[mikey]

Hello all I'm new to the forum so I want to pick your brains a little on past mods some of you may have done and what your recomendations are for my wheeler. Im currently in the Middle East but should be home in the next month or two but while home on leave last fall I picked an 06 Grizzly and of course I bought some 27" x 11" tires and wheels and mounted them up using spacers (I believe they were 2") but I cant remember the brand name right now......

Any way I was planning on doing a 2" HL lift and Gorilla axels when I got home but after spending many hours reading this and other forums I find that alot of people running lifted Grizzlies have nothing but trouble. In alot of cases guys are stating that they plan to or have taken the kits out and have gone back to the stock suspension and a shorter tire etc.

My wheeler will be used mainly for play, hunting, trail riding, camping trips and some mudding etc. but not for any serious mud competition or anything like that so Im looking for recomendations from you guys that have gone down the lifting/axel road.....do you guys think its worth it now after having spent hundreds, maybe thousands on all of those items or would you doing it all over keep the stock suspension and run a smaller tire with a few upgrades? I really was planning on doin the lift etc and thats why I went with the tire/wheel combo and the wheel spacers....If I dont lift it I think I will have to cut the front fenders to keep the tire fender contact down. Anyone do any cutting on theirs? If so how did it turn out.

I like most want to keep the wheeler reliable so I dont end up wheeling with my kids out in the middle of the wilderness somewhere trying to deal with axels coming out or other problems.

Sorry about the long winded first post, thanks to those that may reply and thanks for a very informative website.

Mikey

 

[maceydog]

Mikey, Don't know much about what your asking, on the lift and such, but I am also intersted in the tire size. Do you like the ITP XTR tirse you have, and do they rub right now the way you have them on there. Also did you lose alot of power by adding them? I just bought an 06' 660 camo, and I like the way your bike looks. Any info would be great. Thanks and be safe over there....

 

[drs.weaver]

Hi Mikey, welcome. I run 27" XTRS without the lift and with no spacers the only plastic I needed to trim was the rear fender. I took about a inch out on both sides and smoothed it out. now I have no rubbing problems. can't help with the lift and axel? but others can. Be safe walt

 

[mikey]

Firelab, I like the tires alot and I really didnt notice any power loss in the short time that I rode it. The tires dont rub until you go into a full turn or an angle up/down with a little turn.

Grizfatboyrider, Thanks for the info on the fenders, I've got a little bit longer over here to learn what others have done and what works reliably before I get home and do anything but trimming the fenders a bit does seem to be a decant option.

Mikey

 

[maceydog]

Mikey, Are those 12" rims or 14" rims on your bike?

 

[maceydog]

Grizfatboyrider, Where did u have to cut on the rear fender? Down low? You got a pic of your bike?

 

[nearfuturegrizz]

mikey- welcome and i love your grizz. and the ford to the left of the pic is awesome. nothing goes better than a brand new grizz and a ford. is your truck a crew cab??? sorry dont know much about lifts and axles... but from the looks of it in your pic i'd say you dont need a lift anyways. you could always cram a gorilla axle under to take more a of beating and abuse than the stock crappy axle. good luck with that. oh and im guessing your F-350 is a single axle too right? or is it a dually? dually's are the best. hehe.

 

[xtremegrizz]

Well not much knowledge here on lifts and such but I did read that Gorilla just has released a update to holding the axles in. It does away with the OEM clips and has some positive locking method that holds them in. Did not really read too much on it since I have not had a problem with it *so far as I knock on wood*.
BTW nice looking quad and welcome to the site.

Mike

 

[irv]

Welcome to the site Mikey, great looking quad! I just added some 27 inch 589's on mine and the tires only rubbed on the rear fenders that I noticed? I just used a utility knive and cut about a half an inch off the lower fender. It cut real easy and I could see exactly where it was rubbing so that is all I took. I don't plan on lifting my grizz or adding aftermarket axles but I don't do severe mudding either. I have only had 1 ride with the new tires and I like it the way it is, I gained about 2 inches in ride height compared to the stockers and with the type 4 ITP wheels about 4 inches wider on the rear. So that is plenty high and wide enough for me. I also take my young lad with me alot so I know what you mean about reliability. I guess it boils down to what you like and how you ride? I would try it the way it is for now and then decide after you have some more miles on it.(Are yours the same width all around?) Good Luck and be safe over there!.....Irv

 

[usmcgriz]

welcome mikey, first off what part of iraq and what branch of uncle sam are you in? the griz is nice looking, go big or go home huh? LOL i am also new to this site and just returned in november. good luck and good hunting. semper fi, Marinegriz

 

[mikey]

Firelab, The wheels are 12".

Nearfuturegriz, Yes it is a crew cab.

Irv, Yes the wheels and tires are the same all the way around, thats why I went w/the spacers. Thanks for the sound advice, thats pretty much my sentiments exactly on the axles and lift at this point.

Xtremegriz, I read about the Gorilla update, probably a good idea to wait and see how those hold up before paying the big bucks for them.

Marinegriz, I've been over here as a PMC doing PSD for about 14 months. I'm currently in B-dad until I head home but was up in Kirkuk, Suly, Erbil area for about 5 months before coming back down here. Thank you Bro for your service to our wonderful country!

Thanks all for your advice and comments, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna like visiting this site regularly.

Mikey

 

[jpmacmillan7473]

i have HL 2 inch lift and modified coil springs have not had any trouble with it running 28 outlaw tires .as for the gorrila axles ...go ahead and break your stock ones then get them ..

 

[drs.weaver]

firelab, Down low, just behind the floorboards. Willl try for a px thisweekend. Walt

 

[rickwalkerjr]

Welcome to the site Mikey! I just bought my Grizz last December and share your concerns with all the mods that seem to do nothing more than drain your wallet and make the bike look great in a static condition. The folks at Yamaha did a awesome job in all the R&D that went into this machine and it appears to me once you start changing the variables you find yourself out on that "slippery slope" of mods...I def approve of add ons but dont wanna change tire size/carb jets/etc etc and eat my time and money trying to get it back to the way it was new. I'm no way the hard core rider some of these folks in here are, I just like hearing my girls squeal to the tops of thier lungs while we're riding the trails...dont want no parts of deep mud neither (a clean machine is a happy machine) and for those that want to do all the mods Im fine with that its just not for this ol boy stuck down here in Southern Maryland. It sounds like we do the exactly same kinda ridin, these days I find myself becoming like the old bull...ever heard that story of the old bull and the young bull??

I did read on the hilifter site about the bennies of swapping out your stock springs for thiers which I will do...gotta add the winch first tho. and Im real interested in some better wheels too.

Anyway this is all my .39 cents worth (postal plug)....make sure you take good care of yourself and be safe...you already know its much more fun to play in the sand here than over there.

nizz

 

[starky]

Mikey, In my humble opinion, you do not need the lift kit or the bigger axles. What you will need is a clutch kit and some over-fenders. The stock clutch just wasn't made to turn those bigger tires. If you had the tires installed when you bought the 4-wheeler you haven't experienced the power loss. If that's the case, you will sure notice the power gain when you make the swap.

 

[starky]

Hey Mikey, when do you get out of the desert. Like you, I'm waiting to get home also but it won't be until August for me.

 

[mikey]

Starky-

I'm scheduled to fly out of B-dad this friday.....just in time for the spring thaw and playtime!

 

[starky]

Good for you dude. Don't try and make up that lost time all at once.
Does this look familiar? That's me second from the right.

 

[mikey]

Yes that does look familiar.....good times! I've got about three weeks off when I get home and then back to work.

This is a pic of me and a teammate (I'm on the left) at the Sulymania Airport as we wait for the US Ambassador's motorcade to arrive and load up on a Blackhawk.