When I got my 05 Kodiak it was 5 years old. Previous owner had put some new ITP radial mud lites on before he got a side by side and are very aggresive. He went from 25" rims to 26" but front & rear tires are the same width, as the front tires are. I'm going to replace at some time and would like to know why rear's are wider which it had originally and would the current rims be able to have the wider tire on them or would I have to get wider for the rear..

 

25 or 26 isn't rim size at all, it is outside diameter of tyre. Third number (probably 12) is rim diameter, second number is tyre width. Because a wide tyre is a lot heavier to steer than a narrow one, quads use narrow fronts and wide rears. You can fit wider tyres on the standard rim, 2" wider isn't going to cause problems, much more and you may be better getting wider rims.

 

Thanks merryman it answered my question and I believe original has 2" wider on the back so if I change the rims will work. Also how I think and how it comes out aren't always the same so hope everone can read my mind.