P500 New owner needs new tires

[Idahotruckman]

Welcome Rooftop from another Michigan guy! I've been riding 3-wheelers and quads since I was 12 yrs old - 38 years later I buy my first side-by-side. The guys on here are great- great depth of knowledge and experiences, as well as opinions! So with my 2 years of P500 experience here is what I say:

* A 26" tall tire is an excellent choice for this machine.
* What ever brand you buy - make sure it is a radial! Vastly improves the ride quality!
* Start with just the tires on your stock wheels (what I have) then if you think the machine feels too tippy- get some wheel spacers.
* As other point out- if you want to change the look and want the wider stance, buy a set of aftermarket off-set wheels.
* My experience is any aftermarket tire tread design is better than the stock tires than come on most ATV's & side-by-sides. So I would just say look at a bunch of different ones and pick what looks will suit your needs. As for a recommendation: I agree with the Maxis Big Horns- know a lot of guys that have run these on their 4x4 quads and the traction improvements are incredible. Or, I went with a bunch of suggestions from this site and bought the Kenda Bear Claw XTR's. They have a more aggressive tread than the Big Horns do, but I can accept the turf damage in my yard from them- not horrible. Oh- Big Horn 2.0 for the radials. I think the original Big Horns are bias-ply.

Original Bighorns are radials. Have them on my Grizzly 700.

 

[Idahotruckman]

Spacers will work and save you some money. I started with 1” spacers I the back with stock wheels. The. I moved the 1” to the front and added 2” spacers to the back with stock wheels. I’m currently running the 1” front and 2” rear spacers with 5+2 wheels. It’s probably overkill but it works. The thing I like about the spacers vs new wheels is the ability to experiment with out spending a bunch on wheels. I also started with the stock tires, moved to 25” tires and currently running 27” tires. 26” tires are a good size for most people. You will have plenty of power, the machine will ride and perform better and you won’t need to modify anything other than making it a little wider to compensate for the added height.

I wish I would have gone 1" in front instead of 1.5". It would fit better between my wheel wells in my truck. I agree 26" work well. I have Big Horn 2.0 but would not have a problem with Kenda Bear Claws or the Trilobites. Any of these are better than stock. I stayed with stock wheels because I couldn't stand to scuff up pretty aftermarket wheels.

 

[Smokindog]

I put Kendra bear claw 26 on mine all around. Great.

 

[trigger]

I put Kendra bear claw 26 on mine all around. Great.

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

[Remington]

I put Kendra bear claw 26 on mine all around. Great.

Pics or it didn't happen.

☝️☝️TRUTH☝️☝️

Your first post too! 🤨
Welcome from another Great Lake Stater!

 

[Fruitz101]

Born and raised in west Michigan, Grand Rapids area. Spend a decent amount of time in the evart area on friends hunting property. Here it is before the mods start

View attachment 292094

Born and raised in west Michigan, Grand Rapids area. Spend a decent amount of time in the evart area on friends hunting property. Here it is before the mods start

View attachment 292094

Nice 500s! buddy just bought same year and color. Gotta show mine off- first time half ass cleaned in a year.. bh 2.0 26 9 12’s on all 4, 5+2 quadboss coercion’s with 1in rb3’s on rear. Best, lightest setup I’ve had so far.

 

[Homer]

Where: When you decide, check prices at PlanetSXS. I've bought 2 sets of tires and 1 set of wheels from them. Fast, free shipping, competitive or best $,...
Good luck.

 

[Rooftop]

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the info so far.

 

[JayPo]

I love the Kenda HTR Bear Claw tires. I had 26x9x12 on the front and 26x9x11 on the rear. I used ITP delta steel wheels with 5+2 offset. After a while I added 1" spacers all around just to give me a bit more width. I think it was like 54" at the rear with the spacers.

 

[Fruitz101]

I love the Kenda HTR Bear Claw tires. I had 26x9x12 on the front and 26x9x11 on the rear. I used ITP delta steel wheels with 5+2 offset. After a while I added 1" spacers all around just to give me a bit more width. I think it was like 54" at the rear with the spacers.

Had htr’s in my cart then chickened out. Little heavier than bh2’s (2-3lbs per) being 8ply, and was slightly worried about the road wobble, which is prolly bs. Have any problems with that? Nice Meaty lookin tire though

 

[wvupsc]

Had htr’s in my cart then chickened out. Little heavier than bh2’s (2-3lbs per) being 8ply, and was slightly worried about the road wobble, which is prolly bs. Have any problems with that? Nice Meaty lookin tire though

When I got my HTRs, i noticed they were fairly heavier than other tires I was considering, and much heavier than stock. But I figured that would help lower my center of gravity.

 

[JayPo]

Had htr’s in my cart then chickened out. Little heavier than bh2’s (2-3lbs per) being 8ply, and was slightly worried about the road wobble, which is prolly bs. Have any problems with that? Nice Meaty lookin tire though

I didn't notice any wobble with the HTRs. Adding those tires to my P500 was absolutely the best mod that I did. It was a completely different machine from the stock tires. And they never let me down.

 

[DaddyDubbs]

I can’t comment on the HTR’s but one of the reasons I chose the Blackwater Evo’s was the 8 ply radial, excellent for durability, and with 8 ply, hopefully I could limp back on a flat if needed. BTW, I’ve not noticed any wobble on or off road. Evo’s are a different cross section than the HTR (and I’m not pushing Evo’s) but I don’t think you should shy away from them based on weight alone.
Oh, and by the way -welcome from a former Michigander.

 

[TBea]

Just put on Bighorn 2.0. First time putting new tires on my 2018 P-500. 26/9R12 up front 26/11/R12 in the rear with 1" RB3 spacers all the way around. I can't recommend that set up enough. It is a great combo.

Hi Morpheus,
I have a 520 2021. Originals stock tire are about done.
i was going to switch to Bighorn's 2.0 26/9R12 front & 26/11/r12 rear. Why the 1" RB3 spacers all the way around? Is the lift required for tries clearance? Are just to give you more clearance?

 

[100Acre]

Looks like the top of your buggy needs a roof…when I had my goat(500) I ran Bighorn originals and they rocked except for the 4 ply sidewalls. On one ride I think we shoved 18 plugs in them. I can’t remember if that was in Washington or Tennessee??? If you can find a similar tread pattern and thicker sidewalls, I’d say go for it. It all depends on how and where you ride. Many or some of us on here put our machines through the ringer, developing character marks, scratches and the occasional crunch. Magnificence is made in the process by which we ride! Be welcome and be here.

 

[100Acre]

It was in Washington with @popeye and @CumminsPusher and maybe @Tigermark ???there were lots of cool funguses growing everywhere! Chicken of the woods, Lionsmane, what looked like Chaga. It was a great experience! Was it the backside of MtRainier?

 

[idahoron]

It was in Washington with @popeye and @CumminsPusher and maybe @Tigermark ???there were lots of cool funguses growing everywhere! Chicken of the woods, Lionsmane, what looked like Chaga. It was a great experience! Was it the backside of MtRainier?

View attachment 324433 View attachment 324434

I finally got a P5. I put a KFI 4500 winch on it and I have new tires heading my way maybe tomorrow. 26" Ripsaw's. Kama got me some rims that are a bit wider. Those will go on with the Ripsaw's.

 

[Morpheus]

Hi Morpheus,
I have a 520 2021. Originals stock tire are about done.
i was going to switch to Bighorn's 2.0 26/9R12 front & 26/11/r12 rear. Why the 1" RB3 spacers all the way around? Is the lift required for tries clearance? Are just to give you more clearance?

After doing a lot of research and talking with members on this forum I decided to go with the 1" all the way around for stability. I chose RB3 because they support Honda SXS Club and they are an awesome company with very high quality products. The majority of members say if you're going to go up even a little bit you need to go out because the unit has a tendency to be very tippy with any added height. I have family and friends who also use the machine and have varying levels of experience with these machines so I wanted to cover my bases to keep them safe when they are out of my sight and getting on it Clearance isn't an issue at all. You could put on the BH 2.0 26" all the way around and it would be just fine as far as wheel clearance. Some members have added this exact tire set up and not added spacers and they say they haven't had an issue at all. I do trail riding as much as I can and just wanted to make sure I have the most stability possible when exploring new areas since I never know what I'll run into. I chose 1" because I wanted to keep it as narrow as possible and have the piece of mind of a little bit extra width. With my Bighorn 2.0 26/9R12 front & 26/11/r12 rear and 1" spacers it still fits in the bed of my Chevrolet 1/2 ton with a 6.5' box so for me it is a win all the way around. I can't say enough good things about the improved performance of the machine with the BH 2.0 tires and RB3 1" spacers. Way better ride and handling. You won't be disappointed if you go this route.

 

[Dave75]

My dad works in Tool and die.
Last year I showed him my front RB3 spacers and he said they were good quality.
Got the back spacers this winter, still need to be installed.

 

[rmarsh]

Richard 62,
You run 27x9 12 evo black water tires do you have any pictures ?
Do they rub at all ? and is the ground clearance greatly improved over stock tires
Thanks Russ