A very informative and intelligent review. With your racing/driving background, you add a great perspective. I have not seen a negative review of the Terrabites. I have a 2020 Can Am Trail 1000 dps and after looking at all the options, have decided to upgrade the tires to Terrabites. I have no interest in fancy, bigger or wider wheels. I just want a safer and more dependable tire for trail and road travel. We're in Idaho where there is plenty of both types of riding. Thanks for taking the time to produce a great video. You validated my decision.
Thanks for your review! I just purchased a second set of 12" wheels and ordered the 27x9(11)x12 Terrabite tires for summer while keeping my stock Dirt Commanders for winter as they seem to work well studded up for snow and ice here in Minnesota. With my 1000S I'm forced to steer with the throttle on fireroads and am looking forward to steering as if every corner's apex matters again while using the throttle to resist hooking the outside wheels and flipping. Appreciate your review discussing handling dynamics.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video and your other "walk-around" video talking about service, etc. We're in the market for a UTV and appreciate an owner's perspective. We've traveled the US riding ATV's and dual sports. Wondering what part of AZ you live. Thinking some of the scenery looked familiar from our visits there back in 2006 - 2008! Thanks again! We live in NH now...
Thanks for the great video I have been driving myself crazy, ( actually just a short walk) with what tires to install on our two 2015 trail eps RZR. We do not have many public roads to ride here in Pa but your review is a big help. You were so helpful with your posting about the stones flying thru the radiator. Since I did the honeycomb treatment to both my wife's and my RZR over 5,000 miles between them and no stones thru the radiator. Keep up the great videos and thank you so very much.
Thanks! Looks from your videos like your trails are fairly similar to mine. I'm guessing these won't be as good in the snow as the stock tires though. The stock tires are more of "paddle" type tires and have sticky rubber. They were pretty good in the snow. I'll have to wait for winter to find out, it's been a pretty dry winter/spring here in northern AZ.
Just got the tires on my machine since mine were worn out and my wife's are only about half worn out. I love the look and I did drive it around the house and back the township road, now just have to wait till the end of this month for the trails to open here in pa. Thanks again for the great advice.
The only thing I've found is the front tires are 13 pounds EACH more than stock...well the play in my front diff is now bad enough that I have to pull it and look at the internals. Adding load to worn bits can reveal issues that weren't as obvious with the lighter tires!
Two rides on the new tires so far, and I am pleased. Did notice a little stiffer ride, but after all it is an off road machine not a pleasure car. Thank you again for the comprehensive review.
We're seriously considering these for our CFORCE 500's. We do mostly hard-pack and rocky trails here in the Black Hills. Would I be able to run square on these? Thanks, great vid!
Some years of the RZR 900 had the same size front and rear tire. They went back to a wider rear but if the machine is set up that way, I don’t see why you couldn’t. Just make sure the front tires have plenty of clearance when you turn full-lock. On the RZRs, it was the front tire width they used all the way around.
I have a 2017 RZR 900 Trail. If you are having ground clearance issues, the stock springs/shocks sag after less than a year. Both your front and back A arms/ axles are almost horizontal, which limits your suspension travel by quite a bit, and kills ground clearance. I gained almost 2 in ground clearance replacing the shocks (Bandit Series 46). A new set of springs on the stock Sachs shocks would also improve ground clearance, and make the ride much smoother. Getting the suspension back to the right angles improves ride quality, and improving the springs through new shocks/springs makes body roll much less, making the machine handle much better at speed, and on the trail. This would also solve the camber issues in the rear, due to the suspension no longer sagging, and tipping the top of the wheel in.
Thanks. I measured the ride height and at the rear it's pretty close to original but the springs are showing a lot of wear from sandblasting and one of the shocks has a squeak in it...5,000 miles is taking its toll. I also now notice the very pronounced play in the inner CV splines on the driver's side of the machine. I think I'm going to end up replacing the axles/CVs all the way around.
allegroracing Glad all is well. Stock ground clearance should be 10 inches on stock tires, and I was closer to 8.5 inches before my new shocks. New shocks and 28 in tires and I am now at 11.25 in front and 11 in rear. Glad to see yours still up and going at over 5,000 miles. Gives me hope ;)
One thing I realized is that I had never changed the preload. Since the machine is the age and miles it is, I cranked on one turn of preload at the front and 2 at the back (to account for the heavy spare tire) and it has really helped the ground clearance. Both the shocks and springs are getting pretty close to needing replacement though.
You can tighten the spring tension as the spring wears in. This guy is a race car driver and not a tuner guy. He wants a machine you drive and not tune. Have a great day.
The shipping for me was free from their website. I'm getting close to 8,000 miles...still have this set of tires! The only issue I'm having is they get leaky (probably because of the bad bead) so I have had to add slime and check them frequently but they are still going strong. Rear has worn more than front but they still have a long way to go.
My RZR is identical to yours but my fronts are 26x8x12 and my rears are 26x9x12. Should I just get 27x9x12's all the way around? Or do I need to look for something else so I can keep the front ones narrower than the rears? Thanks in advance!
It seems that Polaris changed the Trail from the wider front tires on earlier machines to the same all the way around. If that's how yours came, I'd leave it. The advantage being the spare tire of that size will work in any position.
Great review thanks think I'm going to get the same tires. Quick question for you I just did the door lowers on my 900 trail did you find that the triangle filler pieces didn't fit very well with out some persuasion . Thanks
Yes, the Polaris accessories don't fit very well. They have proven to be pretty mud/water tight despite the poor fit but they never seem very satisfactory when you look at them.
Are the wheels the same front and back? I know some machines have a different offset front to back but thinking the trail have the same wheels front and back.
Mine were different front and back. Later they did change them to the same width front and back and the same tire front and back. But mine came standard with wider rear wheels. I think 2015 was an early model. I'm not sure why the changed it. The wider back tires make sense given the light weight and power. I tend to wear those out much faster than the fronts.
Yes, though A lot of the rides (particularly near my house) are rides I do pretty frequently. I have 11,250 miles between my 2015 and the 2023 I just got to replace it.
I don't race any more but I stared out in karts, then worked at the Jim Russell British School of motor racing and raced Formula Fords and Formula Mazda. Later (for fun) I raced various Honda Civics in NASA enduros and then had a Radical Prosport that we did enduros with and the Radical Cup then finally raced a Stohr 04D in SCCA. I have some videos from the Radical on my channel.
Answer or don’t, I understand. Where are you riding these trails at? Here in Colorado they are slightly different. I don’t have my mind made up on 50” trail or 60+”. I want the trail due to your videos.
Northern Arizona. These are National Forest trails and the sign shows an icon with "NO SIDE BY SIDES" but under the icon it says "NO VEHICLES OVER 50" WIDE" That is the loophole that lets you take a 50" side-by-side on them. That and being able to fit through the gate. Sometimes it's a real gate (like in the video) and sometimes it's boulders or some other obstacle that you can't get through if you're wider than 50" (plus a little bit of margin).
Oh, and the reason they have the 50" limit is that the trail is only maintained to that width and there may be parts of the trail with a dropoff or obstacles (like boulders or gaps between trees) that would be extremely dangerous for a vehicle that is wider than the trail. I have a few places where I can BARELY get around a sharp turn with a dropoff on a couple of 50" trails and many of these trails are overgrown and I get tons of scratches and marks on the RZR from them. They're still fun though :)
I have a 2019 900 Trail "50" EPS in Michigan. I am allowed to ride on 50" trails in this State. I usually don't although I can... Reason being ATVs and Dirt Bikes are flying on these trails and escaping a head-on crash with them would almost be impossible! Trails are too narrow and don't allow a clear area to pull off the trail in most incidents. My wife and I have learned over the years not to be riding the trails after 4pm Friday until Monday morning... We had too many close head-on calls on hidden/ blind corners. Most trails in Northern Lower Peninsula are majority deep sand. Its impossible to stay "high" on an outside curve!! YOU ALWAYS SLIDE DOWN TO THE INSIDE CORNER ON A SANDY CORNER! DANGEROUS!!
I am running 27x9x12 on all four corners, myself. It seems to work well for me. It also gives me the option to be able to rotate. Is there a valid reason to run a larger tire in the rear than the front?
From what I now understand, some of the 900s were made with wider rears (like mine) and some had the same size all around. But usually the wider rears help with accelerative traction though whichever way the thing was designed was probably how the suspension geometry was set up so if it was set up for same size all the way around leave it. If it was set up for the wider rears, leave that.
We're very lucky. As soon as we had decided to move here I started researching an off-road machine and it is almost a crime to live here and not have one. Az is one of only a couple of states that allow RZRs to be street legal. Car registration is expensive here but the RZR is only $15/yr + $25/yr for an off-road sticker. Insurance is about $250/yr.
A very informative and intelligent review. With your racing/driving background, you add a great perspective. I have not seen a negative review of the Terrabites. I have a 2020 Can Am Trail 1000 dps and after looking at all the options, have decided to upgrade the tires to Terrabites. I have no interest in fancy, bigger or wider wheels. I just want a safer and more dependable tire for trail and road travel. We're in Idaho where there is plenty of both types of riding. Thanks for taking the time to produce a great video. You validated my decision.
Thanks for your review! I just purchased a second set of 12" wheels and ordered the 27x9(11)x12 Terrabite tires for summer while keeping my stock Dirt Commanders for winter as they seem to work well studded up for snow and ice here in Minnesota. With my 1000S I'm forced to steer with the throttle on fireroads and am looking forward to steering as if every corner's apex matters again while using the throttle to resist hooking the outside wheels and flipping. Appreciate your review discussing handling dynamics.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video and your other "walk-around" video talking about service, etc. We're in the market for a UTV and appreciate an owner's perspective. We've traveled the US riding ATV's and dual sports. Wondering what part of AZ you live. Thinking some of the scenery looked familiar from our visits there back in 2006 - 2008! Thanks again! We live in NH now...
Thanks for the great video I have been driving myself crazy, ( actually just a short walk) with what tires to install on our two 2015 trail eps RZR. We do not have many public roads to ride here in Pa but your review is a big help. You were so helpful with your posting about the stones flying thru the radiator. Since I did the honeycomb treatment to both my wife's and my RZR over 5,000 miles between them and no stones thru the radiator. Keep up the great videos and thank you so very much.
Thanks! Looks from your videos like your trails are fairly similar to mine. I'm guessing these won't be as good in the snow as the stock tires though. The stock tires are more of "paddle" type tires and have sticky rubber. They were pretty good in the snow. I'll have to wait for winter to find out, it's been a pretty dry winter/spring here in northern AZ.
Just got the tires on my machine since mine were worn out and my wife's are only about half worn out. I love the look and I did drive it around the house and back the township road, now just have to wait till the end of this month for the trails to open here in pa. Thanks again for the great advice.
The only thing I've found is the front tires are 13 pounds EACH more than stock...well the play in my front diff is now bad enough that I have to pull it and look at the internals. Adding load to worn bits can reveal issues that weren't as obvious with the lighter tires!
Two rides on the new tires so far, and I am pleased. Did notice a little stiffer ride, but after all it is an off road machine not a pleasure car. Thank you again for the comprehensive review.
We're seriously considering these for our CFORCE 500's. We do mostly hard-pack and rocky trails here in the Black Hills. Would I be able to run square on these? Thanks, great vid!
Some years of the RZR 900 had the same size front and rear tire. They went back to a wider rear but if the machine is set up that way, I don’t see why you couldn’t. Just make sure the front tires have plenty of clearance when you turn full-lock. On the RZRs, it was the front tire width they used all the way around.
sounds like you made handling more neutral
I have a 2017 RZR 900 Trail.
If you are having ground clearance issues, the stock springs/shocks sag after less than a year. Both your front and back A arms/ axles are almost horizontal, which limits your suspension travel by quite a bit, and kills ground clearance. I gained almost 2 in ground clearance replacing the shocks (Bandit Series 46). A new set of springs on the stock Sachs shocks would also improve ground clearance, and make the ride much smoother. Getting the suspension back to the right angles improves ride quality, and improving the springs through new shocks/springs makes body roll much less, making the machine handle much better at speed, and on the trail.
This would also solve the camber issues in the rear, due to the suspension no longer sagging, and tipping the top of the wheel in.
Thanks. I measured the ride height and at the rear it's pretty close to original but the springs are showing a lot of wear from sandblasting and one of the shocks has a squeak in it...5,000 miles is taking its toll. I also now notice the very pronounced play in the inner CV splines on the driver's side of the machine. I think I'm going to end up replacing the axles/CVs all the way around.
allegroracing Glad all is well. Stock ground clearance should be 10 inches on stock tires, and I was closer to 8.5 inches before my new shocks. New shocks and 28 in tires and I am now at 11.25 in front and 11 in rear.
Glad to see yours still up and going at over 5,000 miles. Gives me hope ;)
One thing I realized is that I had never changed the preload. Since the machine is the age and miles it is, I cranked on one turn of preload at the front and 2 at the back (to account for the heavy spare tire) and it has really helped the ground clearance. Both the shocks and springs are getting pretty close to needing replacement though.
Remember to take mesurments with the car fully loaded with people, gear and gas.
You can tighten the spring tension as the spring wears in. This guy is a race car driver and not a tuner guy. He wants a machine you drive and not tune. Have a great day.
Love this review. Makes me want a set for my trail, just got to find away to get them up north without an arm and a leg on shipping. Great video!
The shipping for me was free from their website. I'm getting close to 8,000 miles...still have this set of tires! The only issue I'm having is they get leaky (probably because of the bad bead) so I have had to add slime and check them frequently but they are still going strong. Rear has worn more than front but they still have a long way to go.
Great review sir. Thanks
I miss your Polaris 900 videos!!
Thanks. I'm saving it up for an 8,000 mile review! Won't be too long!
My RZR is identical to yours but my fronts are 26x8x12 and my rears are 26x9x12. Should I just get 27x9x12's all the way around? Or do I need to look for something else so I can keep the front ones narrower than the rears? Thanks in advance!
It seems that Polaris changed the Trail from the wider front tires on earlier machines to the same all the way around. If that's how yours came, I'd leave it. The advantage being the spare tire of that size will work in any position.
Wider would be better on the sandy trails, more traction on sand and snow.
Great review thanks think I'm going to get the same tires. Quick question for you I just did the door lowers on my 900 trail did you find that the triangle filler pieces didn't fit very well with out some persuasion . Thanks
Yes, the Polaris accessories don't fit very well. They have proven to be pretty mud/water tight despite the poor fit but they never seem very satisfactory when you look at them.
Are the wheels the same front and back? I know some machines have a different offset front to back but thinking the trail have the same wheels front and back.
Mine were different front and back. Later they did change them to the same width front and back and the same tire front and back. But mine came standard with wider rear wheels. I think 2015 was an early model. I'm not sure why the changed it. The wider back tires make sense given the light weight and power. I tend to wear those out much faster than the fronts.
Good, informative video. (Was that a humming bird cameo at 4:02?)
I think it was a bee! LOL.
Have you tried 28’s I have a plow and it’s hitting on the trail just trying to gain some height
I haven't. I'm still using the "26" size of Terrabites. They're taller than the OEM tires that are also "26"
are there really that many miles of atc trails you can ride on legally there?
Yes, though A lot of the rides (particularly near my house) are rides I do pretty frequently. I have 11,250 miles between my 2015 and the 2023 I just got to replace it.
Can you tell me the front and rear tire sizes you have? If you said it in the video and I missed it I apologize.
Front: 27 x 9 x 12, Rear: 27 x 11 x 12
Still having good luck with these tires? I have the stock GBC Dirt Commander tires and I get holes in the sidewalls all the time.
So far so good. I have been attacking my rocky trails with far less caution than I had to exercise with the stock tires and have no punctures so far.
Made a new video just today. Beat the crap out of them and no issues: th-cam.com/video/Pihi8yOZo6M/w-d-xo.html
Immediately knew you were a driver when I heard the lingo you were using to describe its handling. What kind of racing do you do?
I don't race any more but I stared out in karts, then worked at the Jim Russell British School of motor racing and raced Formula Fords and Formula Mazda. Later (for fun) I raced various Honda Civics in NASA enduros and then had a Radical Prosport that we did enduros with and the Radical Cup then finally raced a Stohr 04D in SCCA. I have some videos from the Radical on my channel.
We were wanting to do that! Does it delete the warranty. Ours is a 2018 and we want bigger tires for sure.
I don't see how it could void the warranty but it does add more load to the driveline. Might want to talk to a Polaris dealer just to be sure.
Answer or don’t, I understand. Where are you riding these trails at? Here in Colorado they are slightly different. I don’t have my mind made up on 50” trail or 60+”. I want the trail due to your videos.
Northern Arizona. These are National Forest trails and the sign shows an icon with "NO SIDE BY SIDES" but under the icon it says "NO VEHICLES OVER 50" WIDE" That is the loophole that lets you take a 50" side-by-side on them. That and being able to fit through the gate. Sometimes it's a real gate (like in the video) and sometimes it's boulders or some other obstacle that you can't get through if you're wider than 50" (plus a little bit of margin).
Oh, and the reason they have the 50" limit is that the trail is only maintained to that width and there may be parts of the trail with a dropoff or obstacles (like boulders or gaps between trees) that would be extremely dangerous for a vehicle that is wider than the trail. I have a few places where I can BARELY get around a sharp turn with a dropoff on a couple of 50" trails and many of these trails are overgrown and I get tons of scratches and marks on the RZR from them. They're still fun though :)
I have a 2019 900 Trail "50" EPS in Michigan. I am allowed to ride on 50" trails in this State. I usually don't although I can... Reason being ATVs and Dirt Bikes are flying on these trails and escaping a head-on crash with them would almost be impossible! Trails are too narrow and don't allow a clear area to pull off the trail in most incidents. My wife and I have learned over the years not to be riding the trails after 4pm Friday until Monday morning... We had too many close head-on calls on hidden/ blind corners. Most trails in Northern Lower Peninsula are majority deep sand. Its impossible to stay "high" on an outside curve!! YOU ALWAYS SLIDE DOWN TO THE INSIDE CORNER ON A SANDY CORNER! DANGEROUS!!
I am running 27x9x12 on all four corners, myself. It seems to work well for me. It also gives me the option to be able to rotate. Is there a valid reason to run a larger tire in the rear than the front?
From what I now understand, some of the 900s were made with wider rears (like mine) and some had the same size all around. But usually the wider rears help with accelerative traction though whichever way the thing was designed was probably how the suspension geometry was set up so if it was set up for same size all the way around leave it. If it was set up for the wider rears, leave that.
Can you mount those tires on the stock rims?
Sorry, I missed your comment here. Yes, I'm using them on the stock rims the 900 EPS Trail came with (the alloys).
Jealous of your riding area. Illinois it is limited.
We're very lucky. As soon as we had decided to move here I started researching an off-road machine and it is almost a crime to live here and not have one. Az is one of only a couple of states that allow RZRs to be street legal. Car registration is expensive here but the RZR is only $15/yr + $25/yr for an off-road sticker. Insurance is about $250/yr.