By USA6X6 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

For the 6X6 is this necessary?
Has anyone lost a bead due to low pressure?
Just fishing for market research...thanks.

By Midwest atv's #1 since 2000 (Hustler) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Yes I think it is necessary. The K-rims with double beadlocks are great wheels. I run my Max IV with little or no air in the tires. Usually around 1 to 1 1/2# on the corners and no air in the middle. I have ran my left front for a weekend ride with the valve stem pulled out. No air and never lost a bead. I know guys that have 2 to 4# or even more lose a bead on the rims that are not double beadlock.

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I agree with Troy, Low PSI tires are very hard to keep air in. There are methods used to keep beads sealed or you can carry an air compressor, but the Max K-rim is very good.

Too much air in the tires and the resulting stiff ride is one of the reasons skid steers do not have a larger following. What we need is a 15 inch wide tire that mounts to a 9 inch diameter K-rim.

By terry harrison (Th3) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

tell me more about the k-rims. this is the first i have heard about them. are these aftermarket, or do they come on the max from the factory? i rode with a guy that was running 2.5# on his max iv and he pushed the side of the tire off the rim. the tire filled up with water and made it hard for him to finish the ride. i run 3.5# in mine, but want to run lower, but dont want to risk loosing a tire seal around the rim. im intrested in whatever will let me run lower tire pressure. i thought about putting screws in the rim.

By shane forsythe (Shanefor1) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

wow that's great.

i'm in australia, does any aussie know of a seller of bead lock rims in au???

shanefor1@yahoo.com.au
thanks shane.

By Bud on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Are the K rims on newer Max vehicles all double beadlocks?

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Terry, You have the K-rims. They have been standard equipment on max since 1998 or 1999. You should be able to drop your pressure to 2PSI and be OK. After about six hours of use (when the beads are firmly set) tires on the K-rims stay beaded very well.

By Bob Eells on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey guys! I have a 2000 Max II and I learned about K- rims from Richard Clark. The max I have came from the factory with K-rims. I ordered two rims from Richard to mount my paddle tires on. I put these on the rear of the max for added traction in mud and more sppeed in the water. The paddle tires are run at 1 PSI and have never come off. And they are pretty floppy.

By terry harrison (Th3) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

i dropped my tires to 2 psi. the traction increased and the ride softened up, this is great! but.... on the second ride i did loose a tire on the front right. i did this by tring to follow a quad down a creek bank that had a narrow path cut into the bank with 5' walls on each side. on the way in i was wedged with my tires off the ground and had to be winched down to the creek bed. on the way back i had to go up the way i was winched down. this was not easy. it took 4 tries, smashing into the opening to knock dirt off to make room for the max to fit. on the third try the front right tire was dislodged from the outer rim and was filled with dirt and mud. but on the fourth try i was able to fit and made it up and out of the creek bed. the exposed rim cut away the dirt and made room for the other tires. i thought i could ride in with the outer tire bead off the rim but the tire would rub and was making a groove in the body. it took a rope, winch line and two pine logs, and a 12 volt air compresser to set the bead and make it out.

im looking at tubes and rim screws to prevent it from happening again. most quad mud holes have a narrow width and cause the max tires to drag along the side of the rut causing the rim to collect mud and dirt at the point where the tire meets the rim. if you remember this it will help you avoid loosing a tire bead when running a low psi. i watched a fellow aatv driver loose a tire bead by bumping a tree while trying to make it down a nasty trail. i think most people dont ride extreem and would not have to worry about loosing a tire bead with low psi on k-rims. i have the k-rims and i still need to screw-em down, but i tend to ride harded than most.

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Terry, before you use screws, why don't you try cleaning the bead area up real well and just use water for lubricant. The factory uses tire lubricant when they are mounting and some times it keeps the beads from sticking real well.

By terry harrison (Th3) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

i want to run 1 psi or even lower. at that low of a pressure do you think a washing and water lube would keep the tires on the rims considering the way i drive? if you really think it will work for me i will give it a try. but i do ride hard. i have angle iron completely around my max for a reason. if im not running over it im running into it. i like to launch over logs and hit creek banks under hard throttle. after watching the tire pop off the rim on a friends max iv because he bumped a tree i feel like screws are the thing for me, but, i do respect your opinion, if you think that will work, ill do it.

By Roger Smith on Unrecorded Date: Edit

So the k rims come in 8 and 12" ?

Any other sizes?

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Terry, I don't know. Don't have enough experience with the k-rims to tell you for sure. I don't ride hard like you do and maybe it won't work. I'm just cautious, I guess. Before I defaced $1500 worth of tires and rims, I'd try everything else first. Was the Max IV tire that hit the tree a K-rim?

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Roger, 8" and 12" are the only sizes I am aware of. I keep pulling for a 9", but so far, no luck. A call to RI will tell you for sure. I haven't asked recently. Anyone who calls RI about anything should put in a plug for a factory option of the T-20 split shift (th3 has convinced me!).

By masteratver on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Roger

Richard Clark owner of this site has bead lock
rims at cheap prices

Masteratver Preston

By terry harrison (Th3) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

im not for sure if he had k-rims or not. i did notice how easy the tire came off the rim, though..

By terry harrison (Th3) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

im not for sure if he had k-rims or not. i did notice how easy the tire came off the rim, though..

By Daniel Little (Usa6x6) (67.65.248.216) on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 08:04 am: Edit

Does K rims have a website?

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) (216.166.168.53) on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 01:25 pm: Edit

K-rims is a nickname given by (I think) Carl Bish, an RI factory Rep) to the Kawasaki wheels that RI has made for and uses on the current Max machines. I think the only place they are available from is RI and RI dealers (but I could be wrong on this). A phone call to Recreatives (800)255 - 2511 will get you all the information that you need.

By Midwest atv's #1 since 2000 (Hustler) (64.136.49.229) on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 12:36 pm: Edit

Fred is correct. I have talked with Kawasaki reps and they have no ideal about the wheels. It must be some type of deal the RI has with Kawasaki. The only way I know of getting these is from RI and of course us dealers.

By terry harrison (Th3) (63.67.88.15) on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 10:14 am: Edit

i have had some trouble keeping the front tires on the k-rims.

on the last trip down the trail leaving the duck hole we(i had my hunting buddy with me in the max) were heading back to the truck after a day of hunting and i drove into a hole in the trail that was deeper than i expected but shouldnt have been a problem. the tire on the front that was in the bottom of the hole came off the outer rim again. i was running 2 psi.

this created a big problem. we were a long way from the truck and we were the only ones around. i couldnt drive because of the tire cutting a groove in the body and we had no tools. we ended up using the robo duck rod to pry the tire bead to the outside of the rim so we could limp in. the tire still would rub but not near as bad.

i took all the tires off and went to the local tire shop and told them about my problem. they broke the tires down, cleaned the beads, put some kind of black sealer on the beads and put the tires back on the rims.

i will running 5 psi for a month before i draw it back down to 2 psi to give the sealer time to set. i hope this works. i looked at the area i had to screw to and there is not much meat on the bead. i may not be able to use screws to keep the beads set after all.

if this doesnt work i guess i will have to give tubes a try.

it sure would be nice to have 26x12x9or8 tires and rims.

By Rogersmith (Rogersmith) (4.244.174.38) on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 06:06 pm: Edit

Terry, my experience is tubes won't keep the bead on any better. If the tube isn't punctured in the event, it may let you drive out or reseat the bead. If you hurt the tube, better have a valve stem and installer tool to make it tubeless again.

Gluing the bead is my path right now. I made it through a Haspin weekend with no bead problems.. we'll see.

By philip w.cox (Philipatmaxfour) (216.209.98.17) on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 11:41 pm: Edit

I just watched a movie that I got from David Berger called Extreme Mud. It's a great movie.
You see him drive his two stroke like a maniac.A shot shows his left center tire with so little air in it that it has a big crease when it's parked on level ground. Hey Dave come back. Did you change that tire before the extreme drive out??Warren Philip