I have a '00 King Quad. I have read many posts that suggest getting rid of the stock tires. I am just getting into 'wheeling and I don't know that manufacturer of most of the tires you guys refer to. Caould somebody please give me the makes and models of soe good all around tires. Thanks fellas/ladies.

 

Archer, I dont know what kind of riding you do or plan to do but I would recomend the Kenda Bear Claw for a good all purpose choice. It is not the most aggressive or least aggressive tire out there but it serves most purposes well. It handles well on trails and performs well in mud. It has a sturdy sidewall and tread and wears well.
Another good choice for all types of riding is the Mud Shark. It also handles well on most surfaces and in mud. It has a softer casing and sidewall but flexes really well for crawling over rocks and trees and the like. As a bonus it is several pounds lighter than the Bear claw.
There are alot of choices out there, and it gets expensive trying them all. If you plan to do mostly one kind of riding then there are definitely more specialized tires for each kind of riding. If you specify your riding choice it will help others out there to steer you to the right tire for you. Good Luck!

 

My riding consists of about 50% minnesota trail riding( which i am guessing you have some experience with) and about 25% minnesota hunting( septemeber archery season for dear and bear going mostly though wet swampy areas) and 25% colorado hunting( with lots of rocks, old abandoned logging and jeep roads). any help you could give would be great. i have read many posts talking about how the king quad stock tires are terrible. i have never had a problem with mine. i have had my machine for 3 months and i still have not used my winch. but i can not help but think how much better the machine would be if the tires truly are that bad and could be replaced by superior rubber. i guess i have proven to myself that the stock tires do fine in minnesota but i am concerned about the mountains in colorado where the terrain is so much steeper and the obstacles tend to be a little tougher.

 

I have the same dilemma, my '95 KingQuad just hit 1000 miles, and I torn between which tires to get. I do a lot of trail riding and don't pass up many mudholes so I'm considering some really aggressive tires. I've heard good things about the Titan 589 (a buddy with a QuadRunner 500 has 'em on the rear) but I also like the ITP Blackwaters. Any opinions on these two tires or some other recommendations, TIA....

 

I am still learning about these after market tires but I did talk to a fellow this past weekend that had a set of vampires on a new rancher. i was very impressed with the mud he went through with his machine. this was the first time i had seen vampires in action. just to see his reaction i lead him out on some hard pack and cruised up to about 40 mph just to see how they handled for him. he did not have any noticeable handling problems and he never complained about them once. i talked with him about the blackwaters and he said that in his opinion they were not worth the money. again this is just an opinion but he said that the extra money you have to cough up to get new rubber was not justified by the traction gain going from stock tires to blackwaters( assuming your current tires are new) he said they would be fine as replacements when the stockers wear down but that if a person wanted to get beefier tires just because they wanted more grip but not because the stockers were old that you could get more for you money with the vamps.

let me know what you get and how they handle/work for you. i think i am going to keep my stock tires until they wear down then replace them with some better rubber.

 

I put a set of vampires on my 00 KingQuad. I went up one size on the front and back. The bigger tire size, plus the giant lugs, picked up my ground clearance by 3 inches... It is a mud machine now.. I went from the one always being pulled out, to the one they send in first to judge whether the rest of the group can make it or not..
I'm very impressed.. I was told they wouldn't do well climbing on hard pack... I went straight up a hill last night, and forgot I was in 2wd.. I could fill the tires try to break loose, but they wouldn't spin like my stock tires. They kept catching and pulling.. I have no doubt, that I'd have been in trouble with my stock tires.. I haven't had a chance to try them at rock climbing yet, but we are hoping to go to Tellico in a couple of weeks. I think they will perform there too...
As for handling, it rides the same, even when wide open.. The only adjustment is going into corners where there are rutts. The stock tires would climb up out of them. The vampires will dig into them and follow them. Once you get used to it, it makes cornering easier, as it will basically turn itself as long as it's in a rutt.

 

Did you notice a loss of power with the larger tires? I ride with guys who have new 500's and it's bad enough how they dog me now when we get to a spot that we can open 'em up. I'd hate to give 'em any more.... heh
BTW, who makes the Vampires? I haven't seen 'em anywhere online....

 

tym....you can find the vampires at www.highlifter.com

 

There was a little power loss.. It is more noticeable in reverse, for some reason they are harder to turn backwards. But I do have to put in superlow, if I have to back straight up a hill, to get out of a tight spot or something.. I haven't noticed a big difference on topend. It goes fast enough for me, as we hardly ever race anywhere that we can go that fast.. I'd gladly sacrifice the little bit of power it takes, to be able to get down in the mud with the big boys and make them look bad sometimes.. It really grates on them when a smaller machine makes it and they don't. Lots of fun...
The tires are made by Interco they are called
Super Swamper Vampires.. You can find them on several sites, but highlifter did give me the best price, and then didn't charge sales tax, because they shipped them out of state....

 

The general rule is that for every inch you add, you loose 10-12% power.
You can go to a more aggressive tread pattern, with a tire like the Titan 589, or Maxxis Rubicon Etc., and stay with the same diameter but go a little wider(25x12x12), and still see a drastic improvement over stock tires without loosing any power.