I am new to this forum, however I have done quite a bit of searching online to find some good aftermarket wheel / tire setups for the Scrambler 850xp with not the greatest of luck. I'm mainly curious to see what wheel, wheel offset, and tire people have gone with. If you post a picture, please write what you have for your wheel / tire combo. I would be interested in hearing about peoples experiences with different tire and wheel offset combos in relation to their trail riding and what people have found to be of the best overall wheel offset for a great ride (mainly trail riding with some minor mud involved). My hope is to get a lot of different combos in this thread to see a lot of available options prior to pulling the trigger on purchasing a wheel / tire combo.
Aftermarket Wheel / Tire Setup
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Stay away from wide offset 4+3 rims if you can and stick to 5+2/4+2 or stock 6+1
Most guys on here run bearclaw htrs or bighorn radials for all around use.
If I had to do it again, rims would be some itp 6' wide 4+2 all around, Lots of stock, great warranty, priced well and an inch more tire to protect your rim.
For all around tires I like roctanes or the bearclaw htrs.
In the tire world most are pretty good, theres a few turds out there like mudlites.
Most guys on here run bearclaw htrs or bighorn radials for all around use.
If I had to do it again, rims would be some itp 6' wide 4+2 all around, Lots of stock, great warranty, priced well and an inch more tire to protect your rim.
For all around tires I like roctanes or the bearclaw htrs.
In the tire world most are pretty good, theres a few turds out there like mudlites.
Thanks for the info viking! I had been quite curious about the different offsets and what people thought about having a wider stance as compared to the stock width. I was toying around the idea of trying a different offset but I was unsure of what offset would be best when not going with the stock 6+1. I've noticed that a lot of rims on the market that fit the Polaris bolt pattern do not come in 6+1 and was curious what offsets people ended up going with to get the wheels they wanted. I've dabbled in the ITP, MSA, and STI wheels a bit to see what's available out there and going with a different offset opens up a whole arsenal of wheels to be chosen from.
I've noticed a lot of people who do trail riding on here have the bighorns, but I haven't seen what the bearclaw htrs look like. I know everyone has their own opinion on what tires to run and some people are brand loyal and only stick with one brand but I'm pretty much open to any tire as long as it provides a good ride on most trails, doesn't leave me stuck in mud hole, and has decent tread life. This brings me to my next question about tire size choice. I know the bigger the tire, the potential for more mods comes into play with a new clutch and what not to be able to provide enough power and throttle response when going with bigger tires. In your opinion, what would be the ideal tire size to go with for normal trail riding on hard pack, gravel, sand, and some mud holes along the way, while not requiring any clutch upgrades or engine mods to the machine? Correct me if I'm wrong but the stock tires are 26's I believe and I would like to go slightly bigger but not to the point where it's too big to function properly. Is it even necessary to go bigger with the tires, or is that more of a personal preference?
I've noticed a lot of people who do trail riding on here have the bighorns, but I haven't seen what the bearclaw htrs look like. I know everyone has their own opinion on what tires to run and some people are brand loyal and only stick with one brand but I'm pretty much open to any tire as long as it provides a good ride on most trails, doesn't leave me stuck in mud hole, and has decent tread life. This brings me to my next question about tire size choice. I know the bigger the tire, the potential for more mods comes into play with a new clutch and what not to be able to provide enough power and throttle response when going with bigger tires. In your opinion, what would be the ideal tire size to go with for normal trail riding on hard pack, gravel, sand, and some mud holes along the way, while not requiring any clutch upgrades or engine mods to the machine? Correct me if I'm wrong but the stock tires are 26's I believe and I would like to go slightly bigger but not to the point where it's too big to function properly. Is it even necessary to go bigger with the tires, or is that more of a personal preference?
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Sti had a 6+1
MSA has only wide offsets now, Mine are discontinued.
You need 4x156 in a 14in rim minimum.
The bearclaw htr is a directional tread.
If you want bigger lugs terminators come in 26.5 now I think. Also Outback max's or motoboss'
Personally I would get 28s.
Before any tires, I suggest this pinion cover if you don't have already Polaris Scrambler 850 and 1000 billet pinion cover ? HD ATV Gear or his ebay store.
I would budget $200 for a qsc clutch kit (RVS performance, its sooo worth it)
If you have a heavy thumb then axles (rhinos) should be on your list too.
MSA has only wide offsets now, Mine are discontinued.
You need 4x156 in a 14in rim minimum.
The bearclaw htr is a directional tread.
If you want bigger lugs terminators come in 26.5 now I think. Also Outback max's or motoboss'
Personally I would get 28s.
Before any tires, I suggest this pinion cover if you don't have already Polaris Scrambler 850 and 1000 billet pinion cover ? HD ATV Gear or his ebay store.
I would budget $200 for a qsc clutch kit (RVS performance, its sooo worth it)
If you have a heavy thumb then axles (rhinos) should be on your list too.
I noticed that some wheel companies have a minimum amount of options when looking for the 6+1, 5+2, or 4+2 offsets. After reading your comment about going with the 4+2 offset, along with several other forums that I have browsed, the 4+2 seems to be a recommended wheel offset. My interest has been swayed to look toward a 6" wheel with the recommendation you gave along with reading other forums as well.
In regards to lugs, I would like a good lug depth but not too deep as I typically am on hard pack trails and have to ride the side of a county road for a mile at a stretch and the lugs would get torn apart from that. I was looking into the STI diamondback tires and saw some good reviews on those but haven't read much on here about people using them so it makes me a bit skeptical as to why this might be.
I looked at some other posts related to the QSC clutch and the pinion cover, both items of which I have noticed you have recommended across the board. I did some research on the clutch kit and I think that is definitely a must. Quick question about the clutch kit, is it relatively easy to install, or should that be installed by an actual mechanic? Since the first day getting the unit off the showroom floor, I was not a big fan of the stock clutch catching after a decent amount of throttle and jerking away making that infamous clunk noise that I have noticed others experience as well.
The pinion cover I am relatively unsure whether or not I need it, just for the fact being that I rarely need to put the machine into AWD. This is due to the trails I ride on and found that so far if I'm in mud, its not too thick and fortunately the scramblers power/throttle response can scoot me along pretty good. But again, I am not an expert in this and if you think it is a good idea regardless, I will add the pinion cover to the 'to-do' list to cover all bases.
I'll have to look into the axles and see what they're all about, I do tend to give er the beans from time to time but with the group I ride with, those opportunities come far and few between because majority of them are casual trail riders.
In regards to lugs, I would like a good lug depth but not too deep as I typically am on hard pack trails and have to ride the side of a county road for a mile at a stretch and the lugs would get torn apart from that. I was looking into the STI diamondback tires and saw some good reviews on those but haven't read much on here about people using them so it makes me a bit skeptical as to why this might be.
I looked at some other posts related to the QSC clutch and the pinion cover, both items of which I have noticed you have recommended across the board. I did some research on the clutch kit and I think that is definitely a must. Quick question about the clutch kit, is it relatively easy to install, or should that be installed by an actual mechanic? Since the first day getting the unit off the showroom floor, I was not a big fan of the stock clutch catching after a decent amount of throttle and jerking away making that infamous clunk noise that I have noticed others experience as well.
The pinion cover I am relatively unsure whether or not I need it, just for the fact being that I rarely need to put the machine into AWD. This is due to the trails I ride on and found that so far if I'm in mud, its not too thick and fortunately the scramblers power/throttle response can scoot me along pretty good. But again, I am not an expert in this and if you think it is a good idea regardless, I will add the pinion cover to the 'to-do' list to cover all bases.
I'll have to look into the axles and see what they're all about, I do tend to give er the beans from time to time but with the group I ride with, those opportunities come far and few between because majority of them are casual trail riders.
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2,323 Posts
I would look for radial tires then.
Here is the qsc kit install
Well a new diff is $1200 or more, you could wait for warranty to end but then your quads down if she blows. I try to tell everyone so they are informed about it. The first batch of highlifter sportsmans have been recalled for an upgraded plate, however the regular sportsmans and scramblers get the thin cast alum cover still, so they have basically admitted there's a problem. Also if you facebook search "polaris front diff fix" and scroll down you can see vids of them breaking.
Here is the qsc kit install
I personally have never taken apart a clutch before but after seeing that video, it looks like it would be quite a simple process once the wheel and cover are removed to reach the clutch. I still might look into getting a quote from a local dealer/mechanic to see what it would cost for them to do the install, mainly due to the precise nature in which the clutch assembly needs to be reinstalled.
I'm going to look into the diff vids and hopefully find one showing the install of that as well to see what level of difficulty comes with that replacement part. I would agree, much better to spend the money ahead of time instead of causing a $1200+ repair if that blows.
I'm going to look into the diff vids and hopefully find one showing the install of that as well to see what level of difficulty comes with that replacement part. I would agree, much better to spend the money ahead of time instead of causing a $1200+ repair if that blows.
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