Tire question - 84 Big Red 200ES

[Rockman]

Have a question on the tire size for my 84 Big Red 200ES...

I bought the ATC about a month ago and started fixing things here and there...nothing major is wrong with the ATC except cosmetics, etc.

The rear tires on the ATC look new and still have the nubs on them. They look like the stock tire pattern.

I do have a leak in the front tire. I think it is the valve stem but the tire shows some dry rot. The front tire looks to be the original front tire with the stock pattern.

The person I bought the ATC from gave me an extra tire (looks new) which has a V pattern to it.

So I was going to take the front tire off, take it to my local tire guy and have him put the extra tire I got on the front rim.

All the tires including the spare are 25x12x9. However, this spare looks WAY too wide?

Any ideas? Are the specific tire made for the back / front only?:wondering

Help!

Rockman

[Walkerallen]

there are specific tires made for the front and specific tires made for the back. all tires will look to wide until you inflate them. i would recommend a bear claw http://www.bikebandit.com/kenda-k299-bearclaw-atv-tire
or a kenda front max http://www.bikebandit.com/kenda-k284-max-atv-tire
all though in the front max the oe size is not available, but it improves turning/cornering a ton..

[Rockman]

Thanks for the reply.

The extra tire I have is a...Carlisle Stryker Amerathon ATV Tire.

http://www.bikebandit.com/carlisle-stryker-amerathon-atv-tire

What differentiates a front tire from a back? Is it the pattern?

[84honda200s]

when i had my 200s i used rear tires on the front .. it worked out ok but yea most front tires have a different pattern than the rear for better steering. now on a sport trike like the 350x or 250r even the 200x you cant use a rear on the front because the wheels are thinner and taller then the rear .. but in my own opinion i think you should be ok with a rear on the front . it only looks wider because there is no air in it all tires look wider when they have no air in them ..

i use to run swamp fox tires on the rear and any semi aggressive tire up front . i loved them swamp fox tires they cut threw almost anything you throw at them . they arnt cheap but well worth the money if your like me and like going threw the mud and clay lol ..

[Thorpe]

I dont agree. I have never seen a tire with the word REAR or FRONT on it....? I have 3 matched ITP mudlites on my BR and love them.... I find the V on the front really helps pull the front end out of the ruts, and dont find it to wander at all... I say rock it! The price is right!

[84honda200s]

no the tires arnt stamped front or rear .. but certain places ask if you want the front tire or rear tire . like when i ordered my swamp fox tires they asked "rear or front ?" i was puzzled so i said rear .. but anyway yea mudlites kick butt too .. it was a toss up between them and swamp fox's when i bought my tires .. cant go wrong with either one .. i like em both the same .

[Thorpe]

I can see on a 350X or 250R how you may not want a V pattern, but on a BR its not an issue...

[atc350xer]

I have never had good luck with a "rear" tire on the front.... they just don't steer well. Knobby is the way to go in my opinion.

[84honda200s]

I can see on a 350X or 250R how you may not want a V pattern, but on a BR its not an issue...

ive used a v pattern on my 200s when i had it .. it worked fine on that too ..

[trikeman78]

I run AMS fox A/T tires on my 84 big red. They work well on the front and rear. Look great and have never left me stuck. They are also radial tires and ride great with the solid rear of the 84 big red. Low range, 2nd gear and it climbs any hill.

[Rockman]

So I was back up north this weekend and took the front tire off the '84 since it was flat. I took it to a local tire shop (which is actually really good) and wanted them to remove the current tire and put on the spare, V tread tire on.

When talking with the guy, we discussed the spare tire being about 13 inches wide at the outer edge of the tire while the old tire was about 11.5 inches wide.

So I passed on getting the spare put on as I thought it would be too wide.

The guy filled the old tire with air, put it in a big tub of water and noticed 2 holes in the tire and also a bad stem. So he plugged the holes and put in a new stem and $12.61 later, I was good to go!


I noticed the front brake assembly had some grime to it when I removed the tire. I sprayed some brake cleaner on it and some wd-40 and it seemed to be opening and closing smoothly. The bad thing is that it seems the brake "pads" are worn a bit but still have some life to them. The cable I have seems to be stretched out whereas when you squeeze the brake lever, it does not flex back all the way.

Any suggestions that would help me fixing the front brake???

Do the back brakes worked basically the same way?

Thanks!

RM