Man, I don't want to run without the heel guards, but I wouldn't be opposed to modifying the heel guards location more forward to be able to clear the larger tires. The only other problem that I see is that it might be very hard to find a mildly aggressive tire for the front end, since most tires of that size are for 4wd's. I'll check out those two tires you mention, though.

Chris

 

Get 22" for the rear and 23" for the front. Your not going to want/need any bigger than that. Its already going to drag down on your power, and with that tall of sidewalls your going to get quite a bit of shoulder roll in the tires when cornering aggresively. Get the new Holeshot H-D, or the RazrII's. Both are very aggresive tires, and have at least a 4ply rating. If you need more cleareance than that, then your in the wrong market. You need a 4 wheel drive/utility quad, not a sport quad.... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

The 22's should be more than enough in conjunction with a good rear skid. As previously mentioned, they sap power and I personally think they make the Raptor look goofy. I had 22" shredders on the rear of mine (for trail clearance) a couple rides and took them off.
Gary

 

It looks like the razor 2 is the only one offered in a 22" size. The Holeshots only seem to be in 20" size, except for the
Front: 23x7-10 (4-ply); Rear: 22x11-8, 22x11-9, 22x11-10 (6-ply) XCT's. Is this right? Which do you guys think is a better tire, the XCT holeshot or the razor 2? Any first hand experience with either?

Chris

 

Why wouldn't I run the same size front and rear in regards to tire diameter? Why the 1" larger front tires?

Chris

 

My first thoughts were of the old Big Reds when I put my 22's on.....until I put my JTM extension on, that changes the whole picture. Now I think the 20's look too small.

 

Quads handle best when you have the front ride slightly higher than the rear. Approx. 1/2" to 1" difference, front being higher than rear. From my personal experience I do not like having equally sized front and rear tires. I had 20" fronts and 20" rears on my Raptor and it was very nervous and twitchy at high speeds. And with the 23" fronts you'll have more ground clearance yet than the 22" tires. Its also the way that they always come setup from the factory. Common tire sizes almost always run as 21"front/20" rears, or 22" front/20" rears. The front tire size from the factory is 21". If you change to a 22" rear with a 21" front its gonna handle pretty ackward, and you'll probably not be pleased. Obviously feel free to buy what you wish, but I think it will handle better if you keep the tire sizes offset by atleast an 1".

 

I had the same dilema when i went to buy tires/wheels...i ride a really rough rocky wet river crossings with culverts and mud...its not bad on the raptor, but i wanted the most agressive trail tire i could get that would not sacrafice performance or durability. I still ride where its dry and dusty and in fields and that sort of thing were conditions are raptor-perfect LOL...so i wanted High Performance there at well, without having to change up my tires. I went with the ITP XCR's factory size they are actually quite agressive....THEY WORK GREAT!!! they are actually alot chunkier then u think and than the pics show... they are 6ply 20-10-9 rear 21-7-10 front ....and i got them on douglas.190...440 dollars shipped front and rears on wheels from RockyMountainATV...

My mudding tire is GBC Gators 22-11-8 They are insane in mud....i use them only when its really wet out and dont want to risk getting stuck when i am pretty far out.

Hope this helps...

-bLuRRRR27-

 

Thanks guys for all the help. I just found out the shop I'm probably going to get it from is only 3 hours away, and any parts I buy the day I buy the bike I'll get 20% off, plus he'll install everything for me free of charge. That's so tempting to go ahead and get everything all at once, such as tires, exhaust, skids, etc.

Chris