P500 Being waist full or totally worth it? Stock tire question.

[SouthwestORV]

What size spacers? It looked like you installed some in the video.

There's sofas out there waiting to be crushed in New Mexico!

I have no spacers at the moment. What you saw me installing in the video is the center caps. I’d love to play in NM!

 

[Admin]

 

[GatorD]

Me or the OP? My setup is 26x9-12 with 5+2 rims on all four corners. See my video above for more info.

I liked your video, it made a big difference in stance, I have a 2015 Pioneer 700 I bought used from an older gentleman and it still has the stock tires on it believe it or not (he had 986 miles mainly on ranch roads and long gun range). I'm looking at going to The Bighorn Radials 26x9x12 front and 26x12x12 in the back. I don't have any spacers on it right now but wondered if I would need them for the rear going to a 2" wider tire in the back will put the tire 1" inboard of where it is right now. I want to avoid using spacer if I can there are some tight spots on our Lake property that I barely squeeze through now. I Don't plan on getting new wheels right now just tires. Checking everything it looks like I shouldn't have an issue with rubbing anything in the front and the extra 1/2" of ground clearance won't hurt. We've had it since last November and I've found it does more damage to my turf around the house than my tractor does with industrial tires. I am hoping to minimize it with the new tires but I can't go complete turf or light truck style because our lake property is sand and red clay. I'm hoping the bighorn will work well in both conditions, I know there are knock offs but they are not radial and I want the better ride the radials give on the hard pack dirt and road.

 

[tomcj2]

I just bought and installed cloned BigHorn RADIAL tires. The ride is far better but they do more damage to my lawn if I turn sharply.
It is a Canadian company and they probably do not sell in the USA, but, being Canadian they are probably very polite and will assist you in finding a US company that sells the equivalent.
Give TRAXION Tire a phone call. Traxion Off-Road

 

[GatorD]

I just bought and installed cloned BigHorn RADIAL tires. The ride is far better but they do more damage to my lawn if I turn sharply.
It is a Canadian company and they probably do not sell in the USA, but, being Canadian they are probably very polite and will assist you in finding a US company that sells the equivalent.
Give TRAXION Tire a phone call. Traxion Off-Road

Thanks, I will.

 

[Wallace]

Replaced my stock tires for radials in 26 inch with 5+2 rims less than 200 mile on the machine one of the best things I've done.

 

[tomcj2]

Thanks, I will.

If for some reason you can't get through to TRAXION tomorrow give Julie a call at ATV Tires Canada. Please tell her that you are a member of hondasxs. She is also in Canada and will be polite and helpful.

 

[jwfirebird]

I liked your video, it made a big difference in stance, I have a 2015 Pioneer 700 I bought used from an older gentleman and it still has the stock tires on it believe it or not (he had 986 miles mainly on ranch roads and long gun range). I'm looking at going to The Bighorn Radials 26x9x12 front and 26x12x12 in the back. I don't have any spacers on it right now but wondered if I would need them for the rear going to a 2" wider tire in the back will put the tire 1" inboard of where it is right now. I want to avoid using spacer if I can there are some tight spots on our Lake property that I barely squeeze through now. I Don't plan on getting new wheels right now just tires. Checking everything it looks like I shouldn't have an issue with rubbing anything in the front and the extra 1/2" of ground clearance won't hurt. We've had it since last November and I've found it does more damage to my turf around the house than my tractor does with industrial tires. I am hoping to minimize it with the new tires but I can't go complete turf or light truck style because our lake property is sand and red clay. I'm hoping the bighorn will work well in both conditions, I know there are knock offs but they are not radial and I want the better ride the radials give on the hard pack dirt and road.
View attachment 132120View attachment 132117

the 700s don't really need spacers, but people like the spacers or wider rims for stability. if you are in the states and want those tires amazon and a bunch of other sites have them
alt of people like the big horn 2 for that, I ride more clay mud and dirt than anything and the more aggressive the tire the wear is the worst but I like the mud light 2, they are pretty good at handling on gravel and mud. I don't have sand but I imagine they are good they are a good all around smooth riding tire

 

[jamesh]

If you aren't doing much but some putting around, it may not be worth the money, but you'll still probably notice a difference. I just spent memorial day weekend riding two days at Hidden Falls Adventure Park in Marble Falls, Texas, on stock everything. Only upgrade I've done is a winch on one of them (got two P5s in place of a more expensive four seater).

After my weekend ride, I am 100 percent confident I will be getting bigger tires and wheel spacers. Only decision is do I go with 27 or 28 inch tires, and which brand? Spacers will be 2 inches and wheels will remain stock. I'd even like to upgrade shocks after my long weekend...

As I write this I am now recalling the massive difference I experienced when moving from a mountain bike with 26 inch wheels to one with 29 inch wheels. About 11 percent larger diameter made such a huge difference. Just wheel being bigger around allowed it to roll so much more smoothly over rough terrain. That memory actually helps to give me better perspective of what a huge change just a couple inches can make.

 

[RobbieS]

The number one best purchase for my P-500 (BORIS) was new tires...and then I bought new Walker Evans shocks......I wouldn't own a P-500 without these two additions.

 

[Bruce4795]

Just picked up a new 2018 P500 and haven’t had it off road yet. Looking at the stock tires vs all the tires I see people on this site are running, I feel like the stock tires are a joke. I haven’t seen anything where people are saying they like the stock tires and size and they work just fine. I pretty much feel like all I see is that tires are a huge upgrade. So my real question is..... should I buy new tires now or run the stock ones till they wear out?
I know tires and conditions go hand in hand when choosing a tire so I’m not asking which tire should I buy. Just asking if people have had good luck with the stock tires. However, I will say, our property is either dry hard pack where any tire is fine OR sloppy slick mud (not deep tho) and slick roots.
Any input on the stock tires would be appreciated.

View attachment 130897

I ran mine in some very rough desert areas in Arizona. I did just change them out after 340 miles for more ground clearance, but they performed well with no damage. I did run them in some mud one time and they worked well.

 

[NTCPrezJB]

Still rolling stock tires here. Are they the best...nope. Do they hold air and get me there...yep. Eventually, they will be replaced, but I can't justify not using them up first.

 

[WillyBill]

LOVED MY STOCK TIRES I JUST WORE THEM OUT . THEN WENT WITH STOCK RIMS WITH BIGGER TIRES FOR BETTER RIDE .

Why are you shouting huck?

 

[Plumber32]

26" bighorns on my 700 were awsome improvement. 30 mph was so much quieter. I'd assume that the same would be felt on the 500. Plus factory tires are paper thin. If you go out in the boonies like I do. You'll want better tires. Especially with kids with.

 

[jamesh]

I pulled the trigger on 26 inch bighorn 2.0s. I was set on 27s, but finally found some posts by both p5 and p7 owners about the bigger tires robbing power. All these people saying "no noticeable loss in power" must either be in 1st and 2nd gear all the time, not really riding that hard, exaggerating, or some of each. Also might be worse power loss on the newer, higher geared P5s (2017+ ?).

BUT, I have also read that bighorns run a little big and many others run a little small. So hoping I found some happy medium between extra ground clearance and performance. Hopefully I made the right choice, but prolly won't ever find out either way. Got the 1.5 inch spacers and keeping stock rims. Pretty excited!

 

[nctrailboss]

I pulled the trigger on 26 inch bighorn 2.0s. I was set on 27s, but finally found some posts by both p5 and p7 owners about the bigger tires robbing power. All these people saying "no noticeable loss in power" must either be in 1st and 2nd gear all the time, not really riding that hard, exaggerating, or some of each. Also might be worse power loss on the newer, higher geared P5s (2017+ ?).

BUT, I have also read that bighorns run a little big and many others run a little small. So hoping I found some happy medium between extra ground clearance and performance. Hopefully I made the right choice, but prolly won't ever find out either way. Got the 1.5 inch spacers and keeping stock rims. Pretty excited!

That set-up does great on my 17 model.I have found that 9psi works best to not rob power,but still work and ride good.

 

[jwfirebird]

how much power you loose or not has mostly everything to do with the weight, if you get alum or steel aftermarket rims and bigger tires, some of those are quite heavy and people don't pay attention to the wheels especially. normally the stock wheel is the lightest. the big horns are a heavy tire too, things like those and any tire that is meant to last on pavement and gravel is going to be heavy. the more general tires are lighter and like the mud light 2 , bearclaw htr, you can go to a 27 without losing any performance, the low gears they have help too

 

[jamesh]

how much power you loose or not has mostly everything to do with the weight, if you get alum or steel aftermarket rims and bigger tires, some of those are quite heavy and people don't pay attention to the wheels especially. normally the stock wheel is the lightest. the big horns are a heavy tire too, things like those and any tire that is meant to last on pavement and gravel is going to be heavy. the more general tires are lighter and like the mud light 2 , bearclaw htr, you can go to a 27 without losing any performance, the low gears they have help too

I agree that unsprung weight is a big factor. I've heard the Bighorn originals are heavy and the 2.0s are light. Maxxis doesn't provide the tire weight on their website, but with Amazon's shipping weight listed at 97.8 lbs for all four tires (two 26x9x12 and two 26x11x12), I can estimate about 24.45 lbs per tire. The same size tires in the Bearclaw are 24.79 lbs and 30.86 lbs respectively. So the bear claws being 111.3 lbs per set are 27.825 lbs per average tire putting them in at 3.375 lbs heavier per tire than the Bighorn 2.0s (about 13 percent heavier).

Bigger diameter is going to have some affect on performance, even if the weight of the tire does not increase. It just take more power to turn a longer lever arm. Either way, Bighorn or Bearclaw is a big step up in weight from stock.

When I started my research I came across this article from Chaparral: What is the Effect of Tire Size on ATV Performance?

The main takeaway for me is this qoute:

"Larger than stock tires are badass, but if all you are looking for is a slight increase in ground clearance or appearance you can go up “just a bit” to achieve that look without the need to make any of the aforementioned modifications. The measuring tape will tell all, but generally speaking, ATV / UTV manufacturers typically leave enough space to go up at least one size and maybe two sizes in tires without the risk of rubbing on plastics, shocks or exhausts."

 

[jwfirebird]

always a mystery with them as far as the specs, between that and the price I haven't bought a maxis tire of any kind. the raptor had rzrs on it when I bought it, they were the same as buy the same size and performance tires in itp for 100 to 150 less a set. and the mud lite utv tires are way better in the mud

 

[trigger]

I agree that unsprung weight is a big factor. I've heard the Bighorn originals are heavy and the 2.0s are light. Maxxis doesn't provide the tire weight on their website, but with Amazon's shipping weight listed at 97.8 lbs for all four tires (two 26x9x12 and two 26x11x12), I can estimate about 24.45 lbs per tire. The same size tires in the Bearclaw are 24.79 lbs and 30.86 lbs respectively. So the bear claws being 111.3 lbs per set are 27.825 lbs per average tire putting them in at 3.375 lbs heavier per tire than the Bighorn 2.0s (about 13 percent heavier).

Bigger diameter is going to have some affect on performance, even if the weight of the tire does not increase. It just take more power to turn a longer lever arm. Either way, Bighorn or Bearclaw is a big step up in weight from stock.

When I started my research I came across this article from Chaparral: What is the Effect of Tire Size on ATV Performance?

The main takeaway for me is this qoute:

"Larger than stock tires are badass, but if all you are looking for is a slight increase in ground clearance or appearance you can go up “just a bit” to achieve that look without the need to make any of the aforementioned modifications. The measuring tape will tell all, but generally speaking, ATV / UTV manufacturers typically leave enough space to go up at least one size and maybe two sizes in tires without the risk of rubbing on plastics, shocks or exhausts."

You made a good choice James. BH's are the standard by which the rest are measured, that's why there's so many copy cats of their tread pattern. I wouldn't second guess it for a second.

 

[Chuckie3]

I took trigger’s advice and bought big horn 2.0’s a few months ago . What a difference it made love the tires