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By: Robert Janis
Maximum Tire Coverage for
ATVs
  Riders involved in ATV racing, no matter the
category, are familiar with
Maxxis International. The company has been
offering tires to ATV owners and racers since 1986. Some of the most popular models
include the Razr Series (Razr,
Razr2,
iRazr, and
Razr MX) on the sport side and the
Bighorn
Radials,
Mudzilla, Mud Bug, and
All-trak on the utility side.
The company first opened for business in
1967. It started out offering bicycle tires and eventually became the
largest manufacturer of bicycle tires in the
world, noted Harry Tripp, senior sales and
marketing manager for Maxxis International -
USA. “In fact, it remains the world’s largest
manufacturer of bicycle tires today,” added
Tripp. As the company continued to grow it added motorcycle, ATV, lawn and garden, kart
racing, industrial, trailer, automotive, light
truck, truck and bus tires to its product mix.
Maxxis has an R&D department and just
recently completed construction on a new Maxxis
Tech Center located in Suwanee, Georgia.
 The company has about 15,000 employees
worldwide and has offices in Taiwan; Ontario,
Canada; Dageling, Germany; Kanagawa, Japan;
Rayong Province, Thailand; Xiamen and Jiangsu,
China; Suffolk, United Kingdom; and Suwanee,
Georgia.
Today, besides the tires, Maxxis also offers
MaxLite 4-spoke,
MaxLite 8-spoke and
Maxxis 4x4 aluminum rims for
ATV.
Maxxis sells its products through ATV
dealerships as well as mail order companies.
A Major ATV Player
Maxxis is a major participant in ATV marketing.
They sponsor more than 100 racers and racing
teams. Some of the racers they sponsor include
Bill
Ballance, who recently won his sixth GNCC Series
Championship; Chris Borich, who was first in
rounds one and two in the 2005 GNCC Series; John
Natalie, who won the GNC ATVA MX Championship,
the Pro Quad Stadium Series Championship, the
Maxxis 12 hours of ATV America Championship, and
is the ESPN Great Outdoor Games Gold Medalist.
Other racers Maxxis sponsors include Keith
Little, Dustin Wimmer, Wayne Matlock, Mike
Penland, Scott Kilby, and Daryl Rath.
Events that Maxxis sponsor include the New
England ATV MX Series, ATVA GNC MX National
Series, World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS),
Maxxis 12 Hours of ATV America, Grand National
Cross Country Series, Thunder in the Valley
Series, High Lifter Mud Nationals, and the
Mid-South Hare Scrambles.
Tripp noted that sponsoring racers as well as
events have proven beneficial for Maxxis. “Our
top riders and teams help us to promote our
various products,” he said. “Also, we believe
racing provides an ideal environment for testing
our products beyond the test track and
laboratory. All of our riders race on products
that you can buy at your dealer, and we strive
to maintain our reputation for having the most
durable tires on the market. Finally, all of our
racers provide valuable feedback as to how different
tires perform on various
machines with different set-ups.
Maxxis accepts racers’ resumes for
sponsorship from September 1 through December 1
for the following calendar year. “The first
thing for riders to do is get their resume in on
time,” said Tripp. Those applying for
sponsorship must include the following
information: full name, birth date, mailing
address, phone number, e-mail address, how long
you have been competing in the sport, what other
activities you participate in, what goals you
wish to accomplish in your sport, a short
paragraph on why Maxxis should sponsor you, your
competitions results and ratings, if you have
been photographed or written about in a
magazine, one or more lifestyle photos, and, of
course, the resume.
Website is Educational Tool
Besides providing information about itself and
the products it offers, Maxxis uses its website
to educate consumers. For example, there is a
heading for “Tire School.” This section of the
website offers information to consumers on how a
tire is made and provides tips for tire care and
maintenance. Another heading for “Racing 101” is
a link that gives consumers some basic knowledge
about different types of racing. It gives
definitions, rules for different racing
disciplines, and provides some jargon used by
riders, drivers, and fans.
The website also gives details on each of the
tires Maxxis makes and
describes the features each tire has which
provide a benefit when used in particular
applications like motocross, cross country, mud,
rock/desert, and mud courses. For example, the
listing for its M9209 All-Trak tire describes
its dual scooped tread knob which helps to
provide superior traction and rugged shoulder
knobs to aid in cornering stability. The listing
goes on to explain that this tires
multidirectional tread design offers traction in
both muddy and sandy terrain and aggressive
shoulder knobs provide excellent side bite and
grip. Another example is the company’s listing
for its M934 Razr2 Rear tire. It notes that the
tire comes standard with a 6-ply rating for
maximum puncture resistance and that it is made
especially for the GNCC cross country race
circuit and that its increased lug depth offers
more skid and traction control. The listing goes
on to say that the aggressive tread pattern of
the tire is ideal for
cornering ability and that the tire is suited
for all types of cross country terrain.
A section titled “Find Your Tire” on the
website helps you match Maxxis
tires to particular applications including cross
country, motocross, mud, rock/desert, sand, etc. You simply select your
quad from a list of quads and the sport
application you intend to use it in and the site
automatically lists the tires in the Maxxis
inventory that would perform best in that
application. You can click on the tire and get a
description of that tire including all of its
features that makes it advantageous for the
particular application.
Offering product since 1967 and ATV product
since 1986, Maxxis has learned to take nothing
for granted.
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