behind it, towards the centerline of the machine. On the rear, the offset of my rims is a 4"+4" making the rim 8" wide. This allows the use of a 12" wide rear tire. Up front, I went with a 9.5" wide tire and still have about 1/2" clearance between the tie rod end and the sidewall of the tire. You may be able to go with a 10.5" wide front tire but it will be really close. A spacer ring between the wheel hub and rim may be neccessary for clearance. If you want to check the current offset, remove the wheel/tire and lay a straightedge across the outside of the rim NOT on the tire and measure to the mounting face of the rim. That should give you an idea of your back spacing and how much room you will have to work with.

 

Yup, I saw the new Kenda tire / rim combo in a brochure at the dealer. Something like 599.00 for a full set. Looks very good. I think that's what I'm buying for mine.

BTW, does anyone know who makes a dual exaust mod for the 4.5 700 EFI's? (And if I put one on, does the ECM need reprogrammed for the extra air flow?)

Thanks