OZ ATV :: The Australian ATV Forum

[muzzgit]

I saw a KTM quad on display today which had front tyres on the back? All the tyres were the same, and they were definaltely tyres made for the front.

The guy said "it's for desert racing to get the bike up out of the sand" and "the bike is a little less powerfull so it's easier to handle"

I've seen a few vid's of desert races and I went to the GasDash last year, I can't recall any of the straight axle quads having rear tyres bigger than 20 inch.

Is this man a visionary?
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Cheers,
MUZZ
06 YFM 700R mine
03 KFX 400 hers

[Huskygoat]

Most people not all, laughed a Vicus when he turned up to Safari with that set up. I suppose 4hrs ahead must say something.

Like this


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Truth and Honor and Trust ... never under estimate Them.

[vjcrose]

is that my bike - the one I still haven't ridden?
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Family is most important.... next is our quads

[bigjon]

Husky, what's the purpose/benefit with those rear tyres?
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Don't close your eyes during the crash, you'll miss the best part

[bigjon]

muzzgit wrote:

I've seen a few vid's of desert races and I went to the GasDash last year, I can't recall any of the straight axle quads having rear tyres bigger than 20 inch.

I had 22" rears on my last YFZ450. They were ITP XCT's.

They give a little more ground clearance when the going gets rough.
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Don't close your eyes during the crash, you'll miss the best part

[vjcrose]

bigjon wrote:

Husky, what's the purpose/benefit with those rear tyres?

Our experience of the Australian Safari has taught us a huge amount about system setups etc and huskygoat does a good job of setting up.

When I spoke to Vicus he said the reason why he first tried this set up was when he was on Dakar and ran out of rears so shoved a couple of fronts on the rear. He found a smoother ride with more power - due to the thiner area for power to ground. He said that he has always run this since then. He also said he always get the raised eyebrows from people at new races he does - like safari last year - we all looked at him a bit sideways....

Anyway, as Vicus predicted nearly all the safari peeps have this and found it superior thus changed over. He reckoned he did it at Dakar and was copied there too. We were very lucky to have Vicus share some interesting secret tips and look forward to trying them. Huskygoat fabricates the spacers and stud pattern changeovers to suit now.

Please note thinner tyres mean for power but less traction area therefore not superior on the mx track...

I believe the above photo was the quad Huskygoat did up for me to do finke and some other long distance races on... as yet I have not even started it.
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Family is most important.... next is our quads

[cowchaser]

I've gone for the opposite i'm running rears on the front. 10" Kenda? Bounty Hunters
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Smitty

[Huskygoat]

Couple of Q s not being Negative. what does the tread pattern look like?

what size rims.

do you Balance them. Are they 6 PLY . Do you have tyre balls ? if not try pool noodles. I know pete knows it all but there is a flash pool noodle out now costs about $100 but $3 ones work better. Alot of the big name riders are useing them in the states because you can still use plugs .

Power steering on the big girl? got some Can am 4x4 freaks coming to race this weekend I will post some set ups.
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Truth and Honor and Trust ... never under estimate Them.

[cowchaser]

Im running 12 inch hipers with 25x10.R-12 Kenda Bounty Hunters ST tires http://www.kendausa.com/atv/utility.html And yes we are running tire balls. Prob wont get them ballanced because the balls will move around in them.

Bit heavy in the steering but awsome over rough ground
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Smitty

[Huskygoat]

Nice choose of tyre . would like some feed back on them after the race. flat looking aren't they sorta like a car tyre could be an advantage. I haven't seen them in the the flesh yet.

What RRP on them?
_________________
Truth and Honor and Trust ... never under estimate Them.

[bullet]

muzzgit wrote:

I saw a KTM quad on display today which had front tyres on the back? All the tyres were the same, and they were definaltely tyres made for the front. The guy said "it's for desert racing to get the bike up out of the sand" and "the bike is a little less powerfull so it's easier to handle" I've seen a few vid's of desert races and I went to the GasDash last year, I can't recall any of the straight axle quads having rear tyres bigger than 20 inch. Is this man a visionary?

The U.S. X Team have been running their Outlanders in desert racing with same size tyres front and rear for a few seasons.
I asked them what they thought the advantages were, and they said the main advantage was the ease of carrying spares , quicker repairs and pit stops etc.
Other than that it was 50 / 50.

Thinner tyres should be faster in a straight line because they offer less reistance.
On the long stretches in Dakar Vicus could sit on 140kmh, and because there was alot of that in Dakar he enjoyed that advantage.
But in Australasian Safari he said he was suferring a bit in the boggier, tighter sand sectons that seem to be more freqent in Australian desert racing and that he did not know if he would go so skinny again.

Smitty has got tonnes of grunt in his Renegade, so he'll be able to push 10's all round and get a fast comfy ride with no worries.

Because I race in full time 4x4, all of the surface area touching the ground is driving, so boggy tight corners are not a problem.
So i would go that bit skinnier, I reckon 9's all round might be the go for me.

It's mostly personal preferance but in general the choice depends a lot on the style of racing.
High speed all day = skinny tyre advantage.
tight track or loose ground = back to the fats.
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Can-Am X Team
Bullet #Y12. MrsB #Y18.

[cowchaser]

Huskygoat wrote:

Nice choose of tyre . would like some feed back on them after the race. flat looking aren't they sorta like a car tyre could be an advantage. I haven't seen them in the the flesh yet. What RRP on them?

I used them at Condo but I had 8's all round. I found the Rene was too heavy too run 8's on the rear as it got a bit of a sway up in the rear end. But the tire it's self was awesome we went through a big rock garden and I sliced one open about 6 inches long and over 5mm deep and it didn't go flat and I'm still useing that tire.
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Smitty

[bullet]

That "rock garden" was something different hey Smitty.
It could not have been a more harsh moonscape.

How's the Safari Rene, coming along mate?
Any finished pics yet?
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Can-Am X Team
Bullet #Y12. MrsB #Y18.

[feralkid]

I guy came to race at the moto x here once on an outlaw 525 and had fronts on the rear. Didn't seem to give him any advantage at all. I dunno if it acctually did have anything to do with the differnt tyres on the back but he seriously bent a sway bar and some people were saying that was why. Anyone had that problem?
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"If in doubt go flat out"
"Nothing worth having is easy to get"

[greenhuman]

A friend started racing speedway and short circut with grooved Riken car tyres front and rear in 1986. Some oldies might remember that setup at Mike Hatcher in Qld.
His theory was speedway bikes use thin tyres to cut thru the loose stuff to get to the hard pack so it should work on a quad. It did work for him but he was a bit of a heavy weight so that ate up his advantage.

[cowchaser]

bullet wrote:

That "rock garden" was something different hey Smitty. It could not have been a more harsh moonscape. How's the Safari Rene, coming along mate? Any finished pics yet?

All finished I think wired the blinkers and my new air horns today dam their loud ha ha ha. Just got to extend the Aux tank a few more litres and we are done
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Smitty

[muzzgit]

When I started this thread I forgot to mention it was a straight axle quad. I understand the 4X4 quads often run the same size front and back.

Also, when running these bigger tyres on a staight axle quad is it necessary to change the gearing (sprockets) ?
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Cheers,
MUZZ
06 YFM 700R mine
03 KFX 400 hers

[Huskygoat]

How about getting some pics of the KTM
_________________
Truth and Honor and Trust ... never under estimate Them.

[muzzgit]

Huskygoat wrote:

How about getting some pics of the KTM

Yeah, the shop where I saw it is way up the northern side of Perth and I'm in the southern suburbs.
_________________
Cheers,
MUZZ
06 YFM 700R mine
03 KFX 400 hers