I wish I could send you the X2

 

Me too!!!

 

Been pretty busy lately and haven't had much time to ride. I have 1239 miles and 131.4 hours on my 2102 Polaris 550 Touring EPS it as of today.

I think it might be going back to Polaris sooner than I had thought becuase Doug wants to trade it for something else but is going to give me the 850 Touring EPS to replace the 550.






I picked up my next set of tires today; Maxxis Ceros 26x11x14 & 26x9x14. They're mounted on Dougs set of HD2 wheels - for some reason his set is in a lot better shape than mine.

They "look" like they should be a great trail tire. (not trying to "profile" here )

 

I like the look of those tires. Be interested to hear what you think of them

 

WOOO!

Can't wait to hear what your thoughts of these machines back to back!

Those tires look solid....thinking really hard about getting the ITP Terracross on these wheels.
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Been trying to read some reviews...but for some reason I think yours would matter the most...it's almost like I have come to "trust" a guy I have never met before rather than most other people's threads!

 

Those are interesting looking treads, Specta. Would probably be perfect for out your way.

 

We like the looks of them too. I'm thinking they should be a great trail tires, good lateral control and a nice ride.

I will have them on by the weekend and will get a few miles on them.

 

Thank you very much - your comments mean a whole lot to me.

My next set is going to be Terra Cross mounted on the OE wheels, I'll be taking them into town to get them mounted this week and put them on after I put some miles on these Maxxis Ceros.

Terra Cross are one of Doug’s favorite tires and I have never heard anything but good about them. I've never ran them myself but I am looking forward to putting some miles on them.

I was happy to take off the GBC Dirt Commanders and replace them with my Black Diamond XTRs. The DCs had very poor steering response and were didn't do well at all transversing side hills. They did great in the snow but not as good as their siblings the Grim Reapers. I am thinking the Grim Reapers are the best snow tires I have run so far so I would have to think they would be a great mud tire too.

Doug syas everyone is too quick to "profile" tires just by looking at the tread patterns and I couldn't agree more.

We both thought the Dirt Commanders were going to be a great tire and we were surprised that they just didn't even come close to our expectations.

I was more than impressed the Carlisle Black Rocks and judging them by their appearance I was not expecting them to be anywhere near as aggressive as they are and they handle exceptionally well everywhere I took them. So far they are my second favorite tire that we have tested and they are an excellent all around tire. I couldn't find one thing I didn't like about them.

The only issue I have with the STI Black Diamond XTRs is that they perform best when being pushed hard which causes me to ride a lot more aggressive than I normally do. They are an excellent high performance tire and like being ridden hard. I think I would hurt myself with the XTRs on the 850.

 

That's the key right there Moose.

The terrain that I ride is not the same as what everyone rides in - we literally have no mud here but we do get plenty of snow in the winter and its really rocky out here in the Rocky Mountains.

After getting the opportunity to run several different tires in a short period of time the two things that seem to be most important to me in a tire is steering response and lateral control.

I like the machine to respond right now when I want to turn, I can't stand a tire that that feels like its folding or rolling over when I turn before it responds.

I really don't like a tires that allow the machine to slide sideways downhill when I'm transversing a steep side hill. A lot of the ground here is pretty loose and riding on a snow covered side hill only amplifies the problem.

I also don't like tires that drift or slide too much while cornering at higher speeds.

The STI Black Diamond XTRs and the Carlisle Black Rocks provide what's important to me in an ATV tire.

 

The big thing I'm looking forward to with the 850 is the engine/drivetrain is soo much quieter and smoother.

I marvel at how noisey the engine is in this 550. It is soo noisey it almost causes a trust issue with me even though I have been told over and over it's normal.

Nice looking wheels and tires.

I am sold on STI wheels. I'll write up something and explain and show waht sets them apart from every other wheel on the market. The HD stands for heavy duty and there's a good reason they named them HDs.

If I owned a Polaris I would keep the OE wheels only because maintaining a 50" or less width is critical here. When we're done testing tires the tires of choice will be mounted on the OE wheels.