Hey guys, I'm a newbie so please forgive me if this is an old question. I'm looking to get new tires for my KQ and I think I had it narrowed down to the ATR's but when i went to talk to a local shop the owner said i should put Mudlite XTR's on it instead. Now I'm more confused than I was before. Let me tell you where I ride and what i'm looking for and maybe you guys can help me. I ride mostly in trails or fields with not alot of mud. There is some but not alot. Some water riding like in rivers and small streams. Snow, gravel dirt and grass mainly. I want a tire that rides well and has good grip but I can still go fast on the pavement if I want to and not have the tire throwing me all over the place. Also i dont really want a tire that grabs every rut and throws me around the trail. Also I think I want a radial for the stability factor of it. The KQ is my second quad and coming from a KFX400 I sometimes tend to ride like its a sport quad. My buddy has a brute force 750 and he wants to do tires as well and he is just as confused as i am. Also,when doing the tires, do I need to do a clutch kit? Wha exactly will the clutch kit do? Will it allow me to wheelie? That is the only thing I miss from my sport quad. Damn lag. The BF750 will wheelie all day long. Any input you guys can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Keith

 

Definitely sounds like ATRs, especially with the snow. A clutch kit is certainly not necessary, ATRs are fairly light, but it would definitely help and yes, allows you to wheelie. Check out all the weight I've added to my front end, and I can still wheelie on pavement.

 

I will muddy up the waters a bit more for you. I had ATRs on my Vinson and was VERY unhappy with them! I pulled them off, even though they are pretty much brand new. I have Maxxis Bighorns on both of the Vinsons now and love them! They are radials and ride very nice. They handle much better in mud, snow and rocks. If I were you I would look into the bighorns as well.

 

The advantage of the XTR or dighorns that RedGoblin is referring to is that they are radials. I have a buddy with the IPT mudlites that aren't radials. They are excellent compared to stock, but I have some XTR's and they are leaps and bounds better. The radial tire is much more stable and will not come off the rim as easy. Read the description on ITP's website and it explains the whole radial thing!

 

I would definately get the XTRs. Not only will you gain a little ground clearance, but the ride is so comfortable on them. When you hit the rivers or creeks or whatever youll notice the difference. Itll grab whatever mushy crap is on the bottom and youll slide right through.

 

ATR's

 

ATRs. Just being radials you will find they'll end up doing better on the trail than bias ply tires. Not to mention the fact that they won't trash the trail as badly. It doesn't sound like you really need an aggressive mud tire and you would be happier with an AT. Personally with my new ATV I'm going to run a mild tire like ATRs most of the time and only switch to a set of XTRs when riding conditions are going to warrant that kind of tire. For most of my work around the farm especially when it is as dry as it is or unless I really need to get through my more extreme trails the milder tires really keep me from trashing out my trails. 589s run during wet spring weather as the frost was coming out of the ground meant a summer full of trail repairs. Really makes one more cognizant of tire choices when YOU are the one maintaining the trails you ride on.