Desert Tires?

[fireburns99]

I searched last night to try and find out what tires people have had good luck with for desert riding, but all i found were threads regarding recommendations for MX style racing.

So I'm looking for a tire that will be able to handle sharp rocks found in the desert, as well as hook up on dirt trails, and washes that consist mainly of sand.

I've been looking at either the razr 2's, or the holeshot HD's. They are roughly the same price, but the razr's are a lot cheaper, what is the difference?

So any recommendations will be appreciated. I know that 2-strokes like the rev up, so i need some tire spin, but the tires i got now have no bite. (stock EX 400 tires).

[gojk]

I have always been a fan of the razr2 tire. It has my vote. I have wore through about 5 sets of them now. I have only had 2 flats on all of those sets, and the flats only came when the tires should have been replaced any how.

[fireburns99]

Do the razr's tend to slide well in the corners when you want them too? And also do they bog down the 2-strokes to much coming out of a turn?

[D Bergstrom]

I use holeshot XCT's (23" front, 22" rear.) on my 450R desert racer and I also use them on my 250R when I ride it in the desert. I run stock gearing on my 250R and it has no problem pulling that big and heavy of a tire. (I also have a 330 kit on my R.) I have got my fair share of flats with the XCT's, but these have all come under racing conditions. If you want to stay with a 20" tire, I would say look at either the Maxxis razr or razr2's, these are good desert tires also. I have no experiance with them, but most of the people I race with run them, I am thinking about running razr2's once I wear out all my holeshots.

Doug

[fireburns99]

yea from what the searches returned, i can't really go wrong with either the razr's or holeshots. I just always wonder if the people ride 4-strokes because they operate on a slightly different principle. I'm really leaning towards the razr 2's. It worries me when people say how heavy the HD's are.

And i ride a very ported stock bore engine. It makes pretty good power.

I check RM and the Razr's when bought in a set, are about 30-40 less than the Razr 2. What is the major difference between them. I know the Razr 2 is a 6 ply, whereas the Razr is a 4 ply. It also looks like the lugs are spaced more on the razr 2? Are these the only differences? Can anyone clear this up for me. Do the Razr's hook up well?

[D Bergstrom]

Pretty sure you can get both razr's and razr2's in 6 ply. I think the razr2's have a more aggresive tread. (I know the tread blocks are quite a bit taller.) Most of the people I race with seem to use the razr's, but I would say that is more based on price as the razr's are quite a bit cheaper then the razr2's. Hopefully someone who has used both can better answer the performance difference between them.

Doug

[skyhighatv]

the razr2 has big square edged knobs on the edge of the tire as to the regular razr has a more rounde shoulder knob for more predictable sliding.

[norcalduner]

i believe the razr2's are radial tires designed to have more sidewall flex to handle high torque 4 stroke motors whereas the itp hd's are bias ply tires that have super stiff sidewall . hope this helps.

[BLACKeR]

I Razrs are the radial ones. you should be fine with the normal razrs for the rear, run the razr 2's for the fronts. this is a pretty common set up.

[mjmisek]

I have found that for conditions similar to the desert areas you are asking about (without the sand washes) that Razr1 rear tires tend to get a LOT of wheelspin on a 250R. During aggressive cornering, they tend to keep sliding once broken loose. . . on my 440ex, the same tires hook up very well and slide very predictably.

On the R, I have found that Irazrs have good, predictable handling, but this comes at the cost of weight and tire life.

There is a good article on the ITP trac stars for desert riding in the latest ATVsport magazine, you may want to check that out. .