Engineers at Goodyear and Honda worked together to design a new tire set for Honda's new FourTrax Rancher and FourTrax Rancher ES (shown)

"Both of these companies have a long history of innovation—Goodyear with tires, Honda with ATVs. So we were excited to see what would happen if we merged our creative abilities to develop a new ATV tire specifically for the FourTrax Ranchers," said Tim Rooney of Goodyear's Advanced Engineering ATV Tire Design department.

One of the engineers' chief tasks, according to Rooney, was to create a quieter rear tire while not sacrificing performance. The engineering team responded with a uniquely pitched tire in which the lugs are spaced unevenly to reduce noise. At the same time, the lateral lugs provide increased traction, and the open design allows for strong performance in mud. The lugs are spaced to give maximum traction while still providing a comfortable ride and durability, said Rooney. A patent, jointly filed by Honda and Goodyear, is pending on the design of the rear tire.

For the front tire, the engineers focused on responsive steering. The key feature of the front tire is a series of circumferential lugs at the center line. Aside from improving steering response, this design also increases riding comfort and reduces tread wear.