Mud tires

[John Huitt]

Ok I'm new here. I just bought my 1984 yamaha 200E yamahauler in the fall of 2010. I bought it from a friend so I had ridden it often. I also grew up riding honda big reds. That said I am looking to replace the 15 year old tires i have on it now. The guys I ride with all have 500+ four wheel drive wheelers with aggressive tires. I can keep up pretty good now but am looking for more. Having talked to people and read posts on here I have Kinda narrowed down my tire choice to either Maxxis Mud Zilla's or Interco swamp lights. My problem is I don't know anybody that has ever had either of these and am looking for some help. I am mostly wondering how they wear. I ride gravel trail to get to the mud and don't want them wearing out fast. Any help would be Nice. Thanks...

[Lil Earl]

i dont know how much power your 200 has, but i really like kenda bear claws, i feel they work extreemley well. have plenty of bite all around especially in mud.

[John Huitt]

The bear claws are not to bad but I'm looking for something more aggressive.

[Jason125m]

More aggressive than Bearclaws? Sorry for the ignorance, but what is the stock tire size of the 200e? If its 22 ", all you have is bearclaws!

[John Huitt]

My wheeler has plenty of power. The stock size and what I am staying with is 25/12/9. I know the bear claws are nice tires but I am looking for something more. The guys I ride with go through everything and I want to show them what a trike can really do. I did look into vampires but I think they discontinued my size.

[Grindin' Gearz]

Those intercos look nasty! Lemme know how they do and I may give em a try on my 225dr,

[John Huitt]

I'm sorry but have you looked for tires lately??? Their are a lot of tires in a 22" size. You can even get a Gator in a 22" I thought about gators but they are 30 pounds for my size.

More aggressive than Bearclaws? Sorry for the ignorance, but what is the stock tire size of the 200e? If its 22 ", all you have is bearclaws!

[Jerm1179]

why did you start a post asking about tires if you already have your mind made up? oh yeah and Gators suck compared to Bearclaws ..not to mention the claws will outlast those overly aggresive tires your talking about in gravel. shouldnt be tearing up trails like that anyway...you just make the rest of us look like asssholes. welcome to 3WW

[wheelsforheels]

Just by looking, I would think the Swamp Lites would wear better. They both look like a good tread pattern. Are they both 6 ply? Is 6 ply going to beat you up when your riding? Myself, I usually buy the 6 ply tires, but my back hates me for it later on. The wear characteristics are excellent though.

[muthey]

so you have the 4 bolt pattern rims, you are not limited to 25" tires if you buy a set of three bolt hubs and rims for it you can go down to the 22" tires., but if you plan to stay with the 25's, then get what you feel is best either way you might want to extend your rear axle to the same length as your friends or you will never stay in their ruts. I say if you are running a heavy tread pattern then go with what is best price and wear for you, also I know the 200 has alot of torque, so you can run a heavy 6ply tire, just make sure it will clear out mud as well as grip. That is the bane of existence for us mud trikers. Also make sure you can keep the mud clearing out of the front tire as well or you will have a heck of a time steering, which you probably already know. Good luck with all of you ventures.

[Stonewall]

Unless they've changed the Swamp Light's rubber compound, they are really soft and wear out relatively fast. My dad has a set for his Big Red side by side, he only uses them in the winter, because he uses it so much for farm work in the summer that he'd wear 'em out too fast.

Vampires are the best you can get, and I'm pretty sure that they are still available in 25-13-9, because I plan on putting some on my 6 wheeler. You will not be dissappointed if you go with Vampires. I just recently put a set on my Big Red, and it'll out mud anything else I've seen.

Don't forget to mount the front tire with the tread in the opposite direction of the rears!

[John Huitt]

Vampires are the first tire I looked at. I started looking at other tires because of the large gaps in the tread. People said it would be a really rough ride. My trike is a hard tail so I have no suspension in the back. How much do you bounce around on them??? And I am only getting them for the rear because the front tire is almost new.

Unless they've changed the Swamp Light's rubber compound, they are really soft and wear out relatively fast. My dad has a set for his Big Red side by side, he only uses them in the winter, because he uses it so much for farm work in the summer that he'd wear 'em out too fast.

Vampires are the best you can get, and I'm pretty sure that they are still available in 25-13-9, because I plan on putting some on my 6 wheeler. You will not be dissappointed if you go with Vampires. I just recently put a set on my Big Red, and it'll out mud anything else I've seen.

Don't forget to mount the front tire with the tread in the opposite direction of the rears!

[Stonewall]

Vampires are the first tire I looked at. I started looking at other tires because of the large gaps in the tread. People said it would be a really rough ride. My trike is a hard tail so I have no suspension in the back. How much do you bounce around on them??? And I am only getting them for the rear because the front tire is almost new.

They obviously don't know what they're talking about. The gaps between the lugs, plus their height, is what makes Vampires the best ATV tire ever made. They have plenty of lug to hook up and go, and they're far enough apart that they clean out good, and wont slick over with sticky mud. On hard surfaces, I think they are softer than the Carlsile Strykers that I had on it before. The only noticible difference was a slight increase in vibrations. (but only on stuff like concrete at slow speeds) Mine are 27x12-11, but they have the same sidewall height (8 inches) as the 25x13-9's, so the ride characteristics should be the same. They're a great tire, and should last you til they dry-rot. I have a set that have been on a 4 wheeler that's recieved heavy farm use since '02, and by the looks of things, they'll outlast the 4 wheeler.

[John Huitt]

Thanks stonewall for the insight. I would have thought they would give you a rough ride. But if not then I will probably be buying some.

[Stonewall]

Thanks stonewall for the insight. I would have thought they would give you a rough ride. But if not then I will probably be buying some.

I can't tell a difference between the way they ride, and the way most less aggressive tires ride. I run mine at about 2.5-3.5 psi, and they have plenty of give. Buy some... You will not be dissappointed.