New Tires For Ice Fishing

[Mike Burke]

Looking for suggestions on new tires for my 1983 Honda 200a three wheeler
Right now I have 25x12x9




I will be using it for ice fishing only ( right now anyway )

For the Rear :
I have read about Maxis 4 snow's
I have read guys suggesting Bear Claws

For the Front:
I have seen suggestions about the Kenda Front Max

For the first ice its slick with little to no snow cover
Then later it might get some snow and it might be hard packed or driftey.....

For the Ice fisherman.....whats going to be a good combonation..

Kenda Max Front
4 Snows on the back

Kenda Max Front
Bear Claws on back

Should I get a set of Chains ?
I don't really don't what to put studs in my tires

If I stick with my rear tires I have and use chains I definitely want to get a new tire for the front so it steers better.

Is the Kenda Max Front the way to go on front ?

It would be a different size than I have now
Looks like it would be a 21x8x9
Would that be ok to run with my current rear tires ? 25x12x9

Thanks,
Mike

[dmfaulks85]

Definatly get the 4 snows for the back, the grip is insane in the snow and pretty good on ice as well

[fabiodriven]

I disagree wholeheartedly. 4snows are a snow tire, not an ice tire. They're just as bad as any other unstudded tire on the ice. The only way you're truly going to be able to move on the ice is with studs or possibly chains. I've never personally run chains so I can't speak too much about that. I have run studs though and I have run 4snows unstudded on ice. You wouldn't be impressed.

[Yamada]

Stay away from Kenda for the ice. What make they so great is that they use a hard compound rubber for high wear resistance. On the ice you want so rubber. 4-snow are soft compound and you can lower the air pressure as low as you want.
I think chain is a very good idea. I want to try it this winter.

[coolpool]

I'd say stick with rubber only or rubber with studs. I have OHTSU Pro-Vector H-Trac II's on my Camo US90. They work good in most conditions; kind of like the 4-snows. Chains can cause a LOT of damage in a very short period of time. You only need to break one cross link and your nice plastic is a goner. IF you're going to run chains, deflate your tires, install them tight and air up. Then drive slooooooow!

[Keepah Rolln]

Save money with the tires you have on it now and put a bunch of screws in them. Front and back. They look like they have enough meat on the treads as long as they clear the fenders ok.....Than you can get some nice tires in the spring..Thats what im doing on my sx's this winter...It will get more traction than bumpy clanky chains and those snow tires wont do anything on ice....MFG Supply online you can get a great deal on ice screws also...

[Mike Burke]

Thanks for the suggestions,

So what kind of screws or studs would be the best to use. There are alot of them out there.
Kold Kutters
Woodys Carbide twist screws

Thanks

[jeswinehart]

I run chains on a couple of trikes when I was into ice fishing with great success. Economical + don't dedicate a set of tires for one specific use.
I found that by using good quality rubber bungee stretch cords on both sides of the tire to keep the chains taunt works the BEST. Don't rely on the tire pressure only to hold the chains in place. I gurentee the chains will work themselves off the tires and flop around causing unneeded damage
The chains I used was old car/truck tire chains cut down to fit rear ATC tires.

john

[fabiodriven]

I love Kold Kutters. Don't waste your time with regular screws not intended for use as studs. They will wear out in no time!

[hoosierlogger]

If you use screws do like the previous owner of a trike I bought did. Use screws that penetrate the tire by 1/2". That way they will have hundreds of leaky holes when you take the screws out. And run them till they are worn down so much you have to take a dremel and cut slots in them for a screw driver.

[fabiodriven]

Haha, nice Greg. Honestly most studs do penetrate the tire. If leakage becomes an issue tire slime will solve that. It's worked very well for me.

Cue the slime haters.

[Keepah Rolln]

Kold Kutter 3/8-inch would be good if your treads are not deep enough. MFG supply has the 1/2 inch which i'll be getting because my tires will be new with deep treads..Plus the price is about only 50 bucks for 1000 ice screws and they look like a good product made in the usa..This will be my first year doing this also for ice fishing season and they should last with minimal wear unless you drive on any pavement or hard dirt roads which I don't...If you go the ice screw route put up some pics...

MFG Pro gold 1/2 inch

[MotorCity]

I like to ice fish as well. Looking forward this year. I got chains for my '85 Big Red. Works great. Picked them up from Cabellas I think they were around 90.00 4 years ago. Letting all teh air out and installing them, then airing up makes it a bit easier.

Kold Kutters would work great as well.

[bkvette3]

Can't wait for the ice fishing season to arrive - '84 200es is ready to chase some walleyes. That reminds me - need to find my flasher.