New shoes on the 850, pics from 26″ to 28″ bearclaw HTR

Ordered some new wheels and tires for my 850. I went with the 14" STI HD3 narrow 6+1 offset wheels, and 28" bearclaw HTR’s. After having HTR for the last 1200 miles in 26", I knew I wanted to get the same tire again, just larger for a little more cushion and being able to run slightly lower pressure than a 26" on a 14" wheel can.

As many have said, the 26" run true to size in height and width. It appears as others have noticed that the 28" run true to size in height, but run about an inch narrower on both sizes, ie. 8" front instead of 9", and 10" rear instead of 11".

Also, my overall width did go from 48" to 50" with these wheels and tires, even with the narrow offset. I see why 4+3 wheels are not at all made for the XP chassis, as they would be another 4" wider overall.

I am glad I have extended fender flares, but I may do a little trimming at the front of the rears to give some more mud room. They don’t touch but are a little close.

Anyway here are the pics of old and new.