B
ballisticexchris
Guest
First off let's address the mounting issues. Zero drama! Easiest set of motorcycle tires I have ever mounted in my life. Not much harder than a bicycle tire. No UHD tubes, no pinched tubes, no double rim locks, no vice grips. Only took 1/2 oz of weight per wheel to balance. I'm really liking these tubeless tires!! As an added bonus the Super Tenere rims have a super large and deep drop center so I assume even a stiff carcass tire will be no problem to mount.
To be honest the rear wheel removal was the hardest part of the whole deal. My first time doing a wheel removal/install on shaft drive with cush hub. The rubbers fell out and jammed everything up challenging me from removing the wheel. I'll tape it up next time.
Since this will also be a tire life test the tread depth in the center of new tires are 7.5mm front and 9.5mm rear. I will be running 32psi front/36psi rear everywhere. Michelin does not recommend airing these down. And best of all they are a radial tire!! I don't know of any other radial knobby being produced. I'm not throttle happy so I'll be pleased if I can get 4,000 out of the rear and double that on the front.
How do they perform? Well first off they are the loudest howling knobby I have ever owned. I knew that going in. Even with ear plugs these tires scream and might annoy some. They are so loud you can hear them screeching over the wind noise at 70+mph!
Road performance: At first they were a bit sketchy at low speeds. A slight wobble and a bit tippy. After about 100 miles that goes away. In the corners you would never know these are a knobby tire. Very predictable and outstanding traction. On the freeway in the rain I was cautious so not sure about the grip there. They do do wander slightly and your bike moves around some underneath you. This is no different than any other knobby. Just the nature of the tire.
Off road performance: So far very limited. I only had a chance to do around 10 miles of jeep trail. The weight of the bike came into play way before the tires. The bike went right where I pointed it. Unfortunately I had zero experience off road with a 19" front wheel let alone a 600+ lb bike!! I got in over my head and had to turn back:
https://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?threads/short-day-ride-report-home-safe-and-sound.26236/post-367092
Braking performance: This is a BIG selling point and one of my arguments to loving this tire. I had no intention being able to review the braking. Well, last week I had a very close call. A pickup truck driver was pissed at me only doing 70mph in the carpool lane. He cut into me and I had to brake HARD!! Nothing short of amazing. Nowhere near having the antilock engaging. I grabbed a handful of brake and felt the rear wheel almost as if it was lifting. THANK YOU JIMMY LEWIS!! My technique was not perfect but I utilized the stiffening of my arms and got back as far as I could. I have been practicing my braking for the last month and it's working. I can't believe the stopping power of this huge knobby on dry pavement!!
Compact bead breaker, dowels for drop center and various mounting tools:
:
Not a bad looking bike. Kind of a Mad Max look. For now this is the tire I will live with.
The intended use for this tire is going to aprox 90%-95% paved and 5%-10% dirt. Reason for going to an extreme off road knobby is for those sections I can get through without turning around. And quite frankly, there is no safer or predictable tire made for in the dirt than a good old knobby. Now I just need to get my "big bike skills" up to par. I have to be careful because I've been primarily an off road rider most of my life. It's the weight of this bike and having a small front wheel that is challenging me. I almost got the Africa Twin. But I already have a nice dual sport bike. So I will continue to learn the limitations of this bike and myself as the miles increase.
I will revert back to this thread and update the performance and tire wear as I peel off the miles. For me, I'm really pleased that Michelin stepped up and designed this tire. I have been using Michelin tires on my street bikes for years. The quality and performance is proving it's worth so far.
To be honest the rear wheel removal was the hardest part of the whole deal. My first time doing a wheel removal/install on shaft drive with cush hub. The rubbers fell out and jammed everything up challenging me from removing the wheel. I'll tape it up next time.
Since this will also be a tire life test the tread depth in the center of new tires are 7.5mm front and 9.5mm rear. I will be running 32psi front/36psi rear everywhere. Michelin does not recommend airing these down. And best of all they are a radial tire!! I don't know of any other radial knobby being produced. I'm not throttle happy so I'll be pleased if I can get 4,000 out of the rear and double that on the front.
How do they perform? Well first off they are the loudest howling knobby I have ever owned. I knew that going in. Even with ear plugs these tires scream and might annoy some. They are so loud you can hear them screeching over the wind noise at 70+mph!
Road performance: At first they were a bit sketchy at low speeds. A slight wobble and a bit tippy. After about 100 miles that goes away. In the corners you would never know these are a knobby tire. Very predictable and outstanding traction. On the freeway in the rain I was cautious so not sure about the grip there. They do do wander slightly and your bike moves around some underneath you. This is no different than any other knobby. Just the nature of the tire.
Off road performance: So far very limited. I only had a chance to do around 10 miles of jeep trail. The weight of the bike came into play way before the tires. The bike went right where I pointed it. Unfortunately I had zero experience off road with a 19" front wheel let alone a 600+ lb bike!! I got in over my head and had to turn back:
https://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?threads/short-day-ride-report-home-safe-and-sound.26236/post-367092
Braking performance: This is a BIG selling point and one of my arguments to loving this tire. I had no intention being able to review the braking. Well, last week I had a very close call. A pickup truck driver was pissed at me only doing 70mph in the carpool lane. He cut into me and I had to brake HARD!! Nothing short of amazing. Nowhere near having the antilock engaging. I grabbed a handful of brake and felt the rear wheel almost as if it was lifting. THANK YOU JIMMY LEWIS!! My technique was not perfect but I utilized the stiffening of my arms and got back as far as I could. I have been practicing my braking for the last month and it's working. I can't believe the stopping power of this huge knobby on dry pavement!!
Compact bead breaker, dowels for drop center and various mounting tools:
:
Not a bad looking bike. Kind of a Mad Max look. For now this is the tire I will live with.
The intended use for this tire is going to aprox 90%-95% paved and 5%-10% dirt. Reason for going to an extreme off road knobby is for those sections I can get through without turning around. And quite frankly, there is no safer or predictable tire made for in the dirt than a good old knobby. Now I just need to get my "big bike skills" up to par. I have to be careful because I've been primarily an off road rider most of my life. It's the weight of this bike and having a small front wheel that is challenging me. I almost got the Africa Twin. But I already have a nice dual sport bike. So I will continue to learn the limitations of this bike and myself as the miles increase.
I will revert back to this thread and update the performance and tire wear as I peel off the miles. For me, I'm really pleased that Michelin stepped up and designed this tire. I have been using Michelin tires on my street bikes for years. The quality and performance is proving it's worth so far.
Last edited by a moderator: