Swamp Lites

sfrankland · #1 (**permalink**) 07-28-2010, 6:19 PM

Went into the local parts supplier to price some 27" Mud Lite XTR's and the sales guy said I would be better off getting the 27" Swamp Lites. I did a little reading on the net and them seem like a good tire but no word on how the they last. My riding is any where from deep bog type mud to hard and very rocky trails.

The pictures are from the same trip.

Cenflrider · #2 (**permalink**) 07-28-2010, 11:31 PM

No offence to the guy selling the product however what makes him say the 27 swamp lites are better?
Got a set in the back room?

sfrankland · #3 (**permalink**) 07-28-2010, 11:33 PM

He did and a set of mud lites as well. He said it was what he had on his own bike. Bear claws are another tire a lot of folks around here use as well.

bigduckhuntr · #4 (**permalink**) 07-30-2010, 9:39 AM

I am running the radial reptile which is alot like the swamp lite. I have not gotten into alot of mud but what I have gotten into they have done fine. I still beleive the mudlite xtr would be alot better as far as serious mud riding. That is actually the tire I was gonna go with myself but every dealer in town said they were on back order and didnt know when they would come in so I went with the R.R.

sfrankland · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2010, 8:46 PM

Well I picked up a set of Swamp Lites and mounted them on a set of ITP rims. Finally managed to get out on a short but good run today on a very mixed trail. On the rocks they were night and day over the stockers. They gripped very well and pretty much took the bike where I pointed her.

In the mud they were not as good as I was hopping but still did very good. They threw mud as my buddy can speak to after he got a little to close to me while I was in a mud hole. They didn't preform as good as my buddies Mud Lite XL's but they are not a pure mud tire. But overall they did get through some pretty slick stuff with less effort than the stock tires.

On the hard pack trails they rode very smooth for such an aggressive lug tire. I did notice more flex in the tire as it's not a radial tire which I am thinking added to the ride comfort. I never got a chance to run them at high speeds but the next run I hope to see how they preform on hard packed trails at speed. Also because of my lack of high speed running I didn't get a chance to see if there was a difference in the level of road noise.

Final impressions I am very pleased. Wished I would of went with a 27" instead of the 26" tires.

Rears are 26x12x12

Front are 26x9x12. Wish I would of ordered in a set of 10" wide front tires. The 9's look a little to skinny.

BIGBONVI · #6 (**permalink**) 10-31-2010, 10:04 PM

i have to agree. the fronts do look a little skinny. i am currently running the 26" xtrs and could not be happier. i am getting ride of them to go to 28" outlaw msts or the mud zillas. i am really considering running either 10" or 12" tires all the way around. i have a friend who has swamp lites on a honda 500 and says only good things about them. both tires are great all around tires. i am partial to the xtr's, but the swamp lites are a little cheaper.

five20too · #7 (**permalink**) 11-04-2010, 8:01 PM

I have a friend that runs Swamplites on his Popo and he swears by them. They do wear a little quicker than others but the price is right. I am running 27" Bi/Tri claw tires. I had them on my old Renegade 800 for 1400 miles and now on my Big Red for 400. I can say from experience that they really do wear like iron! There are still the little nipples on some parts of the tire. When I had them on my Renegade they were very smooth at all speeds and it ran 76 mph with stockers on it. I love them on my big red now. Whenever these decide to wear down I will be buying another set.

Dr_Al · #8 (**permalink**) 11-06-2010, 10:46 PM

Tires are an odd thing. I know I've had great luck with my Dirt Devil IIs around here, but that means little as to how they would work for someone else on different terrain. Unless you are only going to use your machine in only one type of soil then no matter what you choose it'll still be a compromise.

The Swamp Lites do look like a good all around tire that's still agressive.

OFRC boy · #9 (**permalink**) 11-29-2010, 3:57 PM

Sfrankland I hope you don't mind a few questions as I am looking to upgrade also. 1. Do you notice any power drop with the 26" vs. 25"? 2.Do you know the weight difference between stock and new 26" w/ aluminum rims? 3. If you did it again I see you said you would have went with 27" and if so would you get all the same width front and rear?

Chunz82 · #10 (**permalink**) 11-29-2010, 7:57 PM

The only problem with my 27" maxis big horns is they rub every now and then..... I never drove mine with the 25's so that's all I can give.

sfrankland · #11 (**permalink**) 12-01-2010, 2:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OFRC boy

Sfrankland I hope you don't mind a few questions as I am looking to upgrade also. 1. Do you notice any power drop with the 26" vs. 25"?

No power loss at all but I am very close to sea level if that makes any difference I am not sure. Xtremerancher02 has run larger tires and has not seemed to of had any problems.

Quote:

2.Do you know the weight difference between stock and new 26" w/ aluminum rims?

To me the seem very close to the weight of the stock tires. The 9" front tires may even be a little lighter. I don't have the stock tires anymore but I can weight the new ones as I have them off and the tracks on the bike at the moment. Just need to find a set of scales to use. Maybe a trip to WalMart is in order to find a cheap set for the garage.

Quote:

3. If you did it again I see you said you would have went with 27" and if so would you get all the same width front and rear?

I would go with the 12" in the rear for sure but the front I think I would just go with a 10". The 9" tires seem to work great but they look to narrow for my liking. I may get new tires next year if the funds permit.

OFRC boy · #12 (**permalink**) 12-01-2010, 2:22 PM

One more question. Why the different size front and rear vs. all the same size?

I am at 4,000 elevation and usually ride at that level or higher so can't loose any pulling power. I was thinking the lighter wheel and tire might offset the bigger diameter. I would love to try 27" but don't think I can pull them on a steep climb, so am leaning toward 26"

sfrankland · #13 (**permalink**) 12-01-2010, 2:47 PM

A narrow front tire will make turning easier but to be honest I can turn the wheel lock to lock with the tracks on and they are a lot heavier and have a huge contact patch compared to a tire. I will weigh the tires and rims some time soon and see what the difference is. Most site how ever list tire and rim weight so you should be able to do some basic math and compare your options before you buy.

OFRC boy · #14 (**permalink**) 12-18-2010, 5:23 PM

I am going to pull the trigger soon on a set of aluminum rims with 26-11X12 for all 4 corners. Thoughts please

sfrankland · #15 (**permalink**) 12-18-2010, 7:02 PM

I think you will be happy with 11" all the way around. I am looking at carrying a spare with me next year so I am thinking I can buy a new rim and two new tires. This will allow me to carry the 9" tire as a spare and two wider tires in the front. I was thinking 10" but 11" maybe a better choice. I will stay with the 26" Swamp Lites for now.

I was also looking at building a small camper trailer to do some back country camping next summer and was going to run the same tire on the trailer as the bike so I could have 3 spares if need be.

OFRC boy · #16 (**permalink**) 12-18-2010, 8:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfrankland

I was also looking at building a small camper trailer to do some back country camping next summer and was going to run the same tire on the trailer as the bike so I could have 3 spares if need be.

I will try to post a picture of my trailer for ideas. I use it to haul elk out with my Honda Rubicon quad and it works great and is the same width as the quad.

sfrankland · #17 (**permalink**) 04-09-2011, 4:50 PM

Well I picked up two new 26-12-12 tires for the front. Looks a lot better and I have no issues with rubbing.

sfrankland · #18 (**permalink**) 04-10-2011, 11:07 PM

Got out for a good run today and got to ride on just about every surface you can imagine. In the snow they hooked up surprisingly well. I figured they would of dug in more but they provide a good mix between flotation and traction. My buddy on his Rhino was with me all day with his Mud Lites and other than a little slid slip with the Mud Lites both did good.

On the rough sections of trail they seemed to soak up some of the rough stuff better than the stockers ever did. On the rocks they seemed to hook up good as well, though the rock sections where not overly large they were on some steep inclines and she handled it without concern. In the steep loose terrain again they provided lots of traction and climbing long steep wet hills was no problems. Again compared to the Mud Lites they were on par.

In the hard packed gravel roads noise was not an issue. The increase noise was not nearly as bad as it thought it would be and was bairly louder than the stock tires. The one issue I did notice was the increase in the amount of rocks the tires picked up and threw at the undercarriage of the bike. This wasn't much of an issue but did make the ride a little less enjoyable as you had to listen to the fairly constant noise of rocks beating off the bike. I think once the tires wear a little this will become less of an issue, but time will tell.

In the mud they did a lot better than stock and with the wider tire in the front now I found flotation was a lot better. They powered through some pretty slick, ice and snow mixed bottomless mud. They preformed much better than I expected but I think the Mud Lite shines a little more in this sort of terrain. I went into some pretty bad spots where as my buddy seem to take the easier route but then again with the temp only a few degrees above freezing no one wanted to get stuck.

Overall very pleased with the tires. I will post some more reviews on the mud side once the weather warms up some more.