I am putting 26" mudlites on my kodiak 450 but do not want to take a mudbath everytime I ride. Does anyone have an opinion on putting 12" tires on the rear?

 

I put 12" on the back of mine last week. I went riding this weekend and was covered in mud. Yamaha makes a overfender thats made for the kodiak. It just isn't out on the market yet. It's due out sometime in late march.

 

I have 26 in 589's on mine, I got the overfenders, I stay clean as a whistle....

 

Camoman - where you from in OH?

Do you know if the fended xtenders fit the 05 kodiaks?

I would advise against the 12's unless you absolutely need them. The kodiak doesn't have tons of extra power on hand, and you WILL lose some going to a bigger tire, especially since most aftermarket tires are 6ply and are heavier than stock.

 

I'm in Wintersville, Oh,
I have heard that the 04 overfenders and the 05 do not match up. I would get them when they become avail.
I had a wolverine before I got my Kodiak it was a 350. I bought the Kodiak 450 and put the tires on the same week.
So I did not notice any real power loss, since it was a power increase already, besides you always have low gear. I have heard form a few guys that run their 05 kodiaks in deep thick mud with 27 in tires are breaking their stock rear axles.(irs). Have not personally seen it yet.

 

27 inchers are big for my prairie, let alone the little kodiak. Just as camoman has said - putting bigger tires on the 450 makes it feel like his old 350..

Camokd - what type of riding do you do typically? 25x8 and 25x10 holeshot atr's really help the handling/ride of the bike out tremendously. I can't recommend enough going with a radial tire on your IRS kodiak vs the mudlites.

 

Most of the riding that I will be doing will be on sand and some trail riding. Once a month we do run the Platte and will experience quite a few mudholes.

 

I put the ITP wetlands radials (26x8-12 front & 26x10-12 rear) with type 5 wheels on my 05 Kodiak. They do stick out far and I have a set of overfenders on the way. Even with the overfenders I think I will still get pretty muddy - as much or perhaps a little more than I was with the stock set up.

So far I like the tires but I haven't really had the chance to do extensive testing. I'll let everyone know my thoughts after a long weekend of trail riding and mud riding.

PS: this is what they look like on my ride right after I put them on (fully inflated still):

Wetlands and Type 5's

Ground clearance compared to an 05 Foreman with 589's

 

I highly suggest buying a tire that's mostly suited for your riding type. Something the holeshot atr would be perfect for most of your riding. I've found that when people use the word mudhole, there is a huge variance in what that really means. ATR's will be able to get you thru the mudholes as well as the stockers - so use that as a guide - but they will improve the handling of the kodiak immensely, as well as the dry/sand traction. I spent most of my time (I recently moved up from FL) riding sugar sand trails when I was down in FL. The atr's dominate anything out there (short of paddles, but there are no dunes). In contrast, my outlaws dig too much and dig straight down and get stuck in the sugar sand easily, which is why I have a set of trail and mud tires. There is no perfect tire for all terrains - so choose the one that works best for the majority of your riding. It's not worth it to accept the sub par handling of a 589 or mudlite when you only need their capabilities 5% of the time.. Those that say the handling isn't sub par, you haven't run atrs! If you do want something a little more aggressive, try that maxxis bighorn radial - they seem to get rave reviews. Finally, if you've got your head so far up your you-know-what to not get radials of some sort - forget the mudlites - get some GBC Dirt Devils.. They are priced much better and perform just as well.