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Bearclaw HTR on '14 Ranger 570 midsize

11K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  POS POLARIS 
#1 ·
After much research and agonizing over a tire upgrade, I finally pulled the trigger. I ended up with Kenda Bearclaw HTR Radials - 26x9x12 (+1 tall +1 wide) up front and 26x11x12 (+1 tall) on back. My machine is stock rims with no lift. I had to shim out the fronts 1/4" to clear the tie rod (ran to the hardware store and picked up some washers until I get spacers). The other two tires on my short list were Maxxis Bighorns & STI Black Diamond XTR. The Bearclaws were a good $125 cheaper than the Bighorns and I saw nothing but good reviews. I purchased them from Motosport.com for $450.

First impressions
WOW! :encouragement: They sure look a lot bigger and meaner than the stockers. I read about the radials giving a better ride, and sure enough, much smoother and tighter turning through the woods. It almost feels like a car on asphalt. One thing that no one ever talked about, and the BEST surprise in my opinion, I would guess the new tires have cut steering effort by half. Granted, I've only buzzed around tonight after the install on some trails and stone road, but first impressions are great.

I'll take some more pictures this weekend and update as I get more time on them. I just wanted to give the forum info that I was looking for when I did my research.

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#2 ·
Good stuff, thanks for the review. You're decision seems very logical and well thought out. Enjoy


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#4 ·
Great tire! You will love em for a long time to come! I also considered them when I was looking for new rubber, but finally settled on the Bighorns! I have to agree with your point about the steering effort and ride improvement of the radials! Better handling is a BIG bonus as well!

Cheers
 
#5 ·
I've heard nothing but good about them - will probably be my next tire on the 800 after the BH's wear out!
 
#7 ·
For my use case the 66" works great...wide enough to be very effective on the long drive while still being narrow enough to clean those small narrow spots that a pickup blade would leave for the shovel!
Get the biggest blade that will fit where you need to clean...your Ranger will have no problem handling the 72"...though I find the 72" a bit unruly, for me the 66" is the perfect size! Nothing worse then having to repair stuff you've damaged with too wide a blade!

Cheers
 
#10 ·
When you tilt your blade as far as it will go to one side does it shorten the overall width much? Trying to see if it will sueeze on my trailer.

Also...when you tramming your machine how much clearance is there from the bottom of the blade to the ground with the blade in the highest position.
 
#8 ·
I have Bearclaw HTR's on my Ranger 500EFI and they are awesome. I have the regular bear on my atv and they are awesome too.
 
#9 ·
After much research and agonizing over a tire upgrade, I finally pulled the trigger. I ended up with Kenda Bearclaw HTR Radials - 26x9x12 (+1 tall +1 wide) up front and 26x11x12 (+1 tall) on back. My machine is stock rims with no lift. I had to shim out the fronts 1/4" to clear the tie rod (ran to the hardware store and picked up some washers until I get spacers). The other two tires on my short list were Maxxis Bighorns & STI Black Diamond XTR. The Bearclaws were a good $125 cheaper than the Bighorns and I saw nothing but good reviews. I purchased them from Motosport.com for $450.

First impressions
WOW! :encouragement: They sure look a lot bigger and meaner than the stockers. I read about the radials giving a better ride, and sure enough, much smoother and tighter turning through the woods. It almost feels like a car on asphalt. One thing that no one ever talked about, and the BEST surprise in my opinion, I would guess the new tires have cut steering effort by half. Granted, I've only buzzed around tonight after the install on some trails and stone road, but first impressions are great.

I'll take some more pictures this weekend and update as I get more time on them. I just wanted to give the forum info that I was looking for when I did my research.

View attachment 6567
Looks great. Where did you get your spacers and can you post some pics up of the clearance after you have the install complete? Thanks.
 
#11 ·
My blade is a front mount and has something like 25" clearance in full up position.
When fully angled, the blade still clears a wide enough path so the tires aren't rolling over cleared snow! Not sure about trailer clearance, but if your trailer sides aren't too high, you should be able to clear them with the blade full up and in the straight position!

Cheers
 
#13 ·
I think these will be good tires, I almost bought a set instead of my EFX motoclaws. they were priced the same. only reason I didn't buy the kenda's was the much lighter load rating (450lbs vs 900 lbs) sounded more like they were built for an atv.

I bet they'll do well for you, never seen a bad kenda tire.
 
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