Hey everyone,

Quick question, my wifes bike has stock tires and it is REALLY noticeable in the mud... I want to upgrade her tires.

Background Info :
Front : 25x8x12 (Carlisle 489 Stock ATV Tires)
Rear : 25x11x12 (Carlisle 489 Stock ATV Tires)

I've got my mind set on the following but please correct me if i'm thinking incorrectly...

-- (2) sets of 1 1/2" Wheel spacers for front and back (I think sportsman is a 4x156 bolt pattern?)
-- (2) 26x10x12 tires for the front
-- (2) 26x12x12 tires for the rear

Possible tires i'm looking at... I'm hoping to go with a RADIAL like I have on my bike (ITP Mud Lite XTR)

--- Tire Choices ---
ITP Mud Lite XTR Radial
ITP 589's
Maxxis Mud Bug (Radial)
Maxxis Mudzilla
Intercor - Swamp Lite
Intercor - Vampire

Thanks for your help i'm looking forward to your replys!
Vince

 

Did this same song and dance a few months ago and here are some of the conclusions I came up with...
Mudlite XTR; fairly good all around tire that is good at muddin, tends to do everything well but nothing great...poor wear qualities
589s; fairly good all around tire but better at muddin and wears like iron, more $$$
Mud bugs; pretty good mud tire fairly good trail, somewhat soft
Mudzilla; excellent mud tire but not a trail tire...$$$
Swamplites; very good all around trail/rock tire, fairly good mud tire, more aggressive then it looks...questionable wear, significant instability at 60+MPH (hard pack)

I went with the Swamplites and am very happy with them! They are better in the mud then I expected and I really love them on the trails...there is a slight vibration at speeds over 15-20 MPH and the one time I tried 60+ MPH, they did get a bit squirrelly...enough to get my attention and decide I didn't need to go there again!

Again, these are only my opinions based on the info I was able to put together at the time.

 

i have had 3 sets of mudlites(On 3 different quads) and would buy another set if I ever need to... i have 27" on a 500 and that is the perfect set up for me work well in mud and on trail...

 

I had the exact same situation as you and here is what i did. I went with 27" ITP mudlites mounted on 14" Vision Bruiser 161 rims. After only 1 day of riding, i can tell you that these arent for you if you do any riding on hardpack or hard roads. Like freakin tractor tires they are, but damn, they go in the dirt. Not to mention theyre downright good lookin tires and rims. The rims are Polaris and come with Polaris emblem center caps. Just for reference, i ordered the entire tire package from my local Polaris dealer for about $700. You can probably find them cheaper elsewhere.

Spacers will run you around $50-100 a pair.

Heres a few pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25910513@N05/

 

what about the interco- tsl vampires they r a good tire to go anywhere

 

Added the Vampire also...

I'm buying through KalTire they don't carry ITP Mudlites so I think my 3 possibles are now :

Maxxis - Mud Bug
Intercore - Swamp Lite
Intercore - Vampire

On the Original 12" Rims... 26" tires with 1" spacers on the front...

Thanks for all the comments so far.. Good stuff!

 

I have the same stock tires (489's) and I have been taking a long hard look at the maxxis zilla, baby brother to the mudzilla. Not as aggressive but still have an 1 1/8" lug.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone... I went with the 26" Interco Swamp Lites with 1 1/2" spacers on the Front and Back.

I'll let you know how they turned out!
Vince