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New tires for a 07 450 KQ

4K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  chrisb 
#1 ·
Hey guys I have an 07 450 KQ. I have been wanting bigger and better tires for years but could not justify the purchase becuse the old ones worked great. I am looking at a Mud Lite and SS wheel combo. My question is that I want to get bigger tires like 26"s and keep the stock width combination as before but i am worried that the bigger tires will greatly affect the bike because it is only a 450. So to sum up my two options are Front:25x8x12 Rear:25x10x12 or Front:26x8x12 Rear:26x8x12. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
 
#2 ·
With a 450 you should be alright going up one size without affecting much performance. So the size 26x8-12 Front & 26x10-12 Rear should be just fine. Anything bigger though and you would probably need a lift kit for the bike as well. And welcome to the forum.
 
#3 ·
Some may disagree but i havnt heard anything positive about mudlites. I love my sti black diamonds and have heard alot of good from kenda as well. Hope that helps
 
#4 ·
Going up a size on tires won't affect the performance very much, one thing you need to know that when you go up in size the speedometer will show slower then what you are actually going, for example, My 2009 has 28x10x12 front and 28x12x12 rear my speedometer reads that I am only doing 59MPH but in reality I am going 68MPH. Just wanted to share that info so when you get them you won't think you've lost power. The black SS212 wheels like I have look great on these quads.




THOMAS
 
#6 ·
Taht would make it alot harder to steer. Try to go 9 up front and 11 in the back
 
#7 ·
I believe they make them different sizes because of the gearing in the front differential. I wouldn't go 26x10-12 all around, i would go with a 26x8-12 or 26x9-12 Front and 26x10-12 or 26x11x12 Rear.
 
#8 ·
The newer ones don't have the gearing problems as the older ones do. And what you two suggested is only changing the width and even if they did have the different gearing on these newer ones only the height would affect the gearing not the width. 10's up front doesn't make it harder to steer at least not on mine. But to answer your question RMK you CAN put 26x9x12 or 26x10x10 all the way around and it won't hurt anything.



THOMAS
 
#9 ·
Ok great advice I think I will go with Kenda Executioners w/ SS rims. I probably will stick with the stock sizes all around unless someone has a better opinion. The reason for that is that I haven't had any problem so far getting through whatever I want besides stupid mistakes which nothing will help with that. Does anybody have any opinions on the executioners like weight and stuff like that?
 
#10 ·
Those look like a really good tire, another reason I suggested getting all four same size is because then you can rotate them that way when the fronts start showing wear from turning you can rotate them to give them more life in the long run. Have you decided which wheels you will go with? Plus a little taller tire will give you a bigger surface contact patch for better traction and performance.




THOMAS
 
#12 ·
Thanks for that little technical tip Thomas on the gearing. I just assumed they still made them different sizes still because the gearing in the front differential. Something else new i learned today about the newer KQ's.
 
#13 ·
No problem at all, just remember like I said as long as they are same height it won't change the gearing at all.



THOMAS
 
#14 ·
A friend of mine just ordered a set of 4 27x10x12 interco vampires for his rancher 420. So now I am wondering if I can do 27x10x12's on my 450 KQ. Any thoughts? And also any comparisions between the vampires and the executioners would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
#16 ·
They do really well, but you may lose a little top end with yours only being a 450cc, plus you may want to consider a clutch kit for yours also because you will lose some engine breaking and a little off of the bottom end as well because of the increase in height.




THOMAS
 
#17 ·
I went with 26-9-12 amd 26-11-12. When these are worn i am going back to stock for power reasons. In other words unless you want to deal with clutch kits or gear reductions stay smaller. I did notice a pretty good difference in 1". Check out sti black diamond xtr. There is alot of good tire discussions on hondaforeman.com thats i got turned on to sti. You can also try to check out atvtv.com. sti bdxtr are great in anything from snow to mud clay and great in hard pack.
 
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